Why CEOs Need To Become 'Consumer Scientists'

In recent days there has been extensive discussion of claims that Donald Trump owes his victory in the recent Presidential election at least in part to Big Data. This is something of a surprise to observers since - although it has been widely reported that Hillary Clinton and, before her, Barack Obama had recruited hordes of bright young computer scientists to drive their campaigns - it had been assumed that Trump relied on more traditional means of connecting with voters. Indeed, the man himself has insisted he used his "gut" in campaigning and regarded Big Data as over-rated. At the heart of the matter is the role of Cambridge Analytica, a company that claims to use expertise in behavioral change and data science to "offer unparalleled audience insight and engagement services and products". What this translates into is using extensive detailed information - the company says it collects up to 5,000 "data points" on 220 million Americans - alongside psychological insights to model target audiences and predict the behavior of like-minded individuals.