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Short abstract:

Grounded in a 7-month-long ethnographic study, this paper explores the functioning of a marketing infrastructure that collects and analyzes consumer data using AI. Using 'sustainability' as an example, it focuses on the actors, practices and values contributing to the creation of marketing insights

Long abstract:

The proliferation of data and digital traces led to an increased interest in the capacity to analyse heterogeneous data (Amoore & Piotukh, 2016). While this is true for a vast range of fields, marketing practices offer a compelling example for investigating how consumers’ data is captured, stored, analysed, and sold.

Accordingly, this paper draws on a 7-month-long ethnographic study conducted within a digital marketing agency that specialises in collecting consumer data from social media platforms and that utilises artificial intelligence for analysis. AI is extensively used in various facets of the company, covering everything from data collection and analysis to the publication of results on a platform accessible only to employees and paying consumers. Furthermore, to gain a deeper understanding of the data used by the agency, the researcher also had access to data containing the keyword “sustainability”, chosen in accordance with the company as representative of one of the biggest areas of interest for their clients. The analysis of the data, containing both images and text, allowed for a reflection on the data and users involved in the creation of marketing insights. Results show that the community used by the marketing agency is formed of users holding a privileged point of view (ex. content creators). Moreover, this composition contributes to the creation of biased marketing insights, notably evidenced by the absence of key sustainability-related concepts.

Grounded in sociological and STS literature, this research seeks to explore the socio-technical aspects essential for the functioning of a marketing infrastructure.