Data has always been the fuel of marketing, but the mix is shifting fast. In this episode of Hard Refresh, host Andrés López-Varela is joined by Andrew Douglas (Hunt Brew), Heather Lansdowne (Australian Bureau of Statistics), and Rene LeMerle (Bonfire) to explore how the role of data is evolving. 

From the collapse of Google’s cookie plan to the rise of first-party data, the panel digs into how brands can tell stories through numbers, when gut instinct still trumps dashboards, and whether AI is making it harder (or easier) to know who our audiences really are.

In this episode:

• Metrics overload VS meaningful insight
  Marketers are drowning in dashboards, but often can’t tell what matters. The group argues that clarity comes from asking the right questions, not obsessing over every vanity metric.
• Data as storytelling fuel
  Heather shares how the Australian Bureau of Statistics turns dry statistics into engaging content, from context-rich graphs to pop-culture tie-ins. Numbers alone bore people, but data in narrative form can spark curiosity and trust.
• Gut instinct isn’t dead
  Both Rene and Andrew stress that even in a hyper-measurable world, not every impact shows up in the numbers. Billboards, brand awareness, and creativity often work on timescales data can’t capture.
• First-party data is back in fashion
  With cookies fading, brands are rediscovering the goldmine of their own customer bases. The panel warns that mining this resource well means investing in consent, context, and meaningful use.
• The 2045 thought experiment
  If AI avatars flood the internet, how can marketers trust their audience data? The panel considers a future where “real” consumers and synthetic personas blur, raising existential questions about responsibility and ethics.

This episode was recorded on the traditional lands of the Whadjuk Noongar people, live at State of Social '25.