The Big Data Fail In Digital Media Planning

Brands and agencies must create a closed and symbiotic loop with data and creativity.

- Charlie Fiordalis

Natural systems have a closed loop. Think about a tree: Its roots gather water and nutrients enabling the tree to grow limbs and leaves that capture sunlight and provide shelter and food for insects and animals. The leaves fall and return nitrogen to the soil, providing nutrients back to the tree’s roots. Take any piece of that out—the water, for example—and the whole system fails.

All digital marketing systems want to have a closed loop but can’t always achieve one. They don’t fully come alive until they can optimize based on feedback. This symbiosis requires different kinds of talents and skill sets to be in place, just like you need both sunlight and water to make a tree spring to life. Ecommerce has enjoyed closed-loop systems with true ROI optimization for years. You can identify, score, track and optimize leads to your online store with ease.

But, most brand marketers aren’t so lucky.

For example, in traditional television entertainment, there’s a gap between digital marketing and the TV screen itself. Your mobile phone likely isn’t your remote, yet. It is quite possibly by your side though, serving as a second screen for social media chatter and more. Even so, there is a hurdle in closing the loop. A 32-year- old woman in Albuquerque, N.M., might retweet @Outlander_Starz during the latest episode of Outlander, but without the right measurement system, we don’t know if she actually tuned-in to the show.