Most readers of this blog know I wear two hats. I write this blog — a labor of love — but I’m also the co-founder and CTO of a marketing software company, ion interactive. However, I rarely write about my company here, because (a) I prefer to use this space to explore bigger themes in our industry, and (b) I assume that you’re here for those bigger themes too. So over six years of writing …

Why we bet our whole company on marketing apps Continue Reading »

I’m as giddy as a kid in a candy store. With the launch of the new MarTech Conference, I’ve been given the joy of creating a program that covers the kinds of topics that I’ve always longed to see addressed in the world of marketing technology — presented by hand-picked speakers of impeccable credentials, brilliant ideas, and infectious passion for this amazing intersection of disciplines. Today, we’re announcing the agenda for the inaugural MarTech Conference …

MarTech agenda announced with 14 amazing talks that illuminate marketing technology management Continue Reading »

It probably comes as no surprise that digital marketing budgets are rising. But the velocity of growth is actually quite breathtaking. In research conducted by Gartner among their clientele, digital marketing budgets rose 20% in 2013. And they’re expected to rise again by double digits in 2014. For large companies, those are large budgets being moved around in a short time span. Yesterday, Laura McLellan of Gartner presented a webinar on their latest research that …

Digital marketing is now reappropriating the sales budget Continue Reading »

Today, I am thrilled to announce the launch of MarTech: The Marketing Tech Conference — a conference designed expressly for you, leaders at the intersection of marketing, strategy, and technology. The inaugural MarTech event will take place this August 19-20 in Boston at the beautiful Seaport Hotel and Convention Center. And I really hope you’ll be able to join us. Click here to visit the conference website and receive details on registration. A new brand …

Announcing MarTech: The Marketing Tech Conference Continue Reading »

I sure do. We know that marketing is changing dramatically — a perfect storm of social networks, omniscient search engines, big data, an explosion of marketing software, and the ascendency of digitally-powered customer experiences. The technology and the customer-centric phenomena in this transformation are fascinating — and are well-covered by a bevy of analysts, bloggers, and enthusiastic innovators. But there’s a harder problem lurking in the shadows that receives less attention: how should businesses change …

Want to understand the org chart of modern marketing? Continue Reading »

I was delighted to spend a couple of days at the SAS Global Forum in D.C. this week, where I presented the story of agile marketing to their data-driven — really, truly data-driven — audience. (The Cliff-Notes version: Agile management methods mixed with good analytics are a potent combination. The technology is ready. The challenges now are human.) While there, I listened in on an excellent keynote by Colin Powell. Now, I’ve always liked Colin …

General Colin Powell: programmer and agile manager? Continue Reading »

Last night, Vala Afshar and Michael Krigsman announced on Twitter that I would be their guest on CxO Talk show this Friday. A harmless enough promotional tweet, I thought. But crikey, it instigated a bit of a Twitter brawl over the topic of CMOs, CIOs, and tech budgets. Here’s a sample of how it started: Twitter is not my preferred format for a meaningful discussion, so I thought I’d reply with this post. And I …

10 things I hate about narrow CIO vs. CMO arguments Continue Reading »