Hotwire strengthens its Data & Analytics line to “optimise communication strategies”
Hotwire has announced the expansion of its Data & Analytics solutions offering globally and in Spain. Through a set of solutions based on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Hotwire will help technology and innovation companies to harness the power of data to optimise communication strategies, measure the impact of their actions and facilitate business growth.
The managing director of Hotwire Spain, Ludi García, describes the main lines of this new line of the company.
Why is a consultancy firm like Hotwire committed to offering this line of service?
The power of data is indisputable, and it has become one of the most valuable assets of any company, of any size and in any sector. Every organisation is a data company and billions of megabytes of data are created every second, which generates as many needs to be covered as opportunities to be seized, for our clients and for us as a communication and business consultancy.
Measurement has always been a key part of Hotwire. We are a strategic technology and innovation partner. We have always provided our clients with a portfolio of innovative tools and we adapt to the volatility of the business and marketing and communication ecosystem. So we are joining the evolution of data analytics by expanding our Data & Analytics offering, a set of AI-based solutions that will help companies harness the power of data to optimise communication strategies, measure the impact of their actions and facilitate business growth.
In addition, more and more companies are investing in technologies and tools to collect and analyse data to gain valuable insights. A sound data analytics strategy has a significant impact on any company’s bottom line. In this context, new products need to be developed for marketers and communicators to meet the needs of companies that want to achieve these goals. Technology and innovation are key to this process.
The managing director of Hotwire Spain, Ludi García, says that “large volumes of data generate confusion and frustration”.
What are customers asking you in this area?
Big data generates confusion and frustration, as many companies are unable to get the data visibility they need or find the information they need to show management the impact of actions taken. That’s where a team of Data & Analytics experts, like the one we have at Hotwire, comes in to deliver maximum value to companies.
The interpretation of the data collected is the fundamental basis of the strategy, so in addition to a dynamic and expert team, we offer intuitive and easy to use tools that expose the data in a very visual and clear way, and this mix is essential for our clients.
What is the team that makes up this area?
The team needed to run a data analysis and processing department has to be multidisciplinary, experts in analytics, Big Data and technology, but also experts in marketing and communication, who know how to translate the needs of customers to the more technical side, and bring those results back to customers in their own business language.
The global Data & Analytics team, led by Matt Oakley, offers analytics and measurement solutions designed to help companies achieve their reputation, relationship and revenue goals, with the introduction of four new products for marketing and communications professionals. These services are supported by Hotwire’s Technology and Innovation teams, led by Kevin Dulaney, to enable customers to take smarter action faster with the help of AI and predictive analytics. The global teams work closely with the Hotwire Spain team to customise the Data & Analytics solutions to meet the needs of customers in Spain.
Hotwire’s Data & Analytics and Technology teams have already been recognised by the industry as leaders in data and analytics. Recent accolades include Kevin Dulaney, Global Director of Technology and Innovation at Hotwire, being named to PRWeek’s Dashboard 25: Class of 2023; Best Use of Programmatic for Honeywell at The Drum Awards for B2B; Best Use of Data and Insights in a Campaign for NTT by Just. Marketing; a special mention for Best Use of Data and Creative for Headspace at The Drum Awards; and an Honourable Mention at the Ragan Awards for a data-driven media relations campaign for Adobe.
“A company that is constantly connected to its customers, listening to them, getting to know them, learning and rectifying, is a company that is going to have a good reputation”.
How does Data & Analytics contribute to the reputation of companies?
A data analysis strategy allows you to know in a deeper and much more immediate way your customers, their opinions about your products and services, what they think about your company, what your competitors are doing. All this information helps companies to make much more personalised, efficient and quicker decisions, so that any reputation crisis can be solved almost immediately and very directly through the company’s channels.
Therefore, a company that is constantly connected to its customers, listening to them, getting to know them, learning and rectifying, is a company that is going to have a good reputation.
How can this new area help companies adapt to changes in the market in this volatile environment?
Precisely because of the volatility of the business ecosystem, of society and of the technological world in which we live, it is much more essential that communication times and flows are reduced between company and consumer. The area of Data & Analytics allows these times to be significantly reduced, and not only to be more immediate, but also to be more qualitative thanks to the information that is obtained and processed.
Technology is advancing very fast, society with it and the consumer is increasingly demanding and fast, but it is precisely technology that is the ally of this area. Moreover, when you have an internal development team that allows you to design ad hoc technological solutions for your clients, it is much more efficient and allows you to adapt to market changes almost simultaneously.
How would you say the communication and marketing sector in Spain is progressing in terms of measurement?
It is advancing by leaps and bounds, as in all countries, because a technological development for measurement is ethereal and also has to be as common as possible in the market. What works today, what you have identified the need, designed, developed, tested and launched on the market, is almost obsolete tomorrow. In addition, each company sets its KPIs, its objectives to be measured and its standards, so universal measurement is complicated. And in this sense, there must be standards, sources of information and official data that unify criteria and provide a reliable and useful service to the sector.
This is what we have been working on for years, and it is being achieved, with companies that are chosen by the sector’s agents to establish common criteria with which to measure the results of marketing and communication campaigns, establish economic values and obtain the profitability of the companies’ investments.
The speed of the sector is key, but above all it is the ability to anticipate needs, to be resilient and not to develop on a large scale. Thinking in the long term, but acting in the short term, going to the concrete, optimising processes and not being afraid to try and “fail”, a pending subject in Spanish business philosophy.
Data translation and visualisation, a pending issue
What would you say is the unfinished business in Data & Analytics in Spain?
The unfinished business has always been the good translation and visualisation of data. We collect and analyse large volumes of information, we have the technological capacity to do so, but it is more complicated to put that data “in pretty”, to offer the data in a readable form and translated into other languages that are not so technological. Data is now available to everyone, not just the most technological profiles, and hybrid profiles are needed that know how to analyse and translate data to apply it to the necessary areas.
In line with this, another pending issue is to promote technological talent from a more primary education. And above all, attracting female talent in STEM subjects, in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, because only 2 out of every 10 employees in the IT sector are women.
And I would like to mention a very nice initiative that Hotwire is carrying out: Margarita Bly, a think tank with the aim of promoting women’s equality in technology and communication.
Through talks, events and collaborations with other associations, we promote the role of women in more technological roles in our sector in particular, and in all industries in general.
What goals have you set for yourselves at Hotwire in this regard?
As we have already mentioned, nowadays, data is the basis of everything. As a communications and marketing consultancy agency, we want to contribute to this revolution in the sector by providing technological capacity and our expertise in innovation.
We want to help our clients achieve their objectives related to reputation, relationships or revenue (the 3Rs). And we achieve this by implementing tools, based on our own technologies, which we integrate with our expertise so that the data does not fall on deaf ears, but is functional to drive their strategy and decision-making in the market.
Data is deeply embedded in Hotwire’s philosophy and the way we work. We have a unique methodology called the Hotwire Way that is based on fundamental pillars, the first of which is ‘Discover’. Our whole approach is based on the idea that it is essential to understand the scenario comprehensively before acting. Therefore, data is paramount and is present throughout the value chain. These insights are fundamental to improve both the communication and the strategy of any company.
