The Future of Direct Marketing: Data-Driven Media Mix Optimization

Based on the aforementioned vastly differentiated value of customers, brands will do more than just purposefully discern how they invest and optimize their media. They will plan and measure right down to the impression level. The benefits go beyond the concept of the "right message at the right time." Brands that have the capability to empower these new forms of media will be able to determine if the impression should even be delivered in the first place!

I affectionately call this concept "Narrowcasting," and many organizations do this today in the form of direct marketing.

Not Everyone Gets It
You think that insight abounds?! There are plenty of new technologies that use behavioral, average audience, in-market activity and context. Wouldn't this provide the level of targeting needed to increase efficacy? Not quite.

A Comscore 2009 study covering billions of dollars in display ad spend arrived at the conclusion that 80 percent of "targeted" display ads fail to reach their intended audience. There is the simple fact that a brand's target audience advertising impressions actually fail at an incredible rate.

While these solutions with their media properties and networks offer audiences of their own, they are a poor substitute for the advertiser's own insights. These media may be interesting, but offer too narrow a field of vision.

These are a poor proxy for the deep insights about the preferred audience that many brands possess today. They can assign a customer value based on many things, including transaction history, price sensitivity, brand affinity, in-market timing, preferences, demographics, lifestyles and much more. These insights are unique to the advertiser, the result of millions invested in research and information systems, and a frequent source of competitive advantage. This better aligns the brand to high value customers than would the inventory that a publisher has to sell.