This post looks at art and science — communications and analysis — in the use of data. I also discuss programmatic Media Buying And Algorithmic Purchasing.
Art And Science in Marketing Analytics
Kevin Hartman, the Director of Analytics for Google, has a pleasant readable book on digital marketing analytics. (Which quite frankly you’d expect him to know a lot about). He gives a general overall, describing analytics as needing both art and science. You need to be able to do the analysis but also to be able to communicate with the people who want to know the results of the analysis.
Without good communication:
“The science of digital marketing presents as verbose and academic. A purely artistic display of analytics output suggests the same lack of substance as a charlatan’s medicine show”
Hartman, (2020)
It is hard to argue with his thoughts. If you are a great communicator add some math and you will be extremely valuable. If you are great at analysis but can’t communicate, work on it, get people to help. Analysis without communication isn’t going anywhere.
Programmatic Media Buying And Algorithmic Purchasing
Can We Hope For Less Law And Order?
While it won’t be a surprise to those in the industry, it has been going on for years, it is worth thinking a bit more about how advertising is often bought nowadays.
“Programmatic Media Buying is the data-intensive algorithmic purchase and sale of advertising space in real time.”
Hartman, (2020)
Algorithms can react in a tiny fraction of the speed of a manager, theoretically seeking out buying opportunities to get the best deals.
We have a new type of intelligence buying advertising space and it isn’t human. In effect the AI gets to give advertising support to the media it deems best. I personally like Science Fiction shows and for the life of me I don’t see why we need so many Law and Order type shows. (Not everyone in the US ends up murdered — I hope). Maybe the AI will want to support science fiction shows where robots run the world. I do hope so.
Read: Kevin Hartman (2020) Digital Marketing Analytics: In Theory and In Practice
For more on AI in marketing see here.