JUST FOR YOU

“Hello… Is it me you’re looking for?”

“You’re damn right it is! Because I know exactly who you are, what you like, your interests and your shopping habits.”

It’s not quite what Lionel Richie was singing about when he harmonised “Tell me how to win your heart”, but it’s almost certainly a tune data-savvy marketers could find themselves humming when targeting a would-be consumer for their latest product launch.

Scary? Maybe a little, but it’s also the reality of marketing in the age of greater personalisation.

This issue of Nzmarketing is all about balancing data decoding with privacy parameters and is a natural progression of previous data features written over the past few months against the backdrop of the first- versus third-party cookie debate. In it, our team of writers seeks expert advice and analysis from those within the New Zealand marcomms industry who work closely with data and personalisation strategy to answer such questions as: You’ve got the big data, now what are you going to do with it? And: Why is it important to have reliable data when designing personalised messaging? Turn to page 38 for a discussion on how data is powering more personalised customer experiences.

Perhaps one of the most popular (and cost-effective) channels on which marketers can engage customers on a personal level is social media, but as our experts caution, just because you have data sets that can be sharpened, doesn’t mean they should be. Rather, social media marketers suggest that creative and authentic content goes a long way in engaging with audiences, something that’s especially true when customers are trusting you with their valuable data. You’ll find their advice on page 50.

The personalisation theme is central to my chat with a brand that’s achieving great things in this space – ANZ (page 30). The bank’s General Manager of Marketing tells me that personalisation in marketing involves a whole lot more than doing well with data – in fact, it extends to change management and understanding the whole marketing ecosystem of an organisation. Moving beyond the structural imperatives to personalisation, on page 36 Nicola Henshaw offers excellent examples she’s experienced of personalised marketing in action and discusses the psychology behind them. And on page 44, the marketing team at Sky talks to the media company’s new brand position ‘Life Needs More Sky’ and how it’s tapping in on a more personal level than we’ve seen from previous campaigns.

Also in this issue is a feature on the future of streaming and how Kiwi companies are navigating the market (page 60), and another on the changing face of PR and the brave agencies branching off into new creative offerings (page 86).

I’m sure – because our data and audience insights say so – that this issue will speak directly to you and help you better channel your marketing.