Tag Archives: IT

IBM State of Marketing 2012

June 25, 2012 | 0 Comments

IBMs new survey of the marketing industry finds that chief marketing officers (CMO) and chief information officers (CIO) must join forces in order to connect with today’s consumer across new channels including mobile devices and social networks. Fully 60% of marketers point to their lack of alignment with the companys IT department as the biggest obstacle to reaching todays consumers.

One key new finding of the survey shows that with mobile marketing working well, marketers are now preparing to go beyond coupons and deliver mobile advertising that reaches customers on their smart phone and tablets. According to the study, 34% of respondents stated that in less than 12 months, they intend to deliver mobile ads, the highest rate of new marketing tactic adoption in the five-year history of the study. Overall, 46% of respondents are currently using mobile web sites followed by 45% mobile applications, up from 40% and 44% respectively since last year. Read More

Best Practices in Marketing Automation

June 13, 2012 | 0 Comments

While many marketers are familiar with the term Marketing Automation, not everyone is quite sure what it contains. The term is used to describe a wide range of supporting marketing software, from solutions such as DAM or PIM, but also more elaborate systems that monitor the entire marketing process such as MRM and ERM. The Gleansight Marketing Automation Benchmark ReportGleanster attempts to fill in some holes in the general knowledge about marketing automation.

Many companies are still hesistant to implement a Marketing Automation solution. Yet Marketing Automation solutions have been proven to deliver results, such as reduced marketing costs, better measurement, and increased revenue. The report, based on a survey among over 300 marketing professionals, is a good starting point to get some basic understanding of what Marketing Automation does and does not do, and which functions it encompasses. It also includes a lengthy analysis of software vendors in the market. Below is a summary of the whitepaper, with some highlights. Read More

Digital Shift Posing Problems to Marketers

June 11, 2012 | 0 Comments

Many major companies believe their digital marketing schemes are still exploratory or random, and few have engaged in-house experts to enhance their strategy, a study has revealed. The CMO Council, the trade body, and Acceleration, the consultancy, interviewed 200 senior executives. It discovered that a third of marketers described their digital portfolio as a random collection of solutions.

A further 44% saw this activity as exploratory. However, only 32% are working with their IT colleagues to assess their future needs and requirements, and a modest 26% had built multi-disciplinary teams to do so.

Roger Menz, VP, global marketing, at Sony Music Entertainment, said:

While enthusiasm and excitement over new and shiny platforms is exceedingly high, the level of real understanding and expertise is just not fully developed. Read More

Gartner Highlights Cool Vendors to Watch in 2012

May 14, 2012 | 0 Comments

Cloud, social, mobile and information are the four key IT forces — alongside the continued impact of consumerization — that are combining to produce a nexus in which Cool Vendors will operate, according to Gartner, Inc. Gartners 2012 Cool Vendors research series identifies the innovative companies, products and services that will shape business and consumer strategies in the future. Cool vendors are minor software vendors that nonetheless deserve some attention and recognition for the pioneering work they are doing, according to research institute Gartner.

This year Gartner has profiled more than 320 Cool Vendors, which offer innovations relating to data analysis and management, marketing, cloud services brokerage, people-centered computing, software infrastructure, consulting, outsourcing, and telecom operations management, as well as other markets. By definition, Cool Vendors are small vendors that offer innovative products or services. The innovation may be in how the product works or in what can be accomplished by those using the product or service. Read More

Fourteen Marketing Technology Organizational Models

October 24, 2011 | 0 Comments

The good news is that, at last, everyone agrees:

1. Marketing technology is now a major dimension of marketing. 2. The marketing department and the IT department must collaborate.

The challenge, however, is that beyond those two principles, there is a stunning diversity of opinions for how marketing technology should be managed and exactly what the new collaboration between marketing and IT should look like. Ive heard from many different companies that are addressing this in very different ways. Read More

The One Business Partnership You Need to Start Building Now

October 19, 2011 | 0 Comments

digital marketing requires a combination of different skill sets. For example, it needs time-honored CMO know-how blended together with innovative, hi-tech computer programming expertise. And now that this kind of cross-functional partnership is such a high priority, I need to ask you one thing:

When was the last time you had lunch with the CIO? Read More