How to put a spark in your data

Most marketers today are well-aware of the importance of leveraging data in creating campaigns, understanding their audiences, and remaining relevant to their consumers. However, just because it is important, doesn’t mean it has been fully embraced.

A McKinsey article – “Connecting for growth: A makeover for your marketing operating model” – revealed that 64% of marketing leaders globally say they make marketing decisions that aren’t primarily influenced by analytics.

This gap in data-based decision-making is usually caused by the lack of a clear and competitive data strategy to identify the right level of insight, capability and tech gaps preventing the use of real-time data, and gaps in consumer understanding and data availability, said the report.

Here in Asia, challenges that crop up time and again for marketers include the breaking down of silos, and of course, a move away from reliance on third-party cookies. One of the primary struggles, many marketers say, is in areas such as personalisation and dealing with limitations on first-party data usage.

But help is available. Singapore-based independent digital-marketing consulting firm Sparkline is a company that strives to ease data measurement and analysis burdens for marketers to deliver personalised solutions. The company aims to help clients achieve superior returns on investment (ROI), and empower businesses to use first party data to make better decisions about the customer experience in light of the challenges marketers face when using data.

What sets the company apart in a market flooded with digital agencies is its expertise in the use of Google Analytics 4, a core tool within the Google Marketing Platform, that helps integrate and measure cross-platform behaviour data and conversion data from owned media.

“Although Google Analytics is not a new solution, its importance is growing in today’s environment,” said Sparkline’s chairman, Naohiro Yamaura. He added that with an increasing focus on compliance with data regulations and privacy protection, the traditional approach of “measuring everything” is becoming more difficult, which makes it essential to rely on AI to fill in gaps in the data.

“Google Analytics 4, combined with Google’s powerful AI solutions, is becoming an even more indispensable tool in this context,” he said.

In fact, to help marketers in their journey into the world of data and analytics, Sparkline (as a Google Analytics 360 reseller) is holding an event titled “Where should we head in 2025 for data strategy?” that revolves around harnessing Google Analytics 4 for strategic growth – targeting senior marketing leaders across various fields, including martech, marketing data measurement and analytics.

At the seminar, there will be a wealth of insights shared along with cutting-edge case studies from the Japanese market, which is at the forefront of Google Analytics adoption. The two-hour event will take place at One & Co on 25 February 2025, featuring an overview of Google marketing platform updates for 2024 and interesting fireside chats. This will be the first time the event has been held in Singapore since Sparkline joined the Ayudante Group (Tokyo-based digital-marketing leading company, www.ayudante.jp) in 2024.

“We aim to highlight what marketers need to focus on in 2025 to make the most of their data, and we have 50 seats available for the event, and we hope to welcome as many participants as possible to experience the fresh energy and expertise that Sparkline brings to the table,” he said.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: What are the biggest shifts impacting marketers today?

Yamaura: After the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses across industries became focused on leveraging online platforms and digitising communication. No matter the industry, companies now have the ability to share marketing messages through owned media such as their website, mobile apps, or video platforms. This shift allows for deeper engagement by directly interacting with their audience.

Amidst this, companies also now need to pay closer attention to the importance of user behaviour data collected from their owned media. Online users freely move between websites, mobile apps, and video content, seeking to meet their needs. So, when it comes to utilising online behaviour data for marketing, it is well-known the most valuable assets are user behaviour data from owned media and conversion data such as purchases.

With AI at the centre of attention for marketers worldwide, its biggest contribution to digital marketing lies in its predictive capabilities. With AI, we are on the verge of solving one of the most critical challenges in marketing: improving and refining targeting accuracy. It will not be long before marketers are freed from the manual aspects of this process.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: What challenges arise when it comes to data collection?

Yamaura: Many advertisers find themselves in a challenging environment, facing uncertainties around third-party cookie regulations, privacy compliance, and data security governance. These concerns are significant, but businesses still need to carry out their marketing activities. This is why there is growing attention on leveraging first-party data.

For marketers, improving targeting accuracy to enhance campaign efficiency is an ongoing challenge. With AI gaining significant traction, the focus has shifted to making better use of first-party data. However, it is not a magic solution. It is time for marketers to move beyond just relying on the dashboards of ad platforms and take a more serious approach to first-party data.

As mentioned earlier, user behaviour and conversion data from owned media are among the most critical data assets for marketing. As it becomes increasingly difficult to measure complete datasets, improving the accuracy of owned media data collection and integrating it effectively with Google’s AI platforms will likely become a key action for effective campaign management.

This article was done in collaboration with Sparkline.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: Your company is an expert in GA4 analytics and data management. How can marketers keep up with all the changes?

Yamaura: The most important takeaway is that the significance of leveraging owned media for business growth is increasing across all industries, regardless of sector. This applies not only to B2C businesses, but also to B2B.

In my experience, over 80% of web traffic for B2C companies now comes from mobile devices, and B2B businesses are quickly catching up. We are entering an era where websites, mobile apps, and video content on smartphones connect not only consumers and client companies, but all stakeholders. At this point, the necessity of user data from these owned media touch-points speaks for itself.

Google Analytics 4 is the only tool capable of measuring cross-platform activity and seamlessly integrating this data for analysis. The data collected through GA4 is not just for measuring performance or KPIs. It should be treated as a critical asset that can drive overall business strategy. While data measurement environments are becoming increasingly unstable, this is precisely why investing in GA4, which operates on Google’s AI platforms, offers undeniable value.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: How can marketers maximise their ROI on data spending in 2025?

Yamaura: To maximise ROI on data spending in 2025, marketers need to build a seamless process for utilising data effectively. Here are three key points to focus on:

1. Importance of data measurement

This is not just about collecting data, but understanding that the data you see in your tools’ dashboards often lacks most of what your marketing efforts truly need. As mentioned earlier, gaining insights into user behaviour on owned media, such as websites and apps, requires digging deeper and designing a data measurement strategy aligned with your marketing goals.

2. Integrate with cloud environments to enhance analysis

By leveraging the data measured through GA4 in a cloud environment, businesses can integrate it with their broader data assets, maximising its value. Google is rapidly advancing the implementation of Gemini on Google Cloud, which will help marketers reduce the burden of data analysis so they can focus on strategy.

3. Optimise AI for data completion and prediction.

By repeatedly using AI for data completion and predictions, AI will become a valuable agent tailored to your business needs. By developing a dedicated data utilisation platform, businesses can not only increase their ROI, but also free marketers from the heavy workload of data analysis. Focusing on these areas, marketers can make their data investments work harder and achieve better results.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: What are the key data strategies marketers should be aware of in 2025?

Yamaura: To build a complete platform for leveraging data analysis, as mentioned earlier, marketers in 2025 will need to overcome not only technological and legal challenges, but also significant hurdles within their own organisations. Developing strategies to navigate and address these challenges will be one of the most critical focuses for the year.

To register for the Sparkline Seminar Series event on 25 February, click here.