Magic Numbers: Think Broader with Kelly Leger
As a managing director within experience management at Deloitte Digital, Kelly helps strengthen the customer and marketing offering through her extensive experience in advertising, marketing and commerce. She has over 20 years’ experience in data solutions, business development, strategic planning and product development for agencies, holding companies, ad tech, and data providers. She is an industry expert in digital data, identity, audience and people-based media tactics.
LBB> What’s the number one question that clients are coming to you with when it comes to how they can better use data to enhance the creativity of their content and experiences?
Kelly> Right now the biggest topic around data and creativity is centred around GenAI. Clients are curious about what tools and tech, the ways of working, new skill sets for team members, and areas they need to start thinking about regarding the GenAI revolution. When it comes to using GenAI to power creativity, data is at the core of that use case. Clients are starting to understand that without an accurate and robust data foundation, they will be unable to fully utilise GenAI for creative use cases.
LBB> How can you make sure that data is elevating creative rather than forming a windtunnel effect and knocking all the interesting or unique edges off that make something distinctive?
Kelly> It is super important that you have a continuous feedback loop that incorporates insights and analytics into your data strategy for creative. Enabling this intelligence into your data layer will help drive better creative, thus better outcomes. Rapid ideation of creative is also contingent on these signals being integrated into the test and learn process.
LBB> Can you share with us any examples of projects you’ve worked on where the data really helped boost the creative output in a really exciting way?
Kelly> Deloitte Digital recently helped a large entertainment client build a first-party data strategy to capture, activate, and analyse customer data.
This strategy led our client to better understand the interests of their most valuable customers, enabling them to start generating content across all marketing channels. While this data strategy might seem like a basic function of the business, it has now allowed the client to create a GenAI factory to produce content at faster speeds, in various formats, and across multiple channels.
The client’s engagement rates with their customers have now skyrocketed and created a deeper understanding and engagement strategy – all enabling the client to have a two-way conversation with their customers by driving relevant content that speaks to the customer while receiving more intelligence back from the client to enhance what they are bringing to market.
LBB> More brands are working to create their own first-party data practice - how can a brand figure out whether that’s something that is relevant or important for their business?
Kelly> First-party data is a strategic imperative for every brand. As we move into the next phase of one-to-one marketing, in the age of signal loss across the open web, clients will have to lean on their first-party data more than they have in the past. There is no decision needed on if first-party data is relevant for your brand, marketing in this new world of GenAI and signal loss demands every brand have a first-party data strategy.
LBB> We talk about data driving creativity, but what are your thoughts about approaching the use of data in a creative way?
Kelly> Oftentimes clients think about data in a siloed fashion versus letting the data tell the story.
When we talk to marketers they focus on their customer and marketing data sets, rarely do we see them bringing enterprise level data into those customer and marketing models. Signals like regional product penetration, supply chain/logistics needs, store foot traffic spikes or lulls, etc. – all of these are incredible signals to inform your customer and marketing data sets. Bringing different sets of data together will drive better performance across marketing channels.
Think broader when you are looking at your marketing led data sets - is there more the data could tell us? Are we fully grabbing and understanding non marketing signals and if there is a correlation to what we are seeing from a marketing performance perspective and the outcomes it is or is not driving?
LBB> What are your thoughts about trust in data - to what extent is uncertainty and a lack of trust in data (or data sources) an issue and what are your thoughts on that?
Kelly> Trust in data is a real issue in the market. Over the past 15 years, marketing and advertising tactics have become so personalised that regulators and industry giants have had to step in and create policies for responsible data usage.
While most consumers do not understand the inner workings of the advertising ecosystem, they do understand what it means to be tracked and targeted across all channels – leading to a distrust in how marketers and industry giants are using their data. It’s a perfect storm of consumers wanting to see relevant ads without wanting the internet to know who they are, what they are browsing, and how they are traversing through the virtual world.
As we move into this new era of advertising technology, it is important that brands and ad tech companies take a privacy and consent approach to all first-party data and ad targeting tactics. The more transparent brands are with their customers, the more trust they will build that data is being used appropriately.
LBB> With so many different regulatory systems in different markets regarding data and privacy around the world - as well as different cultural views about privacy - what’s the key to creating a joined up data strategy at a global level that’s also adaptable to local nuances?
Kelly> When thinking about a global data strategy, most of our clients have created data governance to lead them through this exercise. Starting with a robust set of rules and standards for data will lead brands to have the best ability to make sure the data is standardised, clean, and accurate before they use it for marketing.
Obviously, brands will have to apply local privacy rules and regulations to the use of the data, and systems like CDP’s, clean rooms, and third-party identity partners are key to using this data across marketing channels in a scaled and organised fashion. Making sure your data governance is connected into your technology layer and is thought of from a business case and tech enabled perspective is critical to bringing the best data into the activation layer and driving successful outcomes.
LBB> What does a responsible data practice look like?
Kelly> A responsible data practice is one that gives trust and transparency to the customer and consumer, making sure that brands communicate how the data is being used, where it is being used, and what value exchange they are handing over to the customer for that data.
LBB> In your view, what’s the biggest misconception people have around the use of data in marketing?
Kelly> The biggest misconception that consumers have about data in marketing is that it is all coming from your browsing history or your social media interactions. When in reality, the amount of third-party offline data that is brought online for targeting or supplementing other data sets is astounding. While a majority of that data is usually connected to a stable identifier such as an email address, depending on how it is brought online, the accuracy of that data has always been in question.
LBB> In terms of live issues in the field, what are the debates or developments that we should be paying attention to right now?
Kelly> Retail media networks – there are lots of conversations happening around the lack of measurement standards, like “are the big retail media networks adopting the IAB standards?” and if the measurement is actually correct and if so, are retail media network’s delivering on their promise? There’s also lots of conversations around clean rooms and privacy enhanced tech for data collaboration as well.
