Data talks: Why smart marketers must listen

In the past, brands relied on traditional methods to measure campaign effectiveness, such as TV ratings, print circulation, sales figures, and customer surveys. The process of data collection was often slow and fragmented, lacking real-time insights, which made it difficult to accurately track consumer behaviour. Marketing success relied more on intuition and historical trends than on precise analytics.

Today, the landscape has undergone a significant transformation due to the emergence of digital tools, AI, and big data. Data-driven decision-making has emerged as the cornerstone of modern marketing, encompassing website analytics, social media engagement, and predictive modeling. This approach enables brands to optimise campaigns with greater accuracy and agility.

The sixth edition of afaqs! Digies saw industry experts delve into the topic ‘The power of data in crafting winning digital campaigns’. They discussed how data-driven insights shape campaign strategies, measuring campaign effectiveness, and outlined best practices for leveraging consumer data to drive engagement and conversions.

The panellists comprised Abhishek Agarwal, head of marketing and martech, Mahindra First Choice Wheels; Payal Mehra, brand manager - matches, and agarbatti, ITC; Jiteen Aggarwal, chief marketing officer, Hettich India; Ashok Shinde, VP of media and strategy, Pivot Roots; and Saurabh Khanna, vice president, agency partnerships and large client solutions, AudiencePro. The session was chaired by Venkata Susmita Biswas, executive editor, afaqs!

As brands increasingly integrate microsites into their ad campaigns to collect first-party data, it’s clear that data has evolved beyond a direct-to-consumer (D2C) strategy and is essential for FMCG brands as well.

Mehra emphasised the importance of a strong value exchange in the collection of consumer data. “When we think of data, first-party data is what comes to mind. In categories deeply rooted in tradition, such as mine, we realise that if consumers are engaging with our content and sharing their data, they should receive something valuable in return,” she explained.

Khanna noted that traditional brands, despite their initial reluctance, are beginning to embrace data. “There are three categories of brands we work with—legacy, traditional, and evolved D2C brands. Many legacy brands were new to data, but once they got onboard, they saw a 25-30% uplift in campaign efficiency. Now, they are evolving further by tracking new KPIs and integrating tech solutions,” he said.

Shinde highlighted how brands are fine-tuning their key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure data effectiveness.

“Digital has always been a data-first and measurable platform, but with that comes the responsibility of aligning data with business goals. Today, there is a stronger focus on ROI and proving the impact of campaigns from the boardroom to the market,” he observed.

However, challenges in measurement continue to exist despite advancements. Agarwal pointed out the difficulty associated with precise attribution in digital campaigns.

“Marketers still struggle to assign the right attributions to the right people. Integration is key. While multiple data platforms exist, integrating them and activating the right data at the right time remains a challenge,” he noted.

Watch the full session below: