To strengthen its data-driven marketing capabilities, Havas India has locally launched CSA, its global technology, data and analytics division. CSA aims to empower brands by effectively utilising customer data to drive business growth. The agency has also merged PivotConsult, the strategic consulting arm of PivotRoots, into CSA India.
e4m spoke to Jamie Seltzer, Global EVP CSA and Mx Analytics, about launching CSA in India, the importance of data-driven marketing, plans for the India market and more.
Edited excerpts
With the launch of CSA in India, how do you envision the integration of data-driven marketing enhancing Havas' ability to help brands connect more meaningfully with consumers?
CSA, as a global network, was launched about 18 months ago, bringing together pockets of expertise from within the network and from multiple different markets, into an overarching CSA network brand. We've really brought together the expertise around the three core pillars of CSA: consulting, tech and science.
Consulting is the way we think about approaching our clients' holistic data strategy and marketing technology strategy. It is about how we look at our clients' businesses and audit where they are, where they need to be and how we help them get there. The tech pillar is really our sort of expertise and focus area around marketing technology, ad technology, everything from dashboarding and reporting, to the implementation of different marketing technology solutions, to, in certain places, automation, leveraging cybersecurity, all sorts of first-party data management.
And then the third pillar of CSA, science, focuses on advanced analytic solutions. There are modeling, market mix modeling and incrementality modeling; how we leverage data science to both measure campaign success and client success, and also how we leverage analytic solutions to influence audience selection and budget creation and all of the inputs into advertising solutions.
Data-driven marketing is a priority for marketers across industries, but are there any particular sectors where the focus on data-driven marketing is especially strong?
These days, there isn't a pitch that comes in that doesn't have the words data-driven marketing in them. Ten or 15 years ago, it would have been relegated to a specific industry, but now, there isn't a single industry or vertical that isn't thinking about how they better use data, technology, and analytics to drive their business. How they do that is going to be very different by vertical and by industry.
Historically, if you look at FMCG and CPG companies, they don't have a direct relationship with their consumers. They go through distribution partners and that has made their data journeys a bit more different, and in some ways more challenging, than, for example, an online direct to consumer only company who has strong direct relationships in a closed loop.
The difference is that being data driven for a packaged goods company versus being data driven for an e-commerce company are different. They require different solutions and I think that's where CSA really starts to think about approach and starts conversations with each client in a different way.
How does the merger with PivotConsult complement CSA India's strategic goals, and what unique capabilities does it bring to the table in terms of data and analytics?
We were really thrilled when Pivot Consult and Pivot Roots joined the Havas family. When we started building the CSA network, there were pockets of capability in multiple markets. The acquisition strategy that we've taken globally is really about enhancing that, bringing that speed to market and bringing those additional complementary capabilities to our clients to help innovate and drive their business.
So, for us, it's about complementary skill sets. It's also about bringing speed to market and creating those robust skill sets that we can bring to all of our clients, more quickly.
Given the increasingly diverse Indian market, how is CSA leveraging specific tech innovations to differentiate itself? Are there any India-specific solutions or trends that CSA is capitalizing on to break away from one-size-fits-all marketing strategies?
I'll give you the global perspective. As I said, there are three key pillars of CSA.
That's the framework by which we approach all of our CSA markets. And that's kind of the overarching guiding approach that we have. But our goal is not to force individual markets to adhere strictly to any one set of services and products and solutions.
So, while we have a really strong partnership with Google globally and Adobe globally and a number of different platforms, it's also critically important that our teams are able to partner with local companies locally and also build themselves tools that meet the needs of clients.
I'll give you an example. In Europe, there's GDPR and there's a lot of questions out there around it. So a number of European clients are working with more local solutions in Europe. For example, Piano Analytics, a local European creative, has created solution that is highly GDPR compliant. And clients in Europe are feeling more comfortable with them. So they're one local partnership that we've created. And I think that's one of the things that we really want to make sure that remains intact-the ability of local markets to remain flexible and deliver the right solutions and the right partnerships for clients, whether that is partnering with somebody else or building something internally.
In an era where data privacy and regulatory concerns are at the forefront, how is CSA ensuring responsible data usage while delivering impactful marketing outcomes?
Compliance and data privacy are crucial, especially with diverse markets like India. We have certifications for first-party data collection in some markets, but regulations vary globally.
I believe there's also an element of continuing to drive business for our clients while respecting data privacy concerns, regulations, and our consumers' preferences. It's something I've discussed and written about before—this idea of delivering results with respect.
What are some of the key challenges you foresee in integrating advanced data analytics with traditional marketing strategies, and how do you plan to overcome these obstacles in the Indian market?
We're at a point in the industry's evolution where most things are becoming digitized, or there's a digital version available—like print magazines having a digital counterpart. We need to think about these formats differently, but ultimately, all decisions about content and advertising, whether served digitally or programmatically, or through more static channels, are data-driven.
Even when considering print magazines, newspapers, or static billboards, we still leverage data to decide what content to present and who the target audience is. It doesn’t need to be digital to be data-driven. That’s a key point: digitizing everything isn’t necessary for making smart strategic decisions across mediums.
The second part is not just about reaching audiences but also understanding the performance and impact of the advertising. Here, traditional methods blend with newer ones, bridging the gap between digital and traditional channels. This allows us to assess the impact of linear TV or print news alongside digital platforms like search, social, or influencer campaigns, and find the right balance between them.
All of this is driven by data inputs, and the outputs are measurable. Even in markets dominated by traditional tactics like linear television or print, they're significantly more data-driven than they were a decade ago. This comes from a better understanding and usage of data, matching the right data with the question you're trying to answer. It doesn't have to be digital to be data-driven or measurable; the key is asking the right questions and using the right data to answer them."