"Publishers need to invest in capturing customer profiles": Sunder Muthuraman, Gain Theory

Speaking at the 'Big Data for South Asia' media summit on opportunities for publishers to monetise marketers in the era of customer data , Muthuraman outlined how customer profiling and the ability to target differentially is the big shift underway.

The International News Media Association (INMA) hosted the 'Big Data for South Asia' media summit on May 26, at J W Marriott, New Delhi. Speaking at the gathering, Sunder Muthuraman of Gain Theory, WPP company, discussed various opportunities the 'Big Shift' holds for publishers.

With the rise of multiple marketing platforms, changing media habits and innovations with regard to content, brands and consumers are engaged in perpetual conversation. This has given rise to large volumes of data. The problem now is to identify actionable data, manage and monetise it for tangible gains.

According to Muthuraman, the immediate requirement is to invest in customer profile capture, more importantly for publishers. The outcome of this extensive data mining could be in the form of 'walled gardens', data stacks that can be shared for business benefits. However, he maintained that publishers and advertisers/ marketers should together be accountable for this information and work on achieving a "networked" flow instead of a "linear" one.

Suggesting opportunities for publishers to monetise marketers in the era of customer data, he opined that publishers can develop a data exchange and approach advertisers themselves with this exclusive information.

Another significant possibility, Muthuraman discussed was "personalisation." Capturing the extended footprint of a consumer, how the same person puts on a different persona along the day. He said that the world is changing in terms of how and where advertisers can get to a consumer and "ground level connect is going to be of enormous value."

Also learnt during the discussion that followed, was the fact that even top advertisers in India are not yet ready for the 'digital shift'. The focus has to shift to real-time data analysis in order to provide immediate and relevant advertising solutions for marketers. A hidden opportunity here is that publishers can come up with new ad units to further their business interests. However, this seems far-fetched.

The Big Data summit was a one-day crash course themed around 'Big Data for Big Gains: Increasing Readership and Revenues', specifically for South Asian media companies to decipher how to leverage smarter data for digital audiences and profit.

INMA is the world's leading provider of global best practices for news media companies looking to grow revenue, audience and brand amid profound market change. It aspires to be an essential resource in the multi-platform transformation of media companies that produce quality journalism and relevant content.

This mission is achieved by providing members access to ideas and professional contacts via blogs, case studies, conferences, publications, sales, marketing campaigns and marketing tools. INMA claims to have more than 6,000 members in over 80 countries today. Members are typically top executives involved in leadership and executive management, advertising, audience, digital, marketing, product development and research.