Data in Digital Media
Data is reshaping digital media in a big way. There is now numbers to prove to people the facts on what's happening online. With this information, you can market better and see the truth of who is interested in what. The data is extremely beneficial to advertisers when beginning to roll out a new campaign.
Sometimes all this public data is helpful, and sometimes it can create tension. The Trades Desk, an ad-tech company, recently hit out on Google and Facebook for their digital data practices. In an article from CNBC, they say that the new campaign, “discusses how it’s different than “walled garden” companies, which don’t give advertisers a full picture of how their ads are performing”. This can lead to dishonest practices which is a slippery slope when it comes to the internet. Someone can see the wrong data or fake statistics are run with it until it becomes a huge problem. The article goes on to note that The Trades Desk is profitable even though they have a lot of competition. They want to give their clients the most accurate data and believe that is with their company and not through third party platforms that can possibly leave something out or only show you part of the data.
The study “Can Big Data Protect a Firm from Competition?” by Anja Lambrecht and Catherine E. Tucker also mentions how data can be used in the digital realm, but it's the most beneficial when it is organized and rare. You want the statistics that you cannot find anywhere and need tools to get to it. They state that big data is not valuable to firms since they probably have gathered that information already. What is valuable though, is the data below the surface that you can only get to using alternative tools. You have to know how to use the data to get the most out of it, which most people do not. For data to be used for competition, it has to be rare and valuable, which can be hard to find. Overall, data is playing a huge role in the digital media world right now. With all the software and agencies that can find the littlest details, it can either be very helpful or very critical.
Sources:
Lambrecht, Anja and Tucker, Catherine E., Can Big Data Protect a Firm from Competition? (December 18, 2015). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2705530 or https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2705530
Graham, Megan. “The Trade Desk's New Ad Campaign Pokes Google and Facebook in the Ribs.” CNBC, CNBC, 24 Sept. 2019, https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/23/the-trade-desks-new-ad-campaign-pokes-google-and-facebook-in-the-ribs.html.