Marketing communication: Experts harp on ‘Big Data’ to drive sector

Experts in marketing communication have said that Big Data will help revolutionize the way marketing businesses are done.

Bayo Adekanmbi, Chief Transformation Officer, MTN and Steve Babaeko, Chief Executive Officer/ Chief Creativity Officer, X3M Ideas, made this known recently in Lagos at a learning session tagged: “Marketing in the Era of Big Data-The Changing Paradigm,” organized by BRANDCRUNCH, an online brand and marketing platform.

For example, Adekanmbi said that massive data is shaping the way businesses are being run globally; and there is now a cross- industry shift due to data disruption.
In the marketing space, he explained that Big Data can be used to predict the sentiment of customers on their ability to buy. He added that brands now target customers at a certain time based on insights gathered from Twitter keywords like #Thank God it’s Friday, and others.

He added that with Big Data, a lot can be done, ranging from monitoring of competitors’ effort in the market and monitoring the reach of news item and its impact on a brand’s perception.

“Internet of Things (IoT) connects all manner of end-points, unraveling a treasure trove of data. Ubiquitous networks and device proliferation enable access to a massive and growing amount of traditionally silo-ed information. Analytic and business intelligence tools empower decision makers as never before by extracting and presenting meaningful information in real time, helping us be more predictive and reactive”

For Babaeko, Big Data analytic will help practitioners understand the changing consumer behaviour and competitive activities, which would help advertising agencies, marketing communication practitioners and brands decide on what creative or campaigns to launch to engage consumers.

He therefore, urged practitioners to embark on retooling its personals to be able to survive in the new ecosystem, which is technologically- driven and ever changing.

Speaking on the importance of the digital trend, convener of the event and the publisher of Brand crunch, O’Lekan Babatunde said, “The Nigerian marketing industry should not be caught napping as the era of Big Data dawns on everyone.”