Z.E.R.O.: Zero Paid Media as the New Marketing Model

CHAPTER18

Become a Data Junkie

I'm not a “data guy”—whatever that means. I suspect you're not a data guy or gal either. Not many people are, and of these people, they're generally lower level or junior by title. Guess what? They will most likely end up being your boss, and sooner than you think.

Truthfully, we are all data guys or will need to be if we are to survive and thrive in the increasingly digital, connected, and social world in which we live, work, and play. Those of us who bet our careers on it will almost inevitably win.

The Geeks Will Inherit the Earth

I made this bet all the way back in 2004–2005, when I predicted that a scrawny, pocket-protecting, overbiting, Band-Aid-repaired glasses-wearing geek would win the Grand Prix at the Cannes Advertising Festival. Although I wasn't being literal (heaven forbid), I was quite serious about the importance of data in the formula of success in a world where creativity is codependent on insights fueled by data. Remember that word: fuel. It's coming back soon enough.

In 2013, cannes introduced an innovation category. Will 2014 or 2015 herald in the Data Awards?

Data Is Ground Z.E.R.O. of the New Marketing Model

We operate in a world of unprecedented clutter, where we are completely suffocated by an increasingly claustrophobic mix of noise and meaningless metrics (see Chapter 14). The very backbone of the paid media model is hopelessly outdated and inaccurate and fails to incorporate a suite of new variables associated with a postdigital ...