Brands don’t realise the depth of insight available on social media, and that social platforms are a window onto purchase behaviour as well as what people like to talk about.
Mapping and segmenting consumers’ connections on social networks is the best way to target them at scale with campaigns that appeal to their interests.
‘Understanding millennials’ is just a rebranded way of saying ‘demographic segmentation’, which is inadequate to describe such a large a varied group. Combining their passions with life stage and life event data is the only way to target them accurately.
Humanities graduates who are highly numerate make the best data scientists, says dunnhumby co-founder Clive Humby, but the obsession with digital skills means brands are neglecting communication and business awareness.
The release this week of Star Wars: The Force Awakens has generated a marketing frenzy of commercials, merchandise and brand tie-ins. Clive Humby, co-founder of Tesco’s customer science firm Dunnhumby and chief data scientist at Starcount, explains why the franchise is fertile territory for marketers seeking to cross the gender divide.
Using transactional data to guess customers’ motivations gives a limited backward-looking view. Brands must use social data to add personality to their insights, according to dunnhumby founder and Starcount chief data scientist Clive Humby.