Managing the Art and Science of Today's Digital Landscape

Editor's Notes

1. Thank you, Jenny, and thank you everyone for attending today… our session on managing the balance between art and science in our ever-evolving world of digital marketing. Before I kick it off, I thought we would get warmed up with a little game of word association, so I hope you’re all game. When I say “Data” you say…? When I say “Mobile” you say…? When I say “Attribution” you say…? When I say “Programmatic” you say…?
2. When my daughter Mia was just about 3, we were living in New York, and we took her to the Museum of Natural History, where they had an exhibit all about Einstein and his life. Honestly, it was fascinating, the guy was a marvel, and there will never be anyone like him again. One of the greatest minds ever. And I remember looking down at Mia and tried to imagine what she was seeing through her young eyes. Of course it was all a mystery to her, no real idea how to make sense of it. And now, at age 9, her mind can begin to grasp the concepts of creativity and mystery, and to appreciate that we’re all looking for something.
3. When we talk about the domains of art and science, ultimately they cannot be separated, because without one, the other is lost. Or the other is incomplete, it cannot achieve its full potential. The artistic sensibilities of creativity are just as fundamental to us as humans as our ability to process scientific concepts, like the wave of Big Data. We are constantly using both practices in ourselves every day, all the time. Even as you sit there now, hoping I don’t bore you to tears. And the ability to derive new creative ideas from art and science together is where it will get very interesting, especially when it comes to the universe of marketing.
4. So I certainly won’t pretend to know everything about marketing. I have never been a CMO, I have never worked within a brand/business to drive marketing programs, and I have never even worked with Google, at least not directly. But I have spent many years consulting with various businesses on how to get the most out of their digital dollars, no matter their industry. And I what I do know is something you all are likely feeling: We are in the midst of a major evolutionary period in the practice of marketing, and the emergence of digital has reinvented how to market. The first banner ad was served into a website back in 1994, and fast forward just 20 years, we are in an entirely new world, with new rules and new technology--and it requires you all to master a new set of tools and to have the people in your circle in order to succeed.
5. One of those key tools is what’s called programmatic, or programmatic media buying. It’s a term that is still widely mis-understood (even though it’s been kicking around for a couple years)—according to the recent Forrester + ANA study, 67% of marketers don’t really know what programmatic is and haven’t used it yet. Simply put, it means that you are executing your buying of online media using a platform, instead of having to call someone (which is what they did back in 1994 and often still do today). But the rules have changed. These new automated platforms have brought efficiency, scalability, and an enormous set of functions and data to our fingertips in the hopes that everything will improve…. But it’s also brought a wave of complexity. One interesting example is a commerce business we recently spoke to—they have grown to several hundred million in revenue over the last 7 years, but their growth has slowed and they are looking to the new digital marketing tech and tactics to help them drive new customer growth. Historically, they have been a DIY shop, but they have realized they might not be able to go it alone; they are keeping their options open because they need to make sure their business can adapt and scale at the rate they need.
6. Because of course it’s not easy. In fact, it’s pretty hard. Last week I read an article in the trades that asserted the holy grail of programmatic was for brands to bring all of their media buying In-house. While the article was well-written and used data to back up the argument, I totally disagree. It all depends on your company’s DNA; just like many other decisions, you need to decide whether it is a better investment to farm a team to run your marketing dollars through one of the race car platforms, or you might realize it’s better left to an outsourced partner to do so. To me, the pinnacle will be when the majority has a tighter grasp on how the tech works and how best to measure their ROI. When we get to a place that we’re talking much more about how all of this new tech can help you solve many of your biggest business challenges. So… Show of hands: how many of your businesses are using programmatic technology? Keep them up if you would say you’re doing it well. Why do you think you’re doing it well—or not—what’s missing?
7. In many ways, we as vendors in the space are trying to stay ahead of the bulls just like you. You didn’t imagine the rapid changes that have taken place in the last 3 years—they really happened. You likely came to this show because you know that you need to master the technology, organize the internal teams, aggregate the data sets, understand the best ways to attribute success across the many channels where you invest. And it is definitely not a simple task. I read a piece recently that used a great analogy: Marketers today are like trapeze artists, trying hard to reach for the next ring but afraid to let go of the old one. But you know that if you slow down, the bulls will catch up…
8. So like our friend Magellan here, how can you navigate this new landscape, the one on the Lumascape that is filled with hundreds of firms vying for your business, promising you that they can move the needle? How do you separate who is bringing you a point solution versus who has real cross-channel technology? How do you decide who has spent a ton on marketing versus the partner who wants to use technology to help you solve for your most pressing business needs? As Kimberly-Clarke’s global media director said in an interview last week: "Surround yourself with people that can help you.” And that is a key first step in the process.
9. Philosophically speaking, you should know that programmatic does not mean that it’s automatic—it doesn’t run itself like a washing machine or a dishwasher, it’s going to need constant feeding to maximize its value. So you need the right people, either within your own company or outside (but probably BOTH); as I said , it depends on your DNA as a business. And then you need to run powerful technology, and you’ll need to bring in the tech experts (if you’re not one of them) to evaluate what features and functions are going to suit your needs and sophistication level as a holistic business. Ultimately, you need to fuse human knowledge and intuition with machine-driven information to lock in on how your business can take truly excel. All of that data you have won’t do much good unless you know how it can drive real business results. For us at Adroit, that means we have a multi-faceted team of digital strategists and yield managers who expertly optimize hundreds of campaigns every day because they grew up professionally using the new tools of the trade. For you, the decision will be which path to pursue and how to educate your team.
10. Because the reality is here. As the great Charles Darwin said, the one who can adapt is the one who will succeed. We are really still in the very beginnings of how the landscape will be shaped and how these new technological platforms will best be utilized. You are in a prime position to get your organization to be adaptable. The organizations that are adapting today are the ones that are taking smart risks and are not afraid to fail because they know they need to experiment in order to evolve and succeed. So how do you do it…?
11. Get wet. You have to jump in and embrace the new technologies and methodologies that exist and then determine which of those will work for your business. Throw out the old models of measurement and the siloed ways of thinking. I love reading about the businesses (like Kimberly Clarke) and ad agencies that have merged their traditional and digital business units (breaking down the walls!) and they talk about raising their digital IQs…because they realize that one cannot function without the other—they are now inseparable, just like using art and science together, the human forms of creativity with the power of a machine’s predictive algorithms. So my hope is that you are all wet at the end of this year because it’s definitely going to be a big one.
12. Can I answer any questions? Thank you very much for your time.