This week, we’re looking at headlines related to intent data and data-driven marketing from the month of August. Our roundup includes stories that discuss a new mandate for data-driven creativity, data privacy penalties, opt-in data, data visualization, and applying AI to ABM.

The Power of Data-Driven Creative

For too long, there’s been a line in the sand between data-driven marketing activities and creative ones. Branding and customer communications lived on the creative side while KPI tracking and data analytics have helped marketers gain traction with business stakeholders.

But in this article, one ClickZ writer looks at the results of a Domo study that found senior marketers feel a choice between left brained, rational data or right brained, emotive creativity is a false one. According to the study, the future of marketing lies in a balanced approach—data-driven creativity.

See what this really means by looking at the report highlights and learning about marketing’s new M.O.

GDPR Violations Hit Hard

GDPR compliance has been a hot topic for marketers ever since the European data privacy law was passed in 2016. And now that the regulations have been in effect for over a year, consequences are emerging for violations.

On July 8, news broke that British Airways is facing a record $230 million fine following a website failure that compromised data for over 500,000 customers. If there’s one thing to take away here, it’s that GDPR penalties are no longer an impending concern—they’ve arrived, and marketers need to be ready.

This doesn’t just apply to security failures. Complying with GDPR also requires strict policies on how you use customer data. And that means understanding how to leverage third-party data without straying from GDPR and other data privacy regulations.

Innovative Opportunities in Search

Paid search is a staple in any B2B marketer’s digital toolkit. However, paid search is constantly evolving and it’s important to stay ahead of trends if you want your brand to stand out. That’s what this MarTech Series article is all about.

In this article, you’ll find insights into three common themes that are defining modern paid search strategies. Most notably, audience-based targeting is becoming an essential aspect of paid search as marketers struggle to cut through the noise of digital content.

Now that tech providers are offering more granular targeting capabilities, the key to digital ad effectiveness will be having the data necessary to narrow your segments.

Bringing AI to Account-Based Marketing

It’s tough to parse out the news from the noise when it comes to artificial intelligence in marketing. Vendors promise all kinds of benefits and it’s up to you to understand how this valuable technology will actually fit into your marketing operations. And all too often, this leads to hesitation for B2B marketers looking at the uphill battle of AI implementation.

This Demand Gen Report article walks through key complaints about AI in marketing, offering counterarguments that focus on key benefits. From wondering where to go after an AI implementation to concerns about blowing up existing ABM strategies with new technology, this article offers advice for breaking through challenges to improve marketing outcomes.

Wrapping Your Head Around Zero-Party Data

In the wake of ever-growing data privacy regulations, Forrester has come up with a new concept for marketers to think about — zero-party data. Zero-party data is information that customers intentionally and proactively share with your brand, including purchase intentions personalization preferences. Compared to first-party data that you own, zero-party data is wholly owned by your customers.

This CMO article takes the confusion out of zero-party data, giving you an overview that will help keep you on the right side of data privacy. These insights could help you dig deeper when evaluating third-party data providers so that you know you always remain compliant with emerging privacy laws.

Industry Activity

We talk a lot about the value of data visualization, especially when it comes to intent data . Rather than sifting through rows and rows of structured data, visualizations give you an opportunity to spot valuable insights that could vastly improve the effectiveness of your marketing strategies. And tech companies are taking note.

ThoughtSpot, a company dedicated to bringing search and visualization to data, recently pulled in $248 million in Series E funding, valuing the company at nearly $2 billion. With investments like this one, tech companies will continue to improve the capabilities of data visualization, giving you the tools you need to search through data for the insights that will help close deals.