• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, January 23, 2013

That’s more or less what the opening “brand perspective” panel at OMMA DMM seems to be starting off. Both Macy’s loyalty marketing exec Julie Bernard and Hearst Magazines marketing analyst Charlie Swift suggested it’s not about the data, but about what it’s enabling marketers to understand about their consumers.

Bernard says it’s about measuring, “not a campaign, but people and really look at the consumer behavior data over time.”

Swift echoed that sentiment, noting that new sources of data, including loyalty card data at retail and even tablet computer edition subscriptions are shedding new light on some of Hearst Magazines’ consumers, including those that weren’t obtainable via conventional circulation data.