How Data-Driven Technology Informs Advertising Strategies in a Platform World

As the advertising world evolves to meet a younger and more digitally savvy audience, actionable data and measurement and behavioral insights are more important than ever. Leo Burnett Bucharest continuously finds new ways to leverage data and analytics to inform how marketers target their desired consumer base.

A new tool called the “TikTok Index” is transforming the way advertisers creatively engage with the humans behind the data, in real-time, to generate greater appeal for products across diverse industries.

We sat down with Irina Savu, Data Intelligence Director at Leo Burnett Bucharest, to learn more about this novel tool and the implications it has on the future of digital advertising.

You recently launched a new tool called the “TikTok Index” to measure and rank the performance of brand’s presence in a variety of industries. How do you operationalize this tool to give marketers a comprehensive overview of quantitative and qualitative content?

We launched this tool to help marketers make an informed decision on whether to enter TikTok. For those already active on TikTok, this tool helps them develop a content strategy based on quantitative and qualitative real-time data.

We are creating an online public platform with weekly updates on the quantitative data and offer subscriptions for in-depth qualitative and actionable analysis for each specific interest category.

What kinds of data does this tool measure to give you a better understanding of consumer behavior and brand affinity? Do you use this tool in-tandem with any other data analysis tools to gauge consumer behavior? 

Our index works from the public metrics available on TikTok and it mimics the algorithm TikTok uses to push content on the feed.

For some clients, we also track the changes in brand perception in our Publicis Groupe Brand Tracker, specifically for the young target segment. For others, we track the overall social media activity in their specific category to get a better understanding of what type of content works best on each platform.

How can this tool impact “social interaction?” What does this interaction between data and consumer outreach look like? 

Our mantra at Leo Burnett Bucharest is “The instinct of now,” meaning we place a great focus on all things that are new and how the young generation thrives off them. So, it was only natural for us to engage in this in-depth TikTok understanding.

Most of our clients are Gen Z-oriented. And we know that for Gen Z, the “coolness factor” is among top drivers towards brand preference. The bigger and juicier discussion is what coolness actually means to them.

Research shows that there are three core attributes of coolness – to be unique and stand out from competitors, to be popular and wanted by people their age, and to keep up to date with current trends.

Well, nowadays, TikTok is where trends are being created. It’s the ignition, the hot spot and everything in between. And it is the best place for a brand to interact with its young target in a truly cool – aka unique, relevant, and trendy – way.

How frequently do you review data, and what’s typically the “window of relevance” for the information you’re collecting? 

The data is updated weekly on the public platform. For our subscription clients, we also perform weekly qualitative reviews of the content, with actionable findings, to enable them to react in real time on this highly dynamic platform.

When you think about where the world is headed in terms of data automation, do you think there’s room for retaining the “human element” in how we’re adverting to people? Or do you see this becoming a more anonymous and automated process moving into the future? 

I think the human element will remain essential when it comes to communication. We are emotional beings, after all, and only the human mind can fully capture our fears, our desires, and how we cope with the world.

And, really, the TikTok universe is proof of that. People’s endless creativity, their ability to joke when things go bad, their propensity to depict the smallest, most insightful aspects of real life in such an entertaining way, to help each other, to stand together—none of these reactions and attributes can be replaced by automation.

So long as people expect brands to behave in the most human and relatable way possible and step up to help fix this world, then there should undoubtedly be a human behind the data.

Currently, this tool is being used in the European market to assess consumer behavior. Do you think there’s an opportunity to expand the tool’s use in other markets outside of Europe?  

Yes, of course. That’s the beauty of it. Our data-source solution is applicable to any market, and we are glad to share this tool with our colleagues all around the world.  We are now in the process of including the tool in the Global Product Card and will shortly have an update on when our colleagues can expect this tool to be available in their markets.