'The yin and yang of magic and logic': who really owns the data?

"Data is now too critical to sit in silos. But who should own the strategy? For Emily Lesinski, group director of analytics and insights at Rightpoint, the answer is clear. "Ultimately, the ownership should sit with the brands," she says. "Otherwise, they're always going to be reliant - or susceptible - to an outside force. Our role as agencies is to help them understand what's feasible and bridge that gap.""

"But shared accountability isn't always straightforward. "This shared accountability often comes with shared confusion," says Nives Zver, head of strategy and insights at Marble LDN. "We both have access to live data, but sometimes the interpretation is different. The facts are facts - but each party has a very different understanding of what that actually means.""

""I'm seeing it almost as a trifecta of machine, talent and data." Clients are investing rapidly in all three. The agency's role is to build trust, connect the dots and act as "a Sherpa" through the complexity. "They need someone to guide them because it's very complicated," she says. That Sherpa role matters because, as Allan points out, the landscape is littered with over-purchased tech and under-used systems. Agencies must help brands map the gaps, simplify workflows and focus on outcom"

Data cannot remain siloed; ownership and clear accountability are essential to avoid reliance on external parties. Brands should own strategy while agencies guide feasibility, bridge skill gaps and simplify complex technology stacks. Shared accountability often breeds differing interpretations of the same live data, making aligned frameworks and real-time action necessary. Success depends on integrating machine, talent and data, while agencies build trust, connect insights and act as Sherpas through over-purchased, under-used tech. Agencies must map capability gaps, streamline workflows, unify interpretation and prioritize outcome-focused implementations rather than retrofitting insights months later.

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