Back from the grave : The return of modelled consumer information

Purpose – To review the role of modelled data in target marketing, in the light of several years of widespread denigration of modelled information over specific attributes. Design/methodology/approach – Key recent factors, influences and statistics on the availability and use of specific/personal marketing data are reviewed, noting the increasing restrictions due to public dataset withdrawal, privacy legislation and so on. Channel proliferation and change in the balance of spend between prospecting and developing existing customers are noted. All are then related to the revival of need for modelled data. Findings – While the demand for volumes of individual consumer marketing data continues to rise, the availability and useability of that data is in decline. Modelled attributes are becoming the only way to fill the gap. Originality/value – This paper demonstrates that the widespread criticism of modelled data ignores the increasing need for such information to meet the inexorable trend away from mass advertising and towards direct marketing techniques.