In association with Unruly

In this exclusive Q&A with ExchangeWire, James Malins, chief revenue officer, Tremor Video, discusses the power of using actionable insights tools when conducting marketing research, and the ways in which brands can utilise such tools to craft an airtight strategy.

What’s the difference between actionable insights and broader market research? How can both help inform your overarching marketing strategy?

Broadly speaking, market research is the act of collecting information about consumers’ preferences, interests, and trends. Actionable insights, on the other hand, are directly and inherently tied to media activation; they’re about conducting research based on real-time insights from consumers, research you can then activate against with the click of a button. Both are important when it comes to understanding the broader market landscape and your consumers’ needs, but it’s important to remember the rate at which things can change and opinions can evolve. If you’re not using up-to-the-minute data, or are reliant on laborious months-long research, you’re already a step behind.

When using actionable insights tools, where should a brand or marketer begin? 

Always start with a specific question to which you want an answer. Ask yourself: Who should I be targeting? What matters to my target audience? What are my competitors saying to them? And so on. 

On a more granular level, there are a few ways you can approach actionable insights tools, such as our Brand Intelligence solution, and come up with these types of questions: By audience (defined by either demographics or overall interest in a given product or category); by a particular content theme or topic; or by time – seasonality, time of day, or day of week.

When putting together a strategy, it's important to consider all of these elements to gain an understanding of who, where, and when to be speaking to consumers. From that insight, you’ll then be able to put together more meaningful targeting recommendations and activations for your campaign.

Why is it important to understand the content a user is consuming beyond their interactions with your brand? 

Ninety-nine percent of the content with which consumers are engaging and interacting doesn’t come from brands. It comes from the articles they’re reading, the TV shows they're watching, the YouTube tutorials they’re following, etc. This is the content that ultimately shapes consumer opinion and determines what they care most about, so it’s imperative for brands to understand what this content is if they’re going to deliver the right message to the right audiences.

What types of data are most powerful here? And why?

In terms of the most powerful types of data, there are three main categories on which marketers should focus. 

First, the ability to identify audiences beyond stereotypes. Second, the ability to understand the overall amount of consumer interest in a particular topic or vertical, and how that may change over time. And third, the ability to comprehend what consumers are going to care about within a particular product or vertical. 

Ultimately, if you take the time to really dig in and understand these categories, you’ll have a much clearer sense, not just of what consumers are talking about and paying attention to, but of what you should be talking about and spotlighting – as a brand or marketer – to effectively reach them and craft a message that resonates.

How can a brand or marketer ensure they’re activating against the right audiences? And how can research tools help inform these activations?

Believe it or not, it all starts with the content, not a specific audience or demographic.  If you start by looking at who’s engaging with content relevant to your brand or vertical, it’s going to help eliminate stereotypes and allow you to build a strategy based directly on audiences who have been interacting with themes relevant to your brand. And research tools – particularly those tied to real-time media and data – can help accrue this content knowledge almost instantly.