Marketers and brands must continue to move away from the perception that data is creepy by not being creepy and using data with permission for good. As data-fuelled marketers, we can do more than sell things. We can improve things for our customers and the world.

Crossing ‘The GAP’ is difficult because you suddenly need to look beyond the marketing team and often the marketing budget. You will need to work more closely with developers and IT, potentially bring on costly tools and contractors, and get some solid senior stakeholder support. It’s a tall order, but something you can chip away at. Let’s look at examples and case studies of how other companies have taken this leap of faith.

Before we can start looking forward, both in terms of making valuable predictions about the future and finally overcoming our F**ked data, we need to assess and build our foundations.

There are many like it, but this one is mine. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without it, my analysis would be useless. Full Metal Jacket – probably, if the war was about data.

Part One is about understanding the problem; to do that, we need some memorable frameworks, examples, and shared foundational knowledge. This allows us to enter the room and know roughly where all the doors, windows, and corners are before we rush straight over to the steaming pile of shit on the carpet. It gives us context and perspective.