You lead Client Success at Gain Theory. Tell us about your role and the practice you lead…
We do two things in Client Success. First, we convert the in-depth analysis created by our data and analytics teams into data-led stories that drive change for the organizations we work with. Second, we ensure that our clients have an amazing experience with us.
I’m lucky to have a fantastic team of diverse talents who our clients love. As a fast-growing business, my biggest challenge is finding more people who embrace our culture and help us to raise our game.
When it comes to the brands we work with, is there a common challenge that they’re all facing currently?
I’d say dealing with uncertainty is a challenge that unites all marketers at the moment. Prior to 2020, the biggest predictor of next year was this year. This largely meant brands could rinse and repeat their marketing plans, while allowing for optimizations that drove higher returns.
But in the last five years we’ve had to navigate a global pandemic, rapid inflation, wars, and huge shifts in where people spend their time and how they socialize. It’s something all of us are getting to grips with still.
To help marketers mitigate the effects of this ongoing uncertainty, we’ve introduced many of them to our foresight capabilities. Baking foresight techniques, such as scenario planning and war-gaming, into marketing strategies enables you to convert uncertainty into measurable risk.
For example, you can establish a probability for a range of different eventualities, such as the rate of inflation. In turn, this enables you to plan proactively and with more certainty for what might happen in the future.
Read more: How mastering the power of foresight helps marketers to plan more effectively
You contributed to the Profit Ability 2 report, which found that brands risk leaving significant levels of revenue on the table if they only focus on advertising that delivers in the short term. Can you elaborate on this?
Research from multiple sources, including Profit Ability 2, is clear: investing in long-term brand building is beneficial for business growth. But this is still challenging for brands that have to deliver quarterly numbers.
An interesting insight from Profit Ability 2 was that channels that deliver in the long term also deliver in the short term. Therefore, it’s a challenge of semantics and perception.
This can be overcome by using data to prove that, for example, channels like TV, OOH, and BVOD drive results in the short-term, just like social and paid search. The best media plan is always going to be a good blend of channels.
Read more: Profit Ability 2: Three key takeaways that prove advertising really is effective
What’s the best ad you’ve seen recently?
I love the TikTok ads from UK-based retailer Currys as they show how social can be used to build brands. They also demonstrate the power of loosening the ties on content creation – internal teams are encouraged to come up with ideas and are given free rein to create and activate the best ones. Dan Rubel, Currys CMO, is someone who really gets our industry, and it is great to see the brand go from strength to strength under his leadership.
What book would you recommend to our readers?
I’d like to recommend two books and a podcast about how data and analytics are used in football (or soccer for my American friends). Football is an industry with plenty of received wisdom that has taken a recent interest in how to use data and analytics to drive success. However, it feels like the buzz often outweighs the reality.
Rory Smith’s book Expected Goals plots the history of analytics in football, Ian Graham’s How to Win the Premier League does what is says on the tin, and the brilliantly geeky The Athletic FC Tactics Podcast provides a weekly view of the latest tactical trends.
While data and analytics feature in all three, the culture and people that truly drive change are also evident. For example, Liverpool FC would not have won the Premier League without the excellence of analysts Ian Graham, Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards and the buy-in of manager Jurgen Klopp.
Contact Matthew to discuss any of the issues raised in the Q&A.