Having been a data planner for some 15 years, it’s heartening to see it’s not just data planners who are getting excited about data; how much there is, how secure it is, but moreover, how valuable it is.

1. The Imperfect Store.
Neil Johnson
Head of Data Planning
Agree/Disagree?
Let Neil know:
neil.johnson@brightblueday.co.uk
Having been a data planner for some How they completely dominated the market remains somewhat
contentious (see Adam Cohen’s delightful “The Perfect Store” (2002),
targeted by brands. And right now, I’m looking for the privacy settings
that prevent eBay from exploiting me, but they seem to be remarkably
15 years, it’s heartening to see it’s not for more on this). But one thing’s for sure, they got the model right – well hidden...
a community approach underpinned by strong community values.
just data planners who are getting And data was at the heart of everything they did. Feedback ratings Which brings us to two important trends. Firstly, “Profile Myning”
excited about data; how much there (a community idea) created reputations that enabled users to transact
with trust. Data empowered the consumer. More transactions equalled
(see http://trendwatching.com/trends/10trends2010/). The most value
enhancing thing a brand can do is to empower consumers with their
is, how secure it is, but moreover, more trust. More trust equalled more transactions. They created a data (guess what eBay, it’s not actually yours to sell). Value to consumer
virtuous cycle of trust, powered by data. = profit to business. And what a lot of data they’ve got.
how valuable it is. Just imagine the value they could add. And the most imaginative
Now I’m a big fan of eBay. I’ve been a community member since 2002. thing they’ve thought of is to sell it through the Royal Mail. #Fail.
I’ve got 139 feedback ratings. I even worked there. They now have more
The question is often one of “commoditisation”. In other words, how data than any brand could hope for. A global customer base of 233 million One more thing. Smart brands are helping their customers. Which
do we turn data into hard cash. And it seems eBay had the answer. It’s (tellingly they refer to us as customers now, not community members). 14 brings me to trend #2. “Brand Butlers”: http://trendwatching.com/
simple, you repackage it, anonymise it (but just enough to avoid falling million active users in the UK alone. At any one time, up to 10 million live trends/brandbutlers/. Take the Virgin Atlantic Taxi2 service. It helps
foul of data protection legislation), and sell it to the highest bidder: listings, across 13,000 categories. Data on the brands I’m interested in, my travellers find a suitable taxi companion at their arrival point on
http://www.research-live.com/news/news-headlines/royal-mail-taps- purchasing (and selling) habits, how I engage with the community and how providing their flight number and onward destination. A lovely example
ebay-data-for-direct-marketing-targeting-tool/4002211.article the community engages with me. I’m one of those 14 million customers, of how a brand takes customer data (in this case, commercially
and feel like eBay has sold me out. And I think you should too. available flight information) and delivers maximum value to their
Which made me wonder, how can a brand that got it so right for so customers, at minimum cost to serve. You don’t even have to be flying
long, now have got is so wrong? They were THE community led brand. The message to eBay...don’t just exploit your members for profit. Virgin Atlantic to benefit. An elegant way to demonstrate their core
The world’s biggest marketplace. By the community, for the community. Why not repackage our data, add value, and give it back to us. For proposition of enhanced customer service, and maybe win a
So why have the champions of the new consumer democracy debased our benefit. We could use it to discover brands we’re interested in few new customers in the process.
themselves to the level of a list broker? conversing with, it could give us social currency to engage with each
other, and with the brands we love (and will love). And in the process, I Head of Innovation at eBay take note. This isn’t innovation.
might just fall in love with you again. We’re not sitting here waiting to be This is in your DNA. Neglect at your peril.
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