5 Data-Driven Advertising Trends Covid-19 Is Accelerating

“Over the last decade, the difference between brands that have flourished and those that haven’t boils down to one thing: data. Or more precisely, their ability to derive insights from data.” That’s how this short ebook, “5 Trends Transforming Data-Driven Advertising (and What To Do About Them)” begins. Focused on the changes in consumer behavior and marketing strategies and tactics caused by the pandemic, the ebook says, “The data-driven journey is now even more urgent following the upheaval from Covid-19.”

Written by Salesforce, the ebook, which appeared on Adweek Branded as “Sponsored Content,” breaks down each trend into 3 areas: Current State, What’s Next, and Take Action. The 5 trends, with brief excerpts from the ebook, are:

1) Data unification and identity

What’s Next: Think consumers’ expectations can’t get any higher? Think again. As brands compete with each other to deliver even more exceptional experiences, they will raise the bar for what high-quality customer relationships can look like. To keep up, marketers will need to unify data from many different channels.

2) Journey management

What’s Next: Journey mapping must become as sophisticated as marketers’ ability to collect and analyze data. The continued adoption of AI will help with this as more marketers apply it to crafting ideal customer journeys.

3) 1-to-1 targeting

Current State: 1:1 targeting and communications have been a goal for marketers since Don Peppers and Martha Rogers wrote the One-to-One Future in 1993. It’s just now becoming a reality, thanks to advancements in technology and data management.

4) Privacy and the post-cookie world

What’s Next: Europe’s GDPR was the start of privacy regulation and California’s CCPA is now in force. Expect other states to adopt CCPA-like regulations in the near future. It’s critical that you stay ahead of this by adopting a privacy-centric ethos.

5) Evolved measurement

Take Action: The first step in evolving your measurement process is analyzing your current system and finding its weak points. What’s important to your business right now, and how are your metrics helping you accomplish your goals?