Top 4 ways to build data strategy

According to a recent study by Radar Research that was commissioned by BlueKai, 40% of brands that were surveyed said that they are currently using a data management platform with an additional 30% expecting to implement the platform in 2013. Established program or new beginning, here's how to make the most of data for the New Year:

by Kristina Knight

Kristina: What are some interesting takeaways from the BlueKai/Radar Research study?

Cory Treffiletti, SVP, Marketing, BlueKai: Data-driven efforts engrained into strategies: 81% of companies said they wish they could lean more on data driven efforts to remain competitive while 64 percent said that data driven efforts would be the lynchpin to their plans.

* Marketing gaining more control of technology purse strings: Nearly 60 percent report marketing is now the decision maker for selecting marketing technology, shifting these decisions from the CIO or IT teams.
* Rise of the CMTO: When asked why they were not implementing a DMP, more than half of respondents cited resource constraints rather than not seeing the value. With more of the dollars to fund these initiatives flowing back to marketing, senior leaders that blend both the data and marketing sides will continue to emerge. Some organizations have already dubbed this hire the Chief Marketing Technology Officer.

Kristina: How are brands using data differently now than, say, a year ago?

Cory: Many brands started with the most basic use case, which is buying 3rd party data for scaling their audience targeting efforts. Then, they evolved naturally to wanting to gain more from their own data assets so they adopted technology to help them centralize web data collection and then share that data for re-targeting across various media networks. With their audience intelligence in one place, we've seen brands take it further by incorporating media campaign data to drive audience analytics. Many are also looking to use data for customizing their website experience as well as for ad creative optimization. (someone who has expressed intent in buying a hybrid car will see specific site content or ad creative.)

Kristina: What can brands do now to develop and implement a strategy that will benefit them in 2013?

Cory: Here are a few things to start thinking about as brand embark on a data strategy:
1) Audit your marketing data assets - what do you rely on today for marketing communications and prospecting? CRM, email list, website data, etc?
2) Review current data-driven marketing use cases that they support.
3) Make a list of untapped or siloed data assets (search? Social?) as well as uses cases you would like to incorporate.
4) Look for a data platform that will help support your specific needs around data ingestion as well as data activation.

You can read part one of my chat with Blue Kai and Cory Treffiletti, including the importance of a data strategy, here.