There are five problems with data-driven marketing as it exists today. They may be obvious, but consumers are still adversely affected. Take a couple minutes to think like a consumer and not like a marketer, then consider how wonderful the world would be if we truly embrace the concept of consumer-guided advertising.
Whether or not you agree, the following hypothesis has been tested seven times by multiple Fortune 100 brands:
Hypothesis: ROAS improves when consumers guide the advertising process.
The testing is over, at least for one of the largest global brands. After multiple campaign applications, the results are clear. While a hypothesis by definition can never be 'proven', this one is yet to be disproven. Every time it was tested, the outcome was a significant savings from increased return on ad spend (ROAS). Equally important were the positive implications for brand and customer loyalty.
The future of advertising is bright and consumers need not have a target on their backs. Will consumer-guided advertising supersede data-driven marketing as it exists today? Well, it already has for leading global brands -- and the reality is that big data will only make it peform better.
Twenty-Ten is putting consumers first in the advertising process and that's a very good thing.