Season 2 Episode 7
Leveraging Data for a Competitive Edge with Lisa Jillson at Arity

RESOURCES   ❯   The Marketing Rapport Podcast 5-7-24

Episode Summary

In this episode of Marketing Rapport, host Tim Finnigan welcomes Lisa Jillson, a seasoned marketing leader from Arity. Lisa shares her extensive experience, emphasizing the vital role of third-party data in developing effective marketing strategies. She articulates how integrating various data types can create a competitive edge, advocating for a balanced approach to data utilization.

Throughout the conversation, Lisa recounts her career journey, from her early days in advertising to her pivotal roles in corporate marketing. Her stories highlight the evolution of marketing tools and tactics, influenced by rapid technological advancements and the increasing significance of digital platforms.

Tim and Lisa also discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by the vast amounts of available data. Lisa offers insights into how Arity leverages mobility data to enhance transportation and insurance solutions, underscoring the importance of data in decision-making processes and customer personalization.

Guest-at-a-Glance

Key Insights

• Embracing Third-Party Data for Comprehensive Marketing Strategies Lisa Jillson emphasizes the critical importance of third-party data in marketing, particularly as industries adapt to the decline of traditional cookies. She argues that neither first-party nor third-party data can be effective on their own. Instead, a strategic integration of both data types is necessary to create differentiated marketing strategies that stand out in competitive markets. This approach allows marketers to make smarter, more informed decisions by providing a fuller picture of consumer behavior and preferences.
• How Technological Advancements Reshape Marketing Reflecting on her extensive career, Lisa Jillson discusses the transformation of marketing from simple broadcast methods to complex digital strategies involving sophisticated data analysis. Starting from basic television ads to leveraging digital platforms and data analytics, Lisa illustrates how technology has not only expanded the marketer’s toolkit but also increased the effectiveness of marketing campaigns by enabling precise targeting and personalization.
• Leveraging Data for Enhanced Customer Personalization Lisa highlights the power of data in crafting personalized customer experiences, a critical factor in today’s marketing landscape. By utilizing a combination of first-party and third-party data, companies like Arity are able to tailor their services to individual needs, thereby increasing engagement and loyalty. Lisa’s approach shows how data not only enhances understanding of customer behavior but also allows for the creation of highly specific offers that resonate on a personal level, thereby enhancing customer satisfaction and retention.

Episode Highlights

The Evolution of Marketing Techniques
Timestamp: [00:03:18]

Lisa Jillson reflects on the transformation of marketing strategies from traditional media to the integration of digital platforms. Starting her career in the era of print and television dominance, Lisa highlights how the marketing industry has embraced digital innovations, allowing for more targeted and effective campaigns. This shift has not only changed how marketers approach their strategies but also how they measure success.

“I actually started my career in the ad agency biz, a long time ago […] But God, marketing changed really rapidly […] digital marketing was really kind of starting to come into his own.”

The Role of Data in Marketing
Timestamp: [00:06:10]

Lisa discusses the critical role of data in modern marketing, particularly at Arity, where they leverage mobility data to enhance transportation solutions. She emphasizes how data-driven insights contribute to smarter business decisions and improve user experiences. Lisa’s insights reveal the depth of data integration in marketing strategies, aiming to deliver more personalized and effective solutions.

“Our focus area is really around mobility data and using data that is tied to transportation to really make transportation smarter, safer and more useful for everybody.”

Challenges in Adapting to New Marketing Technologies
Timestamp: [00:07:47]

Lisa shares her experiences with early digital marketing initiatives, including the first digital ad at Leo Burnett. She talks about the challenges and learnings from pioneering new marketing technologies, acknowledging that not all innovations yield success initially. This part of the conversation highlights the trial and error necessary in adapting to and utilizing new technologies effectively.

“So early on in my career, I had the opportunity to work on really like the very first digital ad […] It was not really a success. But now I think about, like, God, every restaurant I walk into uses QR codes.”

Personalization and Consumer Trust
Timestamp: [00:16:34]

Lisa and Tim elaborate on the importance of personalization in marketing and the need for transparency to build consumer trust. They stress how personalization should be handled with clarity to ensure that customers understand how their data is being used, which in turn, helps in building long-term customer relationships.

“You need to know more about that person so you can market to them and personalize it […] but they want to make sure it’s done in a correct way.”

Top Quotes

[00:09:31] Lisa Jillson: “Technology for a long time we talked about as being a whole separate area. I think technology is a part of everything that we do.”

[00:17:02] Lisa Jillson: “I think third-party data is not only valuable, I think it’s essential to making smarter marketing plans and strategies going forward. We’ve all kind of leaned into first party data, especially given lovely headlines of the cookie is dead and etcetera. But I don’t think that saying solely first-party or even second-party data is going to be enough.”

[00:17:49] Lisa Jillson: “Third-party data is essential to helping to differentiate you. You can’t look at any one of them as being the only thing that you can use. Third-party data alone doesn’t get you there. First-party data alone doesn’t get you there. Finding the intersection of the two is what’s going to set you apart and allow you to have a competitive difference in the marketplace.”

[00:19:00] Lisa Jillson: “Marketers sometimes get a really bad rap because we’re looking for innovative ways to communicate and we lose sight of the fact that we need to treat users like human beings.”

[00:20:29] Lisa Jillson: “We need to be transparent about where these insights came from and how it benefits the end user. We’re really focused on that across every aspect.”