The rise and rise of audience data

Audience data has come a long way in the last couple of years, primarily because it is critical to marketers staying ahead of the curve. By harnessing the power of data, brands are able to connect with their audiences at a human level. It also enables advertisers to monitor data trends and deliver more targeted ads to their audiences.

The Eyeota Index Q3 uncovered an 11 per cent rise in audience data expenditure for online ad targeting. Sociodemographic data proved to be the most popular segment category utilised by UK advertisers, demonstrating its continued dominance as the ‘backbone’ for programmatic campaigns.

Purchase Intent was the second most popular segment and accounted for 17 per cent of advertisers. Together, Sociodemographic and Purchase Intent segments build a comprehensive profile of the consumer, enabling companies to target them with relevant information and maximise the return on their data spend.

As the biggest spender on audience data, Finance advertisers used Sociodemographic and Purchase Intent segments to promote personal banking products, whilst Electronics & Computers advertisers spent the most on B2B data, targeting IT professionals and business professionals. More significantly, Automotive advertisers almost exclusively used Sociodemographic data such as car ownership to target consumers.

The sectors that amplified their budget the most were the F&B, Multi-media and Retail sectors. The F&B sector expansion was driven by fast-food chain restaurants targeting student Sociodemographic profiles, especially during the school holiday period. The expansion in audience data investment within the
Multi-media sector was due to the launch of new television programmes through online streaming companies seeking families and households with children.

Conversely, the Retail sector’s expansion was due to department stores that were new to audience data and other brands boosting spend to promote campaigns to mothers and parents. This is unique as it shows that it is not just the ‘usual suspects’ such as the Electronics & Computers sector utilising audience data to target potential customers.

In this age of data-driven marketing, there is an obvious need for marketers to take full advantage of audience data in order to send the right message to the right user. The power of data is that it allows brands to tell stories to people who want to listen. By segmenting audiences and targeting each with a relevant message, agencies can take creative risks to compel consumers to do that most valuable of things: engage.