“’As long as you do not fully understand the behavior of your customers, you will not be able to develop any new products,’ said Emily Bell, director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University. Those who develop digital products based on a gut feeling and not on a comprehensive pool of data are flying blindly and can only fail.” —SIIA member Dietmar Schantin of the Institute for Media Strategies writing on the INMA site. Data was one of his five takeaways from a high-profile media workshop he held earlier this year

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet;” If Juliet were asking that question today, she might delay her answer. She would need to see the customer data on names and their impact on our thinking. She might survey customers with a choice of names other than Romeo. And she might even want to get some data on roses. They do have thorns, and another flower may engender better feelings. Direct Marketing Association’s name change last week to Data & Marketing Association should quell any last doubts about data’s ascension. “[Our rebranding] includes a new mission: to be the community that champions deeper consumer engagement and business value through the innovative and responsible use of data-driven marketing,” said CEO Tom Benton. “…our industry is not about a channel, it’s about data that inspires meaningful connections with consumers across all channels and devic ...

Let’s play, “Name That Innovative, Data-Driven Company.” Here are the clues: They carefully match people based on personality and other data. Both parties then look to get together for a good result. The applicant can make his or her decision based on past reviews of the other person. Their motto starts with “The best way to find a…” Match.com? eHarmony? Nope, it’s HomeLight—The best way to find a… real estate agent. What’s even more interesting about HomeLight for SIIA members is that they believe that good content contributes to their success. Their blog is excellent because the articles are data driven and of keen interest to anyone selling a house.             Devu Gandhi, VP of business development for HomeLight, just sent me their latest article, We Found the Best Time to Sell a House, and It’s Not When You Think. It lists dat ...

For 13 years, the Models of Excellence (MOE) program has answered one question: Who is resetting the standards for data excellence? One of the four companies chosen for 2016, DiscoverOrg is a leading global sales and marketing intelligence tool used by over 2,000 companies to accelerate growth. DiscoverOrg’s solutions provide a constant stream of accurate and actionable company, contact, and buying intelligence that can be used to find, connect with, and sell to target buyers more effectively.

“Part of what has made us so successful is that we worked hard to ask, ‘what are the challenges you’re facing?'” said Alex Wirth, co-founder of Quorum—a startup that wants to be the go-to for any state or federal legislative staff person. “Instead of just let’s build stuff for the sake of it. You learn what the problems are for people by going out and talking to 30 people in the industry.”

After speaking with all four Models of Excellence winners for this year’s Business Information & Media Summit, I can confidently say three things: