#AOTYAwards spills: Edelman Data & Intelligence analyses the importance of relationships in data

Bagging the gold award for Market research agency of the year 2020 is Edelman Data & Intelligence. When it comes to market research, the company believes in "data with empathy". According to Thibault Moreau, head of Southeast Asia, Edelman Data & Intelligence, the team constantly asks different questions, apply data and methods in unique ways, and learn at every interaction to ensure it understands people more deeply. This enables the team to craft communications that cut through, establish connections that are meaningful, and build long-term trust between organisations and the people they want to reach.

Trust is also one of Edelman's core values, and Moreau (pictured) sees agency-client relationships becoming more purposeful than ever before. "Selecting a partner is no longer just about execution but values, purpose, and ability to understand the people behind the numbers," he added.

More on the interview here.

This interview is done as part of MARKETING-INTERACTIVE’s winners and finalists’ interview series. To find out more about the awards, click here.

What are some of the expectations your consumers now have for your brand?

Moreau: At Edelman, we have long been the leaders of studying trust and understanding how to build and manage it for individual businesses, brands, and organisations. In today’s turbulent times, lasting trust is the strongest insurance against competitive disruption, the antidote to consumer indifference, and the best path to continued growth.

Without trust, credibility is lost and reputation can be threatened. In addition to trust, our new capabilities in data and analytics and our integrated expertise across all spheres of intelligences enables us to apply multidisciplinary thinking to every client challenge. Our global organisation brings together over 350 research experts globally, comprising data engineers, behavioural science specialists, design thinkers and business scientists, powered by the best technology, partners, and shared passion. We have fostered an environment where we not only lead in collaboration across disciplines – but where we are constantly creating new expertise for the industry. An example of this is our new offering in accurately measuring the impact of marketing communication activities, positioning us as an essential partner for our clients. In bridging human understanding, predictive analytics, and performance measurement, we help our clients to act with certainty.

How has your marketing/your clients marketing plans shifted this year?

Moreau: The relationship between an agency and client is more purposeful than ever before. Selecting a partner is no longer just about execution but values, purpose, and ability to understand the people behind the numbers. Similarly, we have all gone through similar challenges this year and are therefore more global than ever.

This past year put an incredible amount of pressure on all professionals alike, and our clients are no different. Many quickly realised that post-COVID-19, the world would not be the same as it was before. While recognising the anxiety, we’re seeing many also consider how to rethink or even transform how they operate.

Most importantly, we see the importance of human connection across all the work we do. As our CEO recently said in AdAge, “Today people want more than to impersonally transact and consume. Seismic shifts in our society—brought on by COVID-19, the economic crisis and a global outcry over racial injustice—have shown that people derive a sense of self from every brand or business they choose to engage.”

What are some of the trends you see carrying on post-pandemic, and how are you readying your workforce to be ready with these trends?

Moreau: Data will certainly continue to take a more central position on what will define relationships between individuals, communities, and the institutions in the future. It means we have a responsibility to build mutually beneficial relationships.

People are becoming more vigilant and they are gaining greater control over the data and information they share. To earn access to this data, marketers will have to show evidence of their empathetic use. We call it data with empathy.

Our company culture, our business ethical principles and our personal values are all aligned for our people to utilise data for good and build this type of mutualistic relationships. 

What do you think makes for great marketing these days?

Moreau: We are lucky to be working with clients of all sizes and coming from diverse industries, we can truly appreciate the uniqueness of their challenges. An observation is that great marketing turns short term business opportunities into long term societal benefits.

From our Trust Barometer, we know there is strong desire for change and people look for businesses and CEOs to take the lead on addressing current societal issues. We also know that people agree a company can take actions that both increase profits and improve conditions in communities where it operates.

Marketing with courage, conviction and empathy can unite people. It is one of the strongest motivation when we open our laptops every day. 

How are you planning for 2021?

Moreau: Our clients are offering us the privilege to look at 2021 with optimism.

You can expect even more innovation and integration from us in 2021. Like every year, we will have a lot of very interesting findings to share with our unique IPs. We will also be launching new innovative approaches and tools for more successful communications.  

Our focus on talent will become more important than ever. This means both growing and rewarding the existing team in the context of the global crisis which has put immense pressure on our people. It also means attracting fresh diverse talent ranging from primary and secondary research through digital analytics to data science.   

We are extremely honoured to have won the gold award for Market research agency of the year in 2020. Behind us, it is an entire industry that will continue to innovate and push the boundaries. We are very admirative of all the great work done by our competitors and we know we will have to work hard if we want to win next year again. Therefore, we are approaching the months to come with the curiosity, ambition, and humility.  

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