Scott Brinker

Is marketing technology consolidating or diversifying?

September 11, 2012 / Marketing Software / By Scott Brinker / Leave a Comment

Is marketing technology consolidating or diversifying? Every few weeks it seems like we see a new round of marketing technology acquisitions, especially from Oracle, Adobe, IBM, Salesforce.com, Google. For example, Google’s recent acquisition of Wildfire. There are certainly plenty of anecdotes to support the narrative that marketing technology is consolidating. At the same time, however, the pages of TechCrunch, VentureBeat, PandoDaily, GigaOm, etc., are constantly pumping out announcements of new ventures launching in this space. …

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Marketing Technology Landscape Supergraphic (2012)

September 5, 2012 / Marketing Software / By Scott Brinker / 41 Comments

UPDATE: The 2020 Marketing Technology Landscape is now available. Marketing is in a whirlwind of technological innovation. It’s thrilling, inspiring, and a little dizzying. Last year, I made the first version of a marketing technology landscape infographic to try to glimpse the “big picture” of this broad field. I’m pleased to now share with you the all-new 2012 version of this supergraphic above (click to open a large version that’s actually readable). Its purpose is …

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CMO should focus on process, content, and skills (interview)

September 4, 2012 / Interviews / By Scott Brinker / Leave a Comment

Marketo is one of the leading providers of marketing automation software. “No IT” was one of their early selling points, and I remember thinking at the time that represented a major inflection point in marketing’s relationship with technology. So I was excited to have the opportunity to interview Jon Miller, their VP of Marketing Content and Strategy, on the impact they’ve seen technology have in the marketing department over the past 6 years. Here’s his …

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

August 30, 2012 / Marketing Management / By Scott Brinker / 3 Comments

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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Should marketers be able to answer these 5 stats questions?

August 27, 2012 / Marketing Management / By Scott Brinker / 10 Comments

Last week, I gently ribbed the Marketing Leadership Council of the CEB over their HBR post, Marketers Flunk the Big Data Test. I felt the statistics they were sharing about

VentureBeat says Chief Marketing Technology Officers are hot

August 23, 2012 / Marketing Management / By Scott Brinker / Leave a Comment

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

August 22, 2012 / Marketing Management / By Scott Brinker / 3 Comments

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…”

August 16, 2012 / Marketing Tactics / By Scott Brinker / Leave a Comment

“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

August 15, 2012 / Marketing Tactics / By Scott Brinker / 3 Comments

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

August 9, 2012 / Agile Marketing / By Scott Brinker / 3 Comments

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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