Report: Data spending will surge in 2013

The report, a collaboration between Infogroup Targeting Solutions and Yesmail Interactive, found that nearly 70% of brands/marketers plan to increase data related spending throughout the year. Much of the spend will go to hiring employees to oversee data collection and analysis.

"When it comes to big data, hope is not a strategy," said Michael Fisher, president of Yesmail Interactive. "In 2013, brands should be taking a disciplined approach to building out their data operations. Data collection has been the easy part; the new challenge will be connecting the dots between different types of data across multiple channels. That's really where marketers can get to know their customers on a deeper level."

Other findings from the report include:

• 68% of respondents say they'll increase data related spending in 2013
• 56% say they'll hire new employees to better handle the data load
• 5% say they'll hire an executive to oversee new data initiatives
• 83% say they'll use date to improve website performance, 72% for email performance, 59% for social performance

"Companies should be going back to the basics and building a solid foundation for their data initiatives," said Don Patrick, president of Infogroup Targeting Solutions. "They should be investing in processes, people and systems necessary for implementing a data strategy driven by getting to know their customers on a deeper level. It's critical to take a disciplined approach to putting all the right pieces into place."

Most respondents say they'll take a harder look at customers' social graph data to try to improve cross channel campaigns; less than half say they'll use customer data to drive offline campaigns.

You can download a full copy of the report here.

Tags: 2013 advertising trends, big data trends, data collection, data spending, Infogroup Targeting Solutions, Yesmail Interactive