Majority of consumers feel positively about personalised advertising

Adverts and bright signs in Times Square, New York.

58% consumers in the UK and US feel positively about receiving a hyper-personalised online ad.

This is according to research from Iterable, a cross-channel marketing platform, which surveyed 1,500 consumers.

The survey crossed two regions with very different data regulations. The UK, and Europe more broadly, has been proactive on data privacy. The Data Protection Act 2018 brought in the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (otherwise known as GDPR), imposing...

16 August 2021 | Advertising

Cannabis marketing platform Surfside raises £2.9 million

Someone weighing cannabis.

Surfside, an end-to-end marketing platform that turns first party customer data into personalised marketing for the cannabis industry, has raised $4 million (£2.9m) in Seed funding. 

Casa Verde led the round and Karan Wadhera, the firm's managing partner, will join Surfside's board of directors.

Surfside launched at the beginning of 2019 to help cannabis brands and dispensaries reach customers by delivering advertisements across connected devices. The technology is...

11 August 2021 | Big Data

Three online data collection tips guaranteed to improve your business decision-making

Two people with laptops, making notes.

Given current global economic turbulence, business leaders can feel like they’re building on quicksand. Rapidly changing consumer demands, intermittent lockdowns and fluctuating manufacturing and transportation costs are just some of the challenges they’re facing.

To remain competitive, it’s more important than ever for businesses to predict trends and anticipate market shifts. Data is the secret ingredient which enables them to do this with accuracy. And many are turning to...

30 July 2021 | Big Data

The antidote for an acute case of martech bloat

Marketing budgets are bouncing back to pre-Covid levels after what has been a tough year. But how marketers decide to invest that money has changed, with more resources being redirected to digital-first strategies. For example, the retailer Next recently announced it will now prioritise online marketing, stopping all other forms of marketing and promotion of its physical stores. As they change tack, marketers are expected to expand their investment in martech tools to support their digital...

27 May 2021 | Advertising Technology

Martech strategies: Make it, make it good, and make it happen

A marketing strategy that isn’t underpinned by technology and the right processes isn’t a strategy at all. It’s a waste of time.

The events of the last 14 months - as the global pandemic and resulting lockdowns have played havoc with existing business models - have demonstrated again the critical importance of direct contact with customers.

And unless that contact is tech-driven, it will be at best laborious, at worst completely dysfunctional.

Proper...

12 May 2021 | Advertising Technology

The six biggest myths holding back insight-driven businesses

Between economic pressures and ever-dynamic consumer trends, the past year has driven businesses to be more agile. If we’re looking for a silver lining to the pandemic, it’s that companies have accelerated their journeys toward data maturity.

But what does this mean for marketing operations? Despite the challenges, more and more businesses have turned to data to help reframe their priorities and achieve greater agility. While financial investment in this area is high – over...

20 April 2021 | Best Practice

Blockchain in digital marketing: More consumer trust – and new ways of advertising

Digital marketing is facing concerns relating to online activities, be it cyber security, data protection or transparency. Blockchain can help to consolidate customer trust in the digital world. It can give more online ad authenticity, brand transparency, support cross-promotion with influencers and reward customers for data sharing.

Platform businesses like Facebook pose challenges to many market players in digital marketing as they hold monopoly or duopoly. Furthermore, data...

19 April 2021 | Advertising

Never underestimate AI: How retailers can predict the unpredictable

From hoarding toilet paper to shops shutting their doors, it’s fair to say 2020 was one of the most disruptive years for retailers. According to the ONS, online sales grew by 46% in 2020, compared to the previous year. With consumer behaviour changing rapidly in response to the pandemic, retailers have had to adapt and keep pace with demand. This has been the perfect use case for automation, which has proved invaluable as retailers navigate a path through disruption.

The...

16 April 2021 | Automation

Three technical trends to consider for your data-driven marketing initiatives

As we look into the future, it’s important to remember that real widespread change happens slowly for such a large industry. People have been talking about assembling customer 360-degree views and utilising “big data” for closing in on 20 years, and articles detailing how effective and popular AI will be in marketing go back close a decade.

Which is not to say change isn’t happening, but that it comes gradually, in fits and starts as industry innovators latch onto a...

14 April 2021 | Advertising Technology

Why the marketing data ecosystem needs to up its game on certification and transparency

Most industries have voluntary certifying bodies that attest to the quality of their members.

For example, in the investing world, a chartered financial analyst (CFA) is someone who has been certified by the CFA Institute after having completed three rigorous examinations testing their investing and financial acumen.

Though taking the CFA Exam is voluntary, it has become the benchmark against which most investment professionals are measured, and its selectivity — fewer...

1 April 2021 | Best Practice