What exactly is a Head of Knowledge, I asked Andy Littlewood.
“It’s someone who gets a lot of questions!” he responded. His role as Head of
Knowledge at Mediacom
is, “to make sure our clients benefit from the full knowledge we have. That
means getting clients the right tools, systems and data to inform their
decisions.”
Littlewood started his career at Mediacom in Scotland, spent
some time at Aegis and PHD and returned to MediaCom as the Chief
Data and ROI Officer in Australia before moving to the U.S. as the Head of
Knowledge NA, in 2015. His data acumen has been credited with winning new
business such as Whole Foods, Uber, MetLife, Sony, Uniqlo and Bose.
Charlene Weisler: What
type of data do you capture and use?
Andy Littlewood: We capture and leverage every kind:
business performance, audience, location, web interest, shopper… there are no
limits to what we might consider useful, given our clients’ needs and business
objectives. Each data set is assessed based on the unique value it can provide.
Weisler: How has the
industry changed since you first started?
Littlewood: Brands still want to build lasting, profitable
relationships with consumers. What’s changed is how that happens, including how
much more complicated everything has become. Marketers started with one or just
a couple of advisors then sought a stable of specialists (when the internet
first emerged and digital was thought to be an entirely different world) and
now clients are coming back to the idea that there is greater value in an
integrated approach. Programmatic and other tools have kicked off this same cycle
again, and I’m not sure that these new processes are in service of building
brands or just driving cost efficiency.
Weisler: You have
international experience. Is there is difference on a global level in how data
is used?
Littlewood: The US definitely has more data, but with that
comes more challenges. I call it the paradox of big data: it’s great to have
location data sets of 50MM plus, shopper data sets that cover most households
and many other options, but what we often forget is that each data set only
reflects one aspect of the total consumer. Not enough time is spent really
validating the use or accuracy of big data sets, their skews and their true
predictive value.
Weisler: How can you
tell which data is good and usable and which data is not? (I assume it varies
by project?)
Littlewood: Test it. A data set is only as valuable as the
information it provides. Each data component has a cost and can be combined in
elaborate ways, but is the cost really worth it and does it drive your business
or brand? Structured testing is the way to find out.
Weisler: What has the
response been from your clients in the data results? Has it changed their
strategies and focus?
Littlewood: Every client we have is trying to achieve growth
in competitive marketplaces. The data results we generate are often the extra
inches that help them get ahead. Every client is responsive to data insights
that drive their business.
Weisler: How do you
tailor the language of data to make it less wonky to your various internal and
external client groups?
Littlewood: I live by a very important maxim: if I can’t
explain it to my mom (nearly), it’s not ready for communication.
Weisler: How do you
think privacy is perceived in data usage? And has it changed with recent
events.
Littlewood: Consumer consent is at the heart of so much of
what we do today. Marketers want to pay for real consumers interested in their
services, and consumers want to see relevant messaging and understand how their
information is being used. Additional privacy requirements ultimately help
bring trust back to the equation.
Weisler: How will
privacy concerns impact your future work?
Littlewood: Policies that emphasize privacy, data quality
and governance have a positive effect. With limits on spurious or poorly-collected
data, the quality of the remaining data will improve, which is good news for
marketers and consumers alike.
No comments:
Post a Comment