SYDNEY: Loyalty marketing and retargeting is no longer enough in the era of ‘mass personalisation’, according to a senior agency executive in Australia.

Both agencies and brands in Australia are rethinking how data can be used more effectively to engage consumers in the era of mass personalisation – but not any approach will do.

“If brands are thinking that (using loyalty data to target communication) is how they achieve personalisation and that’s it, their job is done, that is a false assumption because in the minds of consumers these things are table stakes,” said Anna Stoyanova, VP - Head of Product at Essence Australia.

Stoyanova believes brands need to be thinking about the next step up: she suggested utilising data to gauge changing behaviour. (For more details read WARC’s exclusive report: Trend report: Data management in the 'mass personalisation' era.)

“So if, all of a sudden, you start shopping more, then probably you’re living with somebody else,” she said. “If you start buying baby products, then there’s probably a baby in the house.

“What else can brands offer and bring to your attention that you might be interested in?” she asked.

For most brands, however, there are a few considerations to address first – namely what mass one-to-one marketing or personalisation looks like and how it will work.

“The obvious thing is offers and discounts for the products, but what about connecting with other services and products that may not necessarily be provided by the supermarket but are relevant to their consumers such as supermarkets that provide discount vouchers for petrol?” Stoyanova suggested.

“Being open to partner with other brands with the focus on the consumer is the next level when it comes to personalisation and relevance,” she said.

Sourced from WARC