INMA executive director and chief executive Earl Wilkinson says it took the fifth and final day of the co-produced Big Data for Media Week for "the game within the game" to emerge.

While the focus was data analytics best practice, the "better story" was the deep cultural and political struggle, which Wilkins describes as "a sort of DNA overhaul at media companies focussed on Big Data's place at the management table".

"The politics of Big Data may be more interesting than Big Data itself," he says. "At least as it relates to growing the concept in culturally reticent media companies."

Events included a Big Data for Media Conference at Thomson Reuters, a Data Journalism Summit at the Associated Press, and a six-stop study tour.

Wilkinson says he saw one major company making board and CEO-level decisions to drive a data culture down into the organisation, and another where a senior-level mentor has injected Big Data culture and seen it grow exponentially. Other advocates in the audience were starting small - often from the bottom - and trying to grow Big Data's influence within their companies.

With most speakers being "revolutionaries", he says it was heartening to see "a heart-and-soul willingness of very senior-level executives help companies (and executives) at different stages of their Data Evolution spark change". Media companies were advised to start small, pick their projects, prioritise winnable projects, and then "declare victory", loudly communicating it and giving credit to key stakeholders to cement their buy-in. Wilkinson says the message was to "think bigger and always think of the next step.

"There are too many examples of legacy media companies timidly sticking their toe in the water of Big Data - perhaps one ex-marketing person doing A/B testing on subscription offers. Maybe it worked, and that one person leaves the company. Maybe it worked, but the victory wasn't communicated well enough," he says.

"The core difference between legacy companies and digital companies is the degree to which Big Data is infused in management's DNA for product development, growing advertising market share, reducing acquisition costs, and lower subscriber churn rates. It's either ubiquitous, or it's a massive struggle by people used to managing by the gut.

"One only needs to look inside the hallowed halls of media companies in New York in the past 18 months to realise the impact of data analytics on talent acquisition and retention. That bug is only now starting to hit London and other media capitals.

"Even the great companies like News Corp, Hearst, and Axel Springer -- with all of their might and investment power -- suggest pushing data's centrality is a challenge. Yet there is optimism at the gates of revolution.

"The Huffington Post, on the other hand, was founded on the basis of data. The Washington Post and Financial Times are turning the corner. Schibsted has turned the corner, yet even they wonder if they are moving fast enough.

"I heard one executive muse out loud whether the Data (R)evolution should be driven by a "data person" or a "strategy person." I had to sit through a week of sessions to understand that nuance. There are pros and cons to both," he says.

INMA plans more conferences, reports, study tours and presentations, but Wilkinson says it is "the politics of growing Big Data's influence within a media company" that deserves more attention - perhaps a seminar to itself.