The CMO guide to finding allies in the C-suite

There’s a lot of optimism in the air about the pandemic coming to an end, thanks to increasingly widespread vaccine deployment. People hope to resume normal lives at home and at work. But marketing executives already suspect there’s no going back to the way things were in 2019. Many CMOs saw huge budget cuts in 2020 and are wondering what comes next.

One thing seems certain: digital ad spending, which outpaced expenditures on non-digital forms of advertising for the first time...

7 April 2021 | Best Practice

Meeting of the minds: Achieving collaboration between CMOs and CFOs

Communications – both internal and external - have become more critical than ever. Perception and reputation amongst stakeholders and colleagues have flown up the agenda, as leaders continue to grapple with tighter budgets and the disruption of business plans under the strain of the pandemic. Going forward, nurturing internal stakeholder relationships will be essential for CMO success, especially with those who hold the key to enabling marketing activities – namely, the...

6 April 2021 | Best Practice

Why the marketing data ecosystem needs to up its game on certification and transparency

Most industries have voluntary certifying bodies that attest to the quality of their members.

For example, in the investing world, a chartered financial analyst (CFA) is someone who has been certified by the CFA Institute after having completed three rigorous examinations testing their investing and financial acumen.

Though taking the CFA Exam is voluntary, it has become the benchmark against which most investment professionals are measured, and its selectivity — fewer...

1 April 2021 | Best Practice

Five account-based marketing trends to follow in 2021

It is a trend that’s perfectly in step with the times. Account-based marketing (ABM) is becoming one of the dominant forms of marketing today, and with good reason; in an age where marketing is ever-present, mass marketing efforts are a lot less effective than individual marketing targeted at specific potential customers. From individually tailored marketing efforts, messages can be more targeted and avoid some of the stigma from marketing saturation today.

While ABM is a trend...

1 April 2021 | Best Practice

Developing flexibility and agility in digital marketing: Five trends to explore

Recent headlines have shown how necessary dexterity and flexibility can be to dealing with business uncertainty. That lesson is incredibly relevant for professionals handling digital marketing efforts. After all, a campaign devised only a few months ago can come off as insensitive or in poor taste depending on the current environment. At the same time, having processes in place to change campaigns as necessary (whether you need to adjust tone, budget, or flighting) is of the utmost...

24 March 2021 | Best Practice

Gartner: How is digital commerce changing the face of customer experience?

There was a time when digital commerce meant static storefronts. Back then, if you were to purchase from a business, you’d almost definitely have spoken to someone along the way – either face-to-face or over the phone. Perhaps it was the cashier at your local grocery or the account manager at your local bank. You might have even known their name. Even if you didn’t, you’d expect that staff would be trained in a variation of the phrase, ‘the customer is always right’ as a...

16 March 2021 | Best Practice

Why you need to ensure your content works as hard as it can

Content now needs to work harder than ever to cut through the noise, resonate with the right people and impact on the bottom line.

Quality content that empathises with and engages audiences is a must to drive conversations, deliver unrivalled experiences and increase conversions. With so many brands leveraging content in one form or another, playing the long game is crucial if marketers are to make meaningful connections and create powerful content that converts in a space where...

10 March 2021 | Best Practice

Carlotta Negri di Sanfront: I abandoned my F1 driver dream – but I’m breaking boundaries in tech

Growing up, I was your typical “daddy’s girl” and like many other daughters dreamed of following in his footsteps. In my case, my father was a racing car driver. A successful one at that, taking home the annual Italian rally championship in 1975. I grew up surrounded by trophies, with pictures of rally circuits decorating the walls, and it’s probably no surprise that playtime for me involved my collection of toy cars.

So whenever asked what I wanted to do when I grew up,...

8 March 2021 | Best Practice

How marketers can benefit from a cloud data warehouse: A guide

Today’s marketing pros know better than anyone that compelling consumer experiences are increasingly multi-channel. It’s not just about sending an offer via email or text; marketing spans every point of engagement, including offline experiences in a retail store or other physical location. This is what Forrester is referring to when they discuss the importance of 'moments-based marketing'.

The holistic approach is a good thing for brands and consumers alike — if it’s done...

5 March 2021 | Best Practice

How AI can build a more empathetic future for marketing

The desire for companies to connect with the emotions of their customers is by no means a new phenomenon. For marketers, the ability to understand the emotional sentiments behind consumer behaviour has been a priority for decades. Yet it has been notoriously difficult to track these sentiments accurately over time.

Artificial intelligence (AI) offers a solution to this problem. Consumers today expect a tailored experience and AI has unique capabilities to help marketers by...

2 March 2021 | Automation