I’m Going on a “Data Raid” with Three Client-Side Practitioners in NYC on Thursday!
Consumer decisions are not made in a vacuum, so why do we continue to expect to get the whole truth from siloed data? These are puzzle pieces, not the whole puzzle!
The biggest insights opportunity for just about any organization today lies in bringing disparate data sources together to develop an entirely new, holistic and infinitely more useful picture of what’s driving the results we’re seeing (or not seeing, as the sad case may too often be).
This used to be a pipe dream, but today it is feasible. Unfortunately, one of the greatest barriers to achieving holistic insights is the organization, itself!
At the 2017 Marketing Metrics and Analytics Summit in NYC this week, I’ll be joining three savvy insights jocks on a roundtable to tackle “Breaking Down Black Boxes,” or, more specifically, “How to Address Communication Barriers When It Comes to Big Data.”
It’s a critically important topic, and I’m eager to unpack it along with Heineken’s Director of Data Science & Analytics, Shivanku Misra, Pandora’s Consumer Insights Director, Andrea Lopus Cardozo, and Matthew Koppel, Senior Manager of Digital Marketing at Next Issue Media.
There are several challenges with intra-organizational information-sharing. Frankly, data and insights are power, and so there are reasons that aren’t necessarily healthy, let alone optimal, behind why data-siloing persists in organizations today.
The good news is that it’s far harder than it used to be to hoard data. As software becomes more powerful in terms of handling merged data and analyzing different kinds of data, everyone’s data is more exposed.
This presents a tremendous opportunity for individuals or departments who are equipped to analyze these data themselves. I know I may not sound like a team player here, but in my experience when a committee is entrusted with mixed data, the process is slow, wasteful, and overly political/bureaucratic. The most effective mixed data initiatives I’ve seen have involved smaller, more agile actors within the organization who take on skunkworks projects that often incorporate other departments’ data to really outshine their internal competition.
I’m sure we’ll be discussing ways to circumvent miscommunication and “forging harmonious and mutually-beneficial working relationships,” but let’s face it: what’s work without a bit of friendly competition? 😉
I’m really looking forward to this event and hearing from some of the other very interesting speakers like Wharton Professor of Marketing Peter Fader. If you can get into NYC on Wednesday or Thursday, you should really consider attending. I’d love to see you there!
Feel free to use my speaker code [ODIN] for a $200 discount!
PS. If you’re not able to attend, or for some reason we don’t get a chance to speak at the event, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I love discussing how mixed data analysis can be an insights game-changer, and an important first step is getting access to the right data.
About Tom H. C. Anderson
Tom H. C. Anderson is the founder and managing partner of OdinText, a venture-backed firm based in Stamford, CT whose eponymous, patented SAS platform is used by Fortune 500 companies like Disney, Coca-Cola and Shell Oil to mine insights from complex, unstructured and mixed data. A recognized authority and pioneer in the field of text analytics with more than two decades of experience in market research, Anderson is the recipient of numerous awards for innovation from industry associations such as CASRO, ESOMAR and the ARF. He was named one of the “Four under 40” market research leaders by the American Marketing Association in 2010. He tweets under the handle @tomhcanderson.
