Colin strong main stage - 2013

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Colin Strong, GfK, UK
Festival of NewMR 2013 - Main Stage
Does the ‘uncanny valley’ signal the point that big
data ends and market research starts?
Colin Strong
GfK UK, MD Technology

Marketers consider Big Data to be a game changer
Very important
53%
Somewhat
important 33%
Neither / nor
11%
Importance of Big Data
“Data has always been and will continue
to be…important for marketing
professionals. Technology now offers us
the ability to exploit this data to much
greater degrees and marketing becomes
much more sophisticated as a result.”
HOW BRANDS USE PERSONAL DATA

Drivers of take -up
 Cut through in a cluttered market
 Personalisation driving competitive
advantage
 Necessity borne from Big Data arms
race
 ROI marketing effectiveness
HOW BRANDS USE PERSONAL DATA

Consumers are generally perplexed
 General awareness that:
• much of their online & shopping activity is tracked
• most companies do this and trade collected data
 But not clear about what information is being collected
about them
 Consider companies are not clear about what data is
collected and why
CONSUMER RESPONSE TO PERSONAL DATA USAGE

To what extent can personalisation hit the target?
27%Consider the products and
services recommended for
them are different to those
recommended for other
people
HOW EFFECTIVE IS CURRENT USE OF PERSONAL DATA?

“It is questionable whether any
computer will be able to capture the
subtlety and personalisation that real
human beings demonstrate across
social contexts”

81%
Consider they are more likely to
give their business to companies
they trust to use their data
appropriately
CONSUMER RESPONSE TO PERSONAL DATA USAGE

38% Claim they have taken
steps to block the display
of online advertising
Consumers may take control into their own hands
47%
Claim they want more
control over the way their
personal data is used
CHANGING CONSUMER ATTITUDES

Is there an uncanny valley for brands?
Chart by Masahiro Mori and Karl MacDorman
69% Consider it creepy the
way brands use their
personal data
CHANGING CONSUMER ATTITUDES

A new movement in personal data: Quantified Self
 Larry Smarr used self tracking to identify he was developing
Crohn’s Disease before doctors
 Health and fitness have been the big early drivers of the QS
movement
 Devices e.g. Fitbit tracks activity, Zeo measures sleep
cycles
 Pooling of data e.g. CureTogether and PatientsLikeMe
 Now broadening to include financial spending behaviours,
emotions and moods
THE EMPOWERED CONSUMER

New sources of personal data
 Governments worldwide starting to force companies to
release the personal data they hold on consumers
 Brands starting to plan to build tools to give consumers
access to the data they hold
 e.g. Tesco, O2
 Start-ups providing consumers with the tools to access
and mine their own data
 consumers can pool their data for benchmarking
their activity
 Some companies will offer other data collection tools
for consumers, such as digital tracking
.
THE EMPOWERED CONSUMER

What about the market research industry?
 Changing expectations about the nature of the value
exchange
 Declining response rates: Trying to address with better
engagement, incentivisation, gamification of surveys etc
 But in an era where the balance of power shifts
further to the ‘respondent’, will these be enough?
 Does the research industry need to start exploring entirely
new business models?
 How can we address ‘What’s in it for me?’
IMPLICATIONS FOR MR

Two case studies we can learn from:
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IMPLICATIONS FOR MR

A new role for market research?
 Original role for market research was to facilitate the
value exchange between brands and consumers
 Environment has changed, consumers now see MR
as being ‘on the side of business’ not consumers
 Now seeing start-ups emerge which perhaps signpost
a new role for MR value exchange
IMPLICATIONS FOR MR

Conclusions:
 MR needs to challenge the dominance of database marketing companies in
the Personal Data Economy
 Consumer attitudes are changing – less willing to accept the traditional
models
 MR needs to find a new value exchange with consumers – the old one does
not look fit for purpose
 The Personal Data Economy has the potential to provide this new model for
market research

THANK YOU
Colin Strong
GfK UK
MD Technology
Tel: +44 (0)20 7890 9186
Twitter: @colinstrong
Email: colin.strong@gfk.com

Q & A
Colin Strong
GfK UK
Andrew Jeavons
Survey Analytics

Colin strong main stage - 2013

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