Best Data-Driven Media Strategy Practices
A lot of marketers say they’re “data-driven,” but when you peel back the layers, most strategies still rely heavily on post-campaign reporting rather than proactive planning. Marketing and media are fast-moving and brands need a strategy that connects insight to action, and a partner who can help put it into motion.
We spoke with media leaders Scott Blessman (VP Analytics, Goodway Group), Laura Beaupre (President, Look Listen), and Josh Perry (Digital Media Supervisor, Look Listen), to share what it really takes to build a data-first media strategy that’s flexible, impactful, and tied to real business outcomes.
Meet the Experts
VP Analytics
Goodway Group
President
Look Listen
Digital Media Supervisor
Look Listen
Q1 | How do you define a truly “data-driven” media strategy, and what sets it apart from the buzzword version?
A data-driven strategy primarily relies on using the data to lead to action that achieves goals.
Goodway Group: A truly data-driven strategy uses predictive modeling, historical inputs, and real-time scenario planning to guide decisions — not just post-campaign reporting. It empowers action, not just analysis.
Look Listen: There are a few factors that truly define a “data-driven” strategy:
1) Be insight-driven to continuously fuel a closed feedback loop for optimizations. It’s more than having data live in a dashboard but rather analyzing the data and deriving insights for actionable change
2) Actively manage campaigns and not rely on AI algorithms in a “set-it-and-forget-it” mentality
3) Focus on the business goals and the media goals for success. Media data only goes so far and to truly impact a company’s bottom line we need to incorporate business data into the strategy
Q2 | What kinds of data should marketers be prioritizing today to drive real performance across channels?
Marketers should prioritize first-party data and behavioral insights that guide more efficient spending.
Goodway Group: Location-specific performance history, channel-level response data, seasonal demand patterns, and store-level business goals. These inputs allow teams to simulate media effectiveness before spend happens — which is essential in dynamic, multi-location environments.
Look Listen: First-party data and downstream business data/insights (qualification rates, closed won, LTV, etc) are helpful to track.
Q3 | What does the process of curating the right agency partner look like, and how does that impact the success of a data-first strategy?
The right agency partner will act as an extension of their client’s team so that their efforts can be directly correlated to the brand’s success.
Goodway Group: Let’s first get on the same page by understanding your business goals — both short term and long term — as well as your internal and external resources and current challenges. The best partnerships combine advanced media strategy with deep analytics and offer flexible service models tailored to your needs, whether managed, self-service, or a hybrid approach. They also provide the right mix of proprietary tools to ensure unified, data-driven execution. True success begins with understanding your organization’s data maturity and meeting you where you are.
Look Listen: The right agency strives to understand your holistic business strategy and the role marketing plays, embraces and encourages transparency between all partners, curates a plan and strategy specifically designed for your business, and proactively leads with insights. The right agency is incredibly curious and comfortable being vulnerable when asking questions. Being data-first requires curiosity to understand why and how impact is made.
Q4 | How do you ensure data and insights stay central (not siloed) in a brand/agency relationship?
Consistent alignment across teams and clear communication around goals are key to keeping insights prioritized.
Goodway Group: Establish a shared, always accessible analytics environment and integrate cross-functional teams early in planning. Consistent communication, unified KPIs, and collaborative reporting dashboards prevent silos and keep decision-making grounded in shared intelligence.
Look Listen: Mutual agreement on KPIs, single source of truth for KPIs, and shared access to the same dashboards to leverage and review centralized data and insights.
Q5 | What’s one underrated data point or tactic you’ve seen drive outsized performance when leveraged correctly?
Goodway Group: We emphasize understanding your customers — where and how they engage. This requires identity resolution and, potentially, clean-room collaboration with first-party data to support closed-loop measurement and cross-channel activation — often surpassing the limits of traditional funnel metrics.
Look Listen: Impression Share Lost to Budget on Google Ads. If there’s a campaign with strong ROAS and a high amount of Impression Share Lost to Budget, it's a great opportunity to increase budgets, which will lead to more highly efficient sales for the brand.
Key Takeaways
A true data-driven media strategy leaves passive reporting behind and connects business goals to proactive decisions.
Prioritize first-party and business outcome data to create meaningful cross-channel performance.
The right agency partner starts with curiosity, embraces transparency, and builds strategy around your unique needs.
Shared KPIs, centralized dashboards, and open communication prevent data silos from stalling growth.
Don’t overlook small but powerful metrics (like impression share lost to budget) that can unlock highly efficient gains.
Being data-driven means knowing what matters, acting on it fast, and staying aligned across every partner and team. That kind of strategy doesn’t just happen. It takes the right inputs, the right systems, and the right collaborators who know how to ask the tough questions and build with purpose.
Whether you're just starting to centralize your KPIs or you're ready for advanced scenario modeling, this is your reminder: the data you need to succeed is already there, you just need to optimize it.
Agency partners like Goodway Group and Look Listen can help you. If you’re interested in their thought leadership, or would like to connect with an agency who you know will turn your data into results, contact us. Setup connects client-side marketers with the perfect partner at little to no cost to you.
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“Data-driven” marketing is about proactively leveraging insights to make strategic decisions. But what defines a truly data-driven media approach?