Big D by @NicholasKugge

By Nicholas Kugge Last Sunday, I was having a chat with my roommate on big data. I usually don’t talk about work,especially on a Sunday morning while eating my crumpets. We were discussing the impact of big data onagencies and on the advertising experienced by consumers. In a nutshell, here's our conversation.Currently, if I watch the latest Victoria’s Secret ad – which I did – I’ll suddenly get web banners sellingbikinis. Instead wouldn’t I be better off to receive Tinder ads? With big data, agencies will finally have a tool to communicate the right message, at the right time, onthe right platform. We will be able to create a predictive model, tailored to your taste and to which you’lleven opt-in to receive advertising content. Messages won’t be as intrusive anymore and consumers willbenefit from these communication messages. For instance, while you’re shopping you might receivemobile promotions relevant to what you’re purchasing. Advertising agencies could also benefit from this tool. We will find real insights from finallyunderstanding what consumers say, think and do. Data could also avoid endless debates between theclient and the agency. And with clients bypassing agencies and directly dealing with companies likeGoogle and Facebook, there’s no doubt advertising agencies need to rely even more on big data if theywant to continue to thrive. The question now is whether people will accept to trade their online data in order to get these relevantand appealing messages. Especially with all the controversy around data and national security. Willpeople disengage from using Google and social media in their everyday life? Probably not as theseplatforms have become parts of our life. Thus, maybe agencies’ next big challenge is selling the benefitsof data to consumers.