Question

IDENTIFYING MARKET NICHES IN THE AGE OF BIG DATA With the amount od data avallable to companies dou questions can be answered, authors wll need bling every year, nee sources of data, and innova- tions in data collection, possibilities foe marketers to on the large publishing houses signing deals with dentify market niches and finely tune campaigns access to compechensive data. And that depends are not flocking to supply titles. So fat Oyster, and Entitle-aim to turm a peofit hy discover only Harper Collins has signed with Oyster and Scribd, while Random House, Penguin, and Simon & A lat monthly fee gives users unlimited access to a broad selection of titles from these companies digital ibraries. Like Barnes and Noble and Amazon, In the airline industry, nearly all carriers collect the newcomers will collect an assortment of data from data mining to personalize the flying experience Previously unlinked data sets can now be consoli- which genres are most often finished. These subscrip can identify the top five customers on the plane tion services intend to disse minate what they have passengers with special diets or allergies, seat learned. The idea is that writers can use it to better tailor their work their readership, and book editors moon, and customers whose luggage was misplaced it to choose which manuscripts to publish. When custoners sign up with these services, theyflights. In-flight browsing history and Facebook likes are informed that some of their data will be col. are even used to fashion relevant marketing pitches lected and used but assared that their identities wil conjunction with the sheer volume of information airlines collect presents a uninque opportunity t marketers Allegiant Thavel company has already been able to sell show tickets, car rentals, and helicopter tours to Las Vegas travelers. United Airlines revamp of its Wrb site, kioska, and mobile app, along with its working sites, and Goodreads, a user-populated data- data integration initiative, have enabled it to target fly- ers predisposed to upgrading to an economy plus seat Not all customers are pleased. A user on Delta's FlyerTalk forum complained that a link from the words is enthusiastic about the valan of such data to the authors who use its platform to self-publish and available through their own Web sites, social net- base of books, annotations and reviens now owned by Amazon. The subscription services will take this type of market rescarch to a more quantifiable level new DL.com Web site led to a personal profile that included a lot more than her miles accumulated does the likelihood that a reader will skip to the end to discover the resolution. Business books are less and home airport. Annual income, home value, and the age ranges of her children were included along with expected data such as amount spent orn airfare, hotel preference, and type of credit card The resalting negative pablicity prompted Delta to likely to be finished than bingraphies, most readers some of the quickest reading is recorded for romance novels, with erotica leading the pack. Shorter sonse data, as allowed under the policy. Glohal information services group Experian supplied the But does book completion translate to book sales? And how will this knowledge impact the creative satisfy reader preferences? Before any of these 134 Part One Organizations,Management, and the Netwarked Enterprise of protiling are mitted when they receive unsuitable safety and performance metrics could soon be ofters based on faulty personal information. A Qantas survey of frequent fliers found that most customers want a line dranen between data collection about potencial breakdown issues, perhaps heading to facilitate useful odters and data collection that is its "Know Me program. Google Image searches were used to identify VIP customers as they entered the airport and first class lounge. The practice has since been discontinued Customers can opt out of tion will ocour inside vehicles, possibilities abound Leased vehicle usage data could inform end-of-lease data collection. Upon request, a note is added to the could be sent to traffic management systems to control stop lights, data from networked cars could alert other drivers to hazardous conditions and traffic jams, and carrent car value and payment data can advise drivers of their optimal trade-in date. It's not hard to foresee the privacy issues that could come into play as drivers realize that not only their location, but their every movement inside their grow, None of the carriers currently allow customers issae for them as well. Ford Motor Company began complex algorithms could lead to increased sales three years ago when it developed a program for law enfoncement-traffic tickets and accident blame tory to buyer demand. Using buying trends, local and national vehicle supply, and current car lot inventory, Ford devised a program to make purchasthey explore emerging big data analysis capabilities ing recommendations to dealers. Not anly did vehi- cle turmover rate improve, but net price-the price a consumer pays minus the manufacturer subsidy- rose, fueling an uptum in Fords profits nience, security, and expediency of transactions will be the challenge going forward for all companies as Sources: Tim Winship, "Eig Brother Unmasknd as..Delta Air Services Thack Halit為the E-Books Are Reading Yon," Nie №vk collect fuel economy, mechanical failure, and other

How do you feel about airlines mining your in flight data? Is this any different from companies mining your credit card purchases or web surfing?

Answer 1

The entirety of the argument lies in the way the data is being captured. As the case suggests, firms trying to generate insights from the collected data, always try to raise the bar and often crosses the boundary between what is generic vs. what is personal. As indicated, some passengers experienced the mining doe not only include the generic data such as miles traveled or home airport but also sensitive information such as income, asset values and so on. In my opinion, any firm including an airline can collect any sort of data for mining purpose but that has to be after getting permission from respective fliers. Also, there should be a defined and promoted privacy policy existing and the passengers must be aware of all the consequences of having their data shared with the airline. Once the purpose of collecting the data is clear to the passengers and consent has been taken from them in an 'arm's length' manner, there should not be anything regressive about it.

This is of course not the same as companies mining our credit card purchases or web surfing in that in most of those cases, data is collected without proper consent of the user. Even if consent is taken, the user is sometimes not in a position to fully understand the implication. Also, note that in every such case, the user is not aware of the exact data content or the purpose for which the data is being collected.