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As the eighth annual Advertising Week comes to a close, a few themes remain clear: despite the recent economic downturn, advertising dollars are flowing, media innovation is expanding, and new marketing techniques are governing the future of the industry.

In a recent Wall Street Journal article titled “Data and Storytelling Come Together at Advertising Week,” blogger Ty McMahan recaps one Ad Week session titled “Masters of Monetization.”

Interestingly, the panel itself, comprised of digital power players from companies like AT&T, Facebook and Groupon, addressed very little of actual dollars and quite a bit about the concepts of data and storytelling. In particular, the panelists argued that as multi-billion-dollar digital advertising businesses emerge almost overnight, the only way to continue such growth and remain relevant to consumers is to merge audience data with creative content.

According to these masters of monetization, an incredible amount of audience information exists that could be used effectively in terms of marketing initiatives. As McMahan writes, “the wealth of data available and the speed at which it can be analyzed and meaningfully applied is changing the advertising industry. Yet, companies who provide that type of technology face a big challenge in educating the industry on how to put that data to work to better their business.”  Thus, according to the panelists, in order to create effective campaigns, advertisers must leverage this data to learn about their audiences and ultimately drive performance.

Interestingly, however, the panel contended that technology is only half the battle. As McMahan points out, “if data will lead consumers to water…creative will make them drink.” Hence, storytelling in ad campaigns is equally as important as targeting audiences. In order for messages to be perceived and processed, creative content must be interesting and engaging.

Check out the complete article here >>