If last year’s TFM&A was characterised by conversations about how mobile, big data, and content marketing could be plugged into marketing campaigns, then this year’s event clearly demonstrated a much deeper understanding of the role of data within the marketing function, and that it should form the bedrock of any campaign, regardless of content or channel.
There has been a stark contrast between the early fact-finding conversations I had with delegates last year and the maturity and sophistication of discussions I had this year. Marketers working across a wide spectrum of brands, industries and channels are no longer simply seeking to understand how data can help improve their campaigns; they are looking to build campaigns from the ground up that make the most of the audience data they collect.
This shifting mindset is hugely encouraging, and represents a big leap forward in our efforts to provide a personalized experience to customers and prospects by delivering the best message at the perfect time and on the right channel.
To close this year's TFM&A event, held this week, Unilever’s Kjersten Moody delivered a keynote on how data drives marketing decisions at the world’s third biggest company. Kjerstin revealed how Unilever’s marketing teams work with thousands of data sources in an interactive ecosystem, and highlighted the importance of new data skills in the marketing function.
The changing skillset of the modern marketer is something that we at Oracle Marketing Cloud have been talking about for a long time as we’ve watched the profession take steady strides towards modern technology. Gartner regularly releases figures underlining this shift, quoting the marketing function’s growing tech budgets and how it will soon eclipse the CIOs. That said, it’s become clear that simply calling on marketers to be more tech-savvy is no longer enough for companies that want to really draw value from their data.
Even some of the biggest traditional print media houses are changing their approach to refocus their content and overall business strategy around data. Most recently, Condé Nast poached Buzzfeed’s director of data science in a bid to meet the new demands of its audience.
The main challenge for marketers today is to redefine their role in the modern marketing ecosystem. The past five years have seen technology add precision to what is an inherently creative profession. With data analyst functions set to grow, marketers have a decision to make – they can either upskill themselves so that they can uncover the valuable audience insights that shape campaigns, or embrace the freedom that technology offers them to focus on setting the overall creative direction of a brand.
With more marketers than ever (77%) planning to increase their digital marketing budgets in 2015, according to the latest Oracle Marketing Cloud and Econsultancy study, and the number of marketers planning to invest in Data Management Platforms grew 100% to 30%, of marketers surveyed, it’s more important than ever for these investments to be supported by a sound organizational strategy and clear areas of ownership.
The growth of data shouldn’t simply herald a new age of automation, targeting, measuring and reporting, but should instead usher in a renewed focus on marketing creativity, supported by more strategic execution and better results.
Benchmark your budget priorities: Check out the full Oracle Marketing Cloud and EConsultancy report. We hope it provides useful insight into the health of your marketing business.
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