Michael Clark: Marketers Must Own Their Data

What change in customer behavior will impact marketing most in 2015? In an e-book put together by Direct Marketing News, Beeby Clark+Meyler Principal Michael Clark shares his answer: The change in consumer behavior that will impact marketing most in 2015 is that consumers will be digital, multi-device, on-demand viewers of content and advertising. Wait, hold on. That’s not a change, is it? No, but I think that this 2015 prediction question as written indulges most marketers’ habit of looking toward the new while ignoring and failing to act on the now.

Maybe the better question for 2015 is: What change in marketer behavior will impact marketing most in 2015, given that consumers have already changed? In 2015, marketers will take ownership of their data and treat it like an essential strategic asset. Stop renting insight from your agencies and media partners and own your data. One place to start is to gain an understanding of how data management platforms work and how they can provide valuable insights into media effectiveness. Think of the data that device and media channel proliferation are throwing off right now. Are you going to sit on the sidelines for another year while your competitors get smarter? See more marketing predictions from other industry pundits in the full e-book.