August 2012

“We want to test bold, new ideas that always work.”

Nobody likes to see their idea lose. Everybody wants straight A’s. Look good for the boss. It’s the Lake Wobegon effect: all the children are above average. (If you don’t appreciate that joke, take this pop quiz.) So at some level it’s not surprising that survey data of Fortune 1,000 marketers from the CEB Marketing Leadership Council shows that only 50% of marketers agree or strongly agree with the statement: “My team accepts that some …

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VentureBeat says Chief Marketing Technology Officers are hot

Well, not hot like the Real Housewives of Madison Avenue. But in their article — The hot new CxO: Chief Marketing Technology Officer? — they acknowledge “a new role that’s a cross between the traditional chief marketing officer and chief technology officer.” And it’s become a hot topic. “CMTOs are using significant technology and analytical expertise to help companies make sense of and exploit vast amounts of customer and market data from sources as diverse …

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Marketers are less statistical than, um, statisticians

The Corporate Executive Board had an eye-catching post on the HBR blog recently, Marketers Flunk the Big Data Test. They begin: The big-data explosion is driving a shift away from gut-based decision making. Marketing in particular is feeling the pressure to embrace new data-driven customer intelligence capabilities. No wonder a strong appetite for data is one of the most sought-after qualities in new marketers. And yet, a recent CEB study of nearly 800 marketers at …

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“The problem is very rarely data…”

“The problem is very rarely data, or that we don’t have access to data.” So said Avinash Kaushik, web analytics and marketing data guru, in his keynote at this week’s SES conference in San Francisco. In Avinash’s view, business optimization in the digital world requires mastering three things: Influence — reaching the right people at the right time with the right message Experience — delivering remarkable customer experiences in all channels Value — recognizing the …

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Advertising on Google? Helps to know Javascript

Javascript is something that all web programmers should know. But advertisers? The people who manage paid search campaigns on Google? What possible use could they have for learning Javascript? Google has one in mind. At SES San Francisco this week, I sat in on a Google session where they were demonstrating new features in their AdWords and DoubleClick advertising platforms. One announcement in particular leaped out at me. Google is now beta testing an AdWords …

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Google brings agile to agencies with “Agile Creativity” vision

Hackathons. Prototyping. Beta testing. Sounds like a typical day in Silicon Valley software, right? Not this time. This is the language of Madison Avenue in the 21st century. Or at least it will be, if Google’s new Agile Creativity initiative takes root. In collaboration with a number of agency visionaries, Google has produced a compelling half-manifesto/half-tipsheet with recommendations for how agencies can reinvent themselves as “agile” businesses. It merges the DNA of Silicon Valley and …

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Mr./Ms. CMO — tear down these walls!

Three separate worlds: Paid media such as advertising and sponsorships. Earned media such as Facebook likes, Twitter tweets, search engine rankings, and every other review and comment that other people make about you. Owned media such as your web site, microsites, landing pages, mobile apps, your brand’s Facebook page, your YouTube channel, and so on. Well, for marketers they’ve been three separate worlds. Typical marketing org charts and agency/vendor boundaries sharply delineate these domains, often …

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