Sep/Oct 2012

The most successful retailers today are increasing response rates to their offers and driving profitability by using Big Data and predictive analytics to make relevant, personalized, and precisely timed offers to customers. Predictive analytics provides a concrete means of realizing the long-standing exhortation to “know your customer.” In the era of Big Data, analytic tools have sufficient information to enable retailers to treat every customer as an individual based on insights into their preferences and future behavior.

• Sally Taylor-Shoff
• Shalini Raghavan

The rise of the Internet has created terabytes of data or “Big Data” that is available to consumers and enterprises alike. This digitization is an emerging phenomenon and is pushing the boundaries of every industry, shifting consumer buying patterns. Marketers are leaving no stone unturned – the products that could once be picked up off the rack are now sold online.

• Rohit Tandon
• Arnab Chakraborty
• Ganga Ganapathi

Nothing changes the course of world history, public policy and business results like decision-making. Good decisions are based on an in-depth understanding of the benefits, opportunities, costs and risks inherent in our choices. To make the best choices, decision-makers need information. Those decisions are hampered by the growing tidal wave of undifferentiated information that is the sign of our times.

• Kevin Connor

The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), publishers of Analytics magazine, is launching an analytics certification program (Certified Analytics Professional or CAP) designed to “enable analytics professionals (and their employers) to have confidence that a person will bring a core set of analytics skills to a project team.” Open to all qualified analysts, the first-of-its-kind certification will consist of a standardized test, as well as a review of the candidate’s resume or work portfolio. The program was outlined earlier this year in the March/April issue of Analytics. Following is an update on the program, with the first exams scheduled for the 2013 INFORMS Conference on Business Analytics & Operations Research in San Antonio, Texas, April 7-9, 2013, followed by a second opportunity at the 2013 INFORMS Annual Meeting, Oct. 6-9, 2013 in Minneapolis.

• Scott Nestler, CAP-X
• Jack Levis
• Bill Klimack

As most U.S. readers of Analytics are no doubt painfully aware, we are in the middle of the most expensive presidential election campaign in history, by far. The Obama and Romney campaigns seem likely to raise and spend, combined, more than $3 billion, with much of the money going to an overwhelming “blitz” of TV ads. What TV time isn’t consumed by these ads seems to be filled with commentary and punditry. As a friend of this reporter’s remarked, “By October, there won’t be 15 seconds available on TV for someone to sell soap.” But to what effect?

• Doug Samuelson

In the mid-1960s, Walt Disney’s dream was to build a family resort destination like no other. The dream became a reality when Walt Disney World Resort opened in 1971, featuring Magic Kingdom as the centerpiece. Today, millions of guests visit the Walt Disney World Resort each year to experience the world-class theme parks and hotels. In addition to the four theme parks, there is a never-ending list of activities to enjoy, such as shopping at Downtown Disney, playing golf at one of five challenging courses or plunging down a slide at one of our two water parks. When guests get hungry, more than 300 places to dine await them across the resort, ranging from fast casual to fine dining. Guests are often surprised (and delighted) to discover that the resort has more sommeliers than any other company in the world! In all, more than 60,000 cast members guide guests through these experiences, delivering legendary service and creating memories that last a lifetime.

• Pete Buczkowski
• Hai Chu