Three data trends to look for in 2019

As we reach the end of the year, it’s time to prepare for a new one and, as the world of big data continues to develop at a ballistic rate, 2019 is set to be full of exciting developments and innovations. Here are just a few of them to look out for…

1. Mobile data in location planning

As new sources of big data continue to be developed, many are helping brands to understand more about location planning, an aspect that, in many ways, has remained in the dark ages until recently.

Mobile apps have grown ever more sophisticated and so has the data they are able to collect. This anonymous location data will be able to help brands with countless issues, from understanding where the best place to open a new store is, to analysing where would be the most optimal locations to advertise.

Mobile location data will allow us to understand where people are concentrated most at a specific time of the day, extremely valuable information for a whole range of departments within a company.

With the proper regulation, 2019 will be the year where we see the growth of mobile location data being used lawfully to help brands make more customercentric decisions.

2. AI-led creative

It’s a trend that really began emerging this year. But it will be 2019 that will see huge strides made in developing the capability to use AI to inspire the creative process in advertising and marketing. This December, we saw the release of the new Lexus advert, which was developed entirely by AI – and this is only the beginning.

‘AI-led creative will revolutionise everything from customer communications to through-the-line marketing’

It is the use of social data that has been the biggest driver towards achieving AI-led creative. By matching a brand’s customers on social media and analysing what they are passionate about, based on their likes and what they follow, you can understand exactly what kind of content will resonate with them.

As algorithms become more and more sophisticated, they will be able to automatically scrape social sites and websites for images and text that most relate to the passions of specific segments of people.

In short, AI-led creative will revolutionise everything from customer communications to through-the-line marketing. It will allow brands to develop content that is guaranteed to resonate with customers because it is based accurately on their actual passions. It will bring a whole new level of personalisation to communications that has not been seen before.

3. Personal control of data

2018 was the year for data scandals, with Facebook and Google, among other tech giants, caught using personal data without the user’s permission. However, this was answered with GDPR and greater government interest in how the tech giants use personal data. The result? People like Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Sundar Pichai of Google appearing before Congress.

‘2019 will be the year where we start to see true data democratisation’

Meanwhile, Tim Berners-Lee has continued to develop Solid, an open source project that aims to restore power and agency on the web to individuals. The project visualises a world wide web where every individual will have complete control over their data.

And there are others like it, such as Changefly and dweb. That is why 2019 will be the year where we start to see true data democratisation. As other smaller tech companies emerge and the dominance of the big four is ruffled, they will look to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors, allowing consumers to have a greater level of control over their personal data and thus gaining their trust and their loyalty in the process.