Navigating Hyper-Personalization: From Sci-Fi to Reality in Advertising

Source: Deloitte's - Connecting with meaning - Hyper-personalizing the customer experience

As someone who's always been intrigued by technology and science fiction, I vividly recall watching the 2002 film "Minority Report," directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Cruise. Back then, the notion of billboards recognizing Tom Cruise's character and displaying personalized advertisements felt like an idea from a distant and fantastical future. The mere concept of strolling through malls or walking down the street while being surrounded by tailored ads appeared entirely implausible. Although facial recognition technology is still in its early stages, the world of advertising is changing rapidly, thanks to technological advancements, especially AI.

Before, the idea of hyper-personalization in advertising was complex and expensive, making it not very practical for most brands. But now, AI is changing this by breaking down the barriers of traditional ways of putting people into categories based on things like age and interests. This shift is taking us into a new phase where predictive personalization is becoming a main focus, going beyond the usual methods of marketing.

But what exactly does hyper-personalization mean? It's about going much deeper than traditional methods of categorizing individuals based on factors such as age and interests. It's about targeting individuals in a detailed way by focusing on even the smallest things that make them unique. To make this possible, companies mix the information they gather directly from customers with data from different sources. This combination helps them build complete customer profiles, giving them a real understanding of what people like and how they behave. By using tools like analytics, AI, and automation, companies can then create deeper and more meaningful connections with their audiences.

Now, you might be wondering why, as a marketer, you should put your time and effort into hyper-personalization. The reason is simple: it can help you increase your revenue through content that's driven by data, precise targeting of products, recommendation systems, and individualized pricing that adjusts in real-time. This approach not only boosts conversion rates by showing ads that match individual interests, maybe even before those interests are apparent, but it also reduces the costs of acquiring and keeping customers. What's more, using automated and dynamic creative saves money in designing ad content. This dynamic approach doesn't just apply to the ads people see—it also extends to dynamic landing pages and websites. It's a comprehensive strategy that's set to reshape how marketing works.

You might be wondering, how do you actually start? Well, it begins with creating a personalization strategy and looking into the information your organization already has. Think about where your organization aims to be in the future and figure out the data needed to make that transition. This can include simple things like sending personalized emails or more complex endeavors like tailoring customer landing pages.

After that, it's about sorting out your customer database. Combine your own data with external data sources. Your own data includes things like previous interactions, shopping patterns, and demographics gathered during business transactions. External data is information from third parties that can fill in gaps, such as media preferences, household income, interests, life events, and buying habits. To handle all this and create detailed customer profiles that draw from both your own and third-party data, you'll want the best Audience Management Platform or Data Management Platform (DMP).

A DMP acts as a central hub, bringing together and organizing audience data from various sources—whether that's from online, offline, mobile, and more.

Lastly, think about ways to automate reporting and analysis, enabling your teams to make well-informed decisions.

To learn more about hyper-personalization, check out these articles:

E-Commerce 3.0: The Future Of Retail Is Hyper-Personalized

AI in Ecommerce: True One-on-One Personalization Is Coming

Hyper-Personalization Is Already Here — Its Future Is Even More Cutting-Edge