Discussing The Value Of Data At The IAB Mobile Marketplace

During one of the early morning sessions of the IAB Mobile Marketplace, Kelly Jones of Microsoft presented consumer research that they conducted with fellow IPG company (and office neighbors) MediaBrands. To those who’ve seen our 2014 Outlook, these trends will sound familiar:

• Value Me: Consumers know their data is valuable, and are willing to exchange it for a reward.
• Enhancing the Real: Technology, and in particular mobile, should enhance real life
• Intelligently On: The shift from “always on” to more specific brand contact based on need-states
• My Analytics: The “quantified self” should provide consumers insights that allows them to improve their lives

The key to all of these trends is the value exchange, providing consumers with a benefit in exchange for their data. In fact, one of the questions we often get from visitors to the Lab is, “Aren’t consumers protective of their data?” But this jaded perspective is more prevalent amongst marketers, not consumers: multiple statistics indicated that at least 50% of consumers were willing to share data. If anything, most consumers assume that their data is already being collected, so they may as well get something out of it. Marketers that provide some value — whether time, money, social status, and so on — will find consumers open to working with them.