Keynote: Dr. Matthew Crooks - Data: Faithful or Traitor? | PyData London 2024

Explore the double-edged sword of data with Dr. Matthew Crooks, examining measurement, marketing effectiveness, and more at PyData London 2024.

Key takeaways
  • Data as a double-edged sword: Data can be both faithful and a traitor. Faithful in that it can provide insights and improve decision-making, and a traitor in that it can mislead and distort understanding if not used correctly.
  • Measuring marketing effectiveness: The BBC uses a mixed market model to measure the impact of marketing on its audience. This model helps identify which marketing channels are effective and which are not.
  • Audience research and data: The BBC uses a range of data sources, including surveys, pulse surveys, and user activity data, to understand its audience and inform its content and marketing strategies.
  • Sentiment analysis and marketing: Sentiment analysis can be used to understand how audience sentiment impacts performance. For example, negative news articles may perform better than positive ones.
  • Personalization and recommendation: Personalized marketing and recommendation systems can help increase audience engagement and retention.
  • Data challenges: The BBC faces data challenges such as selecting the right tools, managing and integrating data from multiple sources, and ensuring data quality and accuracy.
  • Data storytelling: Data can be used to tell compelling stories that engage audiences and inform decision-making.
  • Experimentation and A/B testing: The BBC uses experimentation and A/B testing to refine its marketing and content strategies and identify what works best.
  • Data team structure: The BBC has a data science team that is responsible for developing and maintaining its data platforms and tools.
  • Collaboration and stakeholder engagement: Collaboration between different teams and stakeholders is essential for successful data-driven decision-making at the BBC.