Why do some media executions fall flat and others have that special something that captures the moment? You have worked hard to create the right product, explored pricing models, identified distribution channels and may have some ideas about your customers. Even when you know who they are, it is critical to know when and where to reach them.

Improve your aim through data-driven segmentation

Breaking it down to the most basic level, an advertising campaign involves designing a series of messages and investing in various media to reach a particular target consumer. Tastes, habits and influences change over time. Internal and external data sources guide the way.

Look for common denominators. In a consumer-centric world, identifying, understanding and tracking your target consumer is key. Segments should be:

• Sizable: This means that individual segments must be large enough to group into scalable message groups.
• Predictable: You should strive to measure and predict behavior by combining performance metrics with forwarding looking trend data.
• Actionable: Since the objective is to get customers to do something, it uses media and devices the audience prefers.
• Locatable: This means you should be able to identify individuals within the group. Demographic, geographic and psychographic variables are commonly used to find and segment your audience.

Look to the future by evaluating the past and the present.

Let’s say your product is a beach destination and you have been sponsoring a travel segment on a morning show for a few years. Several factors went into the decision including price, TV ratings and target audience. It seems to be doing ok, but would you make the same choice today?  Thinking beyond traditional age and income variable provide some insight. When we at beachgoers we see that the program’s index has changed over time. The dip between 2015 and 2016 indicates that it may be time to re-evaluate the media investment.

Measure early, measure often.

According to a 2016 Marketing signals survey study from Origami logic, 94% of respondents report that effective campaign optimization depends on timely and complete knowledge of marketing signals. The same survey points out that with the vast amounts of data often coming from disparate systems this is easier said than done. Marketers can expect to free up 15-30% of their promotional budgets by strengthening analytical insights and reducing key performance indicator (KPI) lag times. (Forbes/McKinsey 2016)

Revisit and refine your goals and objectives.

Not only should advertising and media objective support your overall marketing efforts, but your investment objectives should also be precise, clear and in measurable terms. This includes establishing a time frame.

Track and Optimize

Determine what data is needed and available to support the objectives. Media professionals use ratings, impressions, conversions and awareness and attitude studies to continually measure and optimize audience delivery. Information from your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) can add be cross-tabulated with these resources to provide valuable insights. Use of landing pages, call tracking and UTM codes all aid in data gathering. Most can be integrated directly into your CRM system.

With the use of data, you improve the odds of connecting with your audience at the right place and the right time.

There is a constant influx of new communication opportunities what we think of as traditional media or in mobile and digital arena. it’s really being able to understand what’s available in the market and using integrated data to keep up with the consumer.