Redefining "Data"

Data is getting a bad rap. Both in definition and in operation. It’s become the latest buzzword getting thrown around the office and the cause of many eye rolls.

The truth is, data is a big word with broad applications. It’s not just used by engineers or data scientists. And it’s not just about elusive numbers that need to be cleaned, extracted and deciphered. Data – by definition — is much bigger than that, and therein lies the problem.

Data is nominal, ordinal and everything in between. It is facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis. At the end of the day, this glorified word, “data,” is just information that we use to make better decisions. Plain and simple.

It’s time to give this lofty buzzword some grounding and we can do so by being specific about what kind of data we’re working with and what we want to do with it.

Whether or not we need complicated queries to extract it or just an interview with a consumer to get it, it takes valued minds to give data any meaning.

I recently read a fantastic article Data is Just Poorly Branded Insights and couldn’t agree more. While data in the quantitative sense might be having its heyday, it has been around the proverbial block whether you’ve realized the value of it or not.

And because of the current limelight on consumer & performance data, it’s prompting the question of how much to use it or to specialize in it. Especially in the ad biz.

Art vs Science

There’s a tendency for brands to pick agencies that specialize in an area like creative or measurement and with more data collection and automation tools, it’s creating even more pressure to pick a side.

One argument is that agencies don’t want to be stuck in the middle of an industry that’s already in hot water. My thought is that the middle might be kinda cozy. Meaning, it might be advantageous as it allows agencies to be more flexible in fast changing industries and with agile clients.

Plus, when we break these two apart as separate functions with their own expertise, we remove the very reason for the two existing in the first place. At the risk of over simplifying, the goal of creative is to get better metrics, the goal of measurement is to make better creative. It’s an existential crisis at its finest.

If the goal is progress, treating art and science as either/or functions, is not the way to go.

Connecting the Dots

Right now secondary data is a bit like a scavenger hunt; it’s a bunch of scattered pieces waiting to be collected. But the potential value for businesses is insurmountable.

Data is constantly collected but of course it takes a lot more elbow grease to make it mean anything. Analysis takes rigor, thoughtfulness and interpretation — it’s not just about reporting on metrics. The key is to see that data for its potential, and not just a scary spreadsheet.

Making sure you always have your goal/question in mind is key to connecting the dots.

Like with any type of exploration, it starts with a question and often times can be boiled down to: Is the data meant to inspire or inform? Cases in point:Cisco uses social data to inform business initiatives and event sponsorships. When we think about inspiring creative, data can serve as a springboard for an insight. Nike’s Unlimited You ad is strategic insight at its finest. In this case it was a message that challenged the idea of finding your limits.

There is a saying that one day in the library saves a month in the lab and the same thinking applies here. If we can attempt to wrangle the overwhelming amount of information we already have, we’ll have the opportunities to string together all the disconnected dots leading to more ideas and innovations.

Automation is Here

I think we can all agree that the goal of technological innovation is to advance us from our current state of being. Automation was born to alleviate the burden of manual data collection, analysis and basic optimization.

Mark Cuban thinks the next wave of innovation will be “the automation of automation” saying that software will soon be writing itself leaving engineers and other technical careers in the dust.

Many fear that workers will lose their jobs to automation and have gone so far as dubbing a new term — the “use-less” class. I say that kind of thinking is simple-minded and fearful. The inquisitive and problem-solving mind of a media planner/engineer/mechanic will always be valued and needed. It’s the current application that will fade into the background making room for the new ones.

What does this all mean? It means we have to focus on something else and not cling to dying industries that won’t advance us.

Innovation isn’t something to resist, but to embrace. As we move into a new era focused on technological advancement combined with global issues, problem solving will be needed beyond the tech world, but will be a critical skill for society and culture.

There’s never been a more appropriate saying about “data” — the possibilities are endless as long as we stay curious and optimistic.