Digital Marketing Intelligence and Consumer Behavior Analytics for Enhancing Global Brand Management Strategies

Abstract

Companies are increasingly seeing consumers signal their preferences with constant clicks, likes, shares, and purchases across search, social, mobile, and commerce channels an environment in which global brands are competing for the consumer voice. Even with this transition to digital, numerous companies still rely on regular market research and disjointed decision-making practices for their brands. This research aims to investigate the interaction between digital marketing intelligence capability and consumer behavior analytics to increase the effectiveness of global brand management strategies and, as a result, total brand performance. Based on the dynamic capabilities and brand equity theory, we propose and test a sequential model that includes digital marketing intelligence capability as an antecedent of the adoption of consumer behavior analytics, which in turn has as its consequences an increase in the effectiveness of global brand management and brand performance. A survey was conducted with 300 senior brand and marketing managers from companies from five regions of the world and analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Empirical results show that digital marketing intelligence capability has a strong impact on digital marketing analytics use (β = 0.62), that digital marketing analytics use has a moderate impact on global brand management (indirect β = 0.29, explaining around 59% of the indirect relationship), and that the relationship between digital marketing analytics use and global brand management effectiveness is partially mediated by global brand management. The model as a whole accounts for 41% of the variance in brand performance. This study offers an integrated and empirically supported understanding of the link between data-informed insights and the strategic brand benefits, and offers a roadmap for managers to allocate their resources among capability development, analytics integration, and global brand governance.