How personalised is personalised? Dean Lanzman comments in Campaign

As reported in Campaign:

Dean Lanzman, head of data at MullenLowe, warns that there are two key challenges for brands hoping to tap into personalisation. “The first is a lack of the right type of data,” he says. He points out that while the industry is overwhelmed with behavioural data, which provides a near-continuous understanding of what an individual is interested in, the missing piece is the context. “We don’t have a real depth of understanding as to why the individual is interested in any particular product or service,” he says. “And we know the consequence of assumptions.”

Lanzman also worries about the encroachment of brands into personal lives, particularly when they’re knowledgeable about their interests. “Even in a future state, hyper-data-rich world where brands can delve deep into the human consciousness and understand their underlying motivations, hesitancies and concerns, should they?”

He believes that it’s important brands make the case to consumers for why they should be trusted with their data. “It’s this level of differentiation that will ultimately help consumers make their brand choices and help brands distinguish their personalised comms from a sea of same,” he says.