Growth in strategy and AdTech to outpace competition

Industry

How would you categorise your company in the overall data, analytics and insights industry? 

We would be categorised as a part of the insights industry, particularly in the Audience Intelligence or Audience research field. The well-known marketplace G2 would define this particular category as 

Audience intelligence platforms gather and analyse public data from online sources to help businesses gain in-depth insights into their target audiences. Marketeers use the information gathered through these platforms to create customer segments, discover influencers, conduct market research, and inform decision-making. By offering instantaneous and persistent access to audience insight and analysis, this type of software enables businesses to make quick, informed decisions around brand marketing, content strategies, advertising, and product development. 

Like marketing analytics software and social media analytics software, audience intelligence platforms report on a brand’s audience demographics. However, audience intelligence platforms go a step further. These tools use artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyse social data and provide businesses with deeper insights into their target audience’s interests, opinions, behaviours, and affinities. Businesses that use audience intelligence platforms may also use social media monitoring software for social listening and influencer marketing. 

To qualify for inclusion in the Audience Intelligence Platforms category, a product must: 

• Use artificial intelligence to analyse data on a company’s target audiences 

• Provide insights on audience psychographics and demographics 

• Create customer personas or audience segments based on information gathered about them 

• Offer tools for sharing or exporting audience segments to marketing and digital advertising platforms 

What would you say are some of the key trends you’re seeing in the industry right now? 

Two big trends from our point of view are: 

• Interoperability: How systems of insights can connect with each other programmatically, so it’s more efficient to do cross-source analysis.  

• Actionability: Again, programmatically, how systems of insights can be connected to systems of engagement such as AdTech and MarTech systems. Here we are not only talking about insights that recommend actions but actually with other systems that help you carry out analysis more efficiently. 

Where do you see growth in the industry coming from? 

We see that Strategy and AdTech are growing significantly.  

The first one is because it’s becoming more and more obvious for management teams that data is the best weapon to outpace your competitors. 

The second one, for the change in technology in the advertising world due to the end of the cookie era. 

Conversely, what do you think is the biggest threat to growth or success in the industry? 

Honestly, I don’t think there is any threat as an industry other than macroeconomic events. 

What, if any, are the key differences you’re seeing across global markets (if relevant)? 

We see an increased interest in how research based on Social Data can be merged with other, more traditional types of research. 

When speaking with clients/customers, what seems to be most important for them right now? 

Actionability: how they can get the most out of it across the organisation.  

Company and clients

What is one project or product release you’re most excited about? 

We just announced our partnership with Kantar, where we are co-developing a product that will help brands worldwide to profile potential demand (details on the partnership can be found here). 

Is there any particular client in your client base that you think is at the forefront of the data/analytics/insight industry? Any pushing you to up your game? If so, who and how? 

David Boyle from Audience Strategies, Michael Brito from Zeno Group, and Geoffrey Sidari from Wecomms. They keep helping us to provide more value to the end customers, which are the brands, by advising in the presentation layer but also on how to continue leading in our space. 

If we asked them, what do you think your clients/customers would identify as the reason they chose you over your competition? 

Innovation and Speed of insights. 

What is one important thing prospects should think about or know when choosing a vendor in your space? 

How it is connected to the rest of the ecosystem.  

Personal

How did you get into the industry? 

As my background is in computing engineering, my initial steps were using API’s from Social Platforms that then became one of the most important audiences for brands to understand. 

What’s the last book you read or podcast you listened to that you’d recommend to readers?  

Our latest podcast is really insightful for anyone in the industry, I think! (you can access it here). 

Can you share a quote that resonates with you as a leader in our industry? 

The classic one! “Advertising people who ignore research are as dangerous as generals who ignore decodes of enemy signals.” - David Ogilvy