Rise of the Marketing Technologist (And What It Means For Agencies)

October 2011Rise of theMarketing Technologist(And What It Means for Agencies)by Scott Brinker @chiefmartec

Who am I?Hybrid software architect & marketer.Blog about that intersection atwww.chiefmartec.com.Co-founded interactive agency in 1998.Transformed agency into a specializedmarketing technology software vendorwww.ioninteractive.com.

What’s a marketing technologist? A digital strategist? A creative technologist? Something else?

Based onpredictiveanalytics:Digitalhas won.

if (digital_strategy != marketing_strategy){ fail();}

Digital strategist. Digitally-savvy account planners. Digital marketing specialists. Search engine optimization Paid search marketing Social media marketing Display advertising Content marketing Mobile marketing

A digital strategist must befluent in using technology.

A digital strategist modern marketer must befluent in using technology.But not necessarily building it.

Enter the creative technologist.

Brain of a software developer Heart of an artistAnatomy of a Creative Technologist

Brain of a software developer Eye of an interface designer Heart of an artist Balls of a hacker (figuratively speaking)Anatomy of a Creative Technologist

A creative technologist builds technologyfor creative ―campaigns.‖ (Obviously.) HTML Facebook apps CSS iPhone/iPad apps Javascript Android apps Flash Games APIs Dynamic ads MVC frameworks Data sharing

The modern creative triumvirate. Concepts CreativeArt Director + Copywriter + Technologist (Images) (Words) (Code)

Agencies are becoming more and moretechnically sophisticated.Some faster than others.

The digital strategist (and variations) andthe creative technologist are key roles.But they’re primarily agency roles.Something else is happening…

Across the agency-client divide…

A fundamental shift is underway in mostmarketing departments.From technology adverse… …to technology savvy.

―I feel more like a CIO than a CMO! I have marketing automation, CRM, listening platforms—I’m up to my eyeballs in technology.‖

But let’s start with the root cause.

The marketing world (not so long ago): ZMOT: Winning the Zero Moment of Truth, Jim Lecinski

The marketing world (not so long ago): // Agency’s Marketer’sResponsibility Responsibility ZMOT: Winning the Zero Moment of Truth, Jim Lecinski

ZMOT: Winning the Zero Moment of Truth, Jim Lecinski

The ZMOT is a flurry of activity: Query search engines Visit company web site Read educational content Follow on Twitter Visit competitor web sites Read reviews Discuss with friends Check online communities Comparison shop

5 killer properties of the ZMOT: 1. Almost entirely digital (or digital-ish). 2. Many touchpoints.

5 killer properties of the ZMOT: 1. Almost entirely digital (or digital-ish). 2. Many touchpoints. 3. Real-time dynamics.

5 killer properties of the ZMOT: 1. Almost entirely digital (or digital-ish). 2. Many touchpoints. 3. Real-time dynamics. 4. Shattered boundaries.

5 killer properties of the ZMOT: 1. Almost entirely digital (or digital-ish). 2. Many touchpoints. 3. Real-time dynamics. 4. Shattered boundaries. 5. Experience defines brand.

Marketing/ Advertising New ExistingProspects Customers Product/ Service

Marketing/ Advertising New ExistingProspects Customers Product/ Service Customer Experience

It’s@$%*&!#complex.

From Stretched to Strengthened, IBM Global CMO Study 2011

Oh, and it’s hard to outsource.At least hard to outsource wholesale.

Because ultimately, the brand must ownthe customer experience.(CX for those in the know.)

How do we get control of this complexity? 1. Almost entirely digital (or digital-ish). 2. Many touchpoints. 3. Real-time dynamics. 4. Shattered boundaries. 5. Experience defines brand.

measurable digital (or digital-ish) scalable fast malleable frictionless …but most importantly…

It’s programmable by software.And thanks to Moore’s Law,cloud computing and SaaS models,open source and expert communities,a wealth of new languages and frameworks,it’s never been easier or faster to buildgreat software.

…which has led to one ofthe greatest explosions in the history of software…

Marketing Technology Landscape August 2011MOBILE MARKETING MOBILE APPS GAMING/FACEBOOK APPS CREATIVE TOOLS DIGITAL ASSET MANAGEMENTTARGETING DISPLAY AD E-COMMERCE PERSONALIZATION LOYALTY MANAGEMENT MANAGEMENT VIRTUAL EVENTS VIDEO CONTENT APIs EVENT MANAGEMENT CALL TRACKINGCREATIVEOPTIMIZATION VIDEO AD MANAGEMENT SEO TOOLS CORE WEBSITE CUSTOM WEB APPS CRM MARKETING AUTOMATIONSEARCH AD MANAGEMENT WIDGETS/PLUG-INS SALES AUTOMATIONSOCIAL MEDIA AD MANAGEMENT LANDING PAGES BLOGS COMMUNITIES EMAIL MARKETING & MICROSITES CUSTOM DATABASESSOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING MANAGEMENT WEB TESTING & OPTIMIZATION BUSINESS INTELLIGENCESOCIAL MEDIA ANALYTICS WEB ANALYTICS CUSTOMER ANALYTICS MARKETING RESOURCE MANAGEMENTMULTI-CHANNEL MARKETNG MANAGEMENT INTEGRATED SUITES & ENTERPRISE MARKETING MANAGEMENT AGILE/PROJECT MANAGEMENT External Promotion Customer Experience Marketing Management by Scott Brinker @chiefmartec http://www.chiefmartec.com

The Golden Age of Marketing Software.

Software is now the interface by whichmarketing sees and touches the world.Analytics shapes perceptions.Automation guides processes.Optimization hones tactics.Listening leads engagement.Targeting defines segments.CRM structures relationships.

Software doesn’t just help marketersmanage the new customer experience.It often defines the customer experience.

But all this wizardry raises a question…

Who choreographs thismarketing technology ballet?

Or is it moreof a mosh pit?

In the ―old days,‖ marketing would havesimply handed off requests to IT.That kinda worked on a small scale.But as volume and speed increased, themarketing/IT relationship began to feel…

MarketingIT

Marketing’s perceptions of IT:IT is the department of ―no.‖IT doesn’t speak marketing’s language.IT doesn’t understand the need for speed.IT isn’t concerned with the customer. Mastering Customer Data—A CIO Imperative, Forrester Research July 2011

IT’s perceptions of marketing:Marketing is spin.Marketers don’t care about integration. Mastering Customer Data—A CIO Imperative, Forrester Research July 2011

So how do we reconile this?

Well, there’s always a committee…

Real action is required for four cataclysmicforces reshaping marketing today.The new ZMOT customer.The marketing technology explosion.Agility — the new clockspeed of marketing.Accountability — new performance culture.

Collectively, these forces demand afundamental shift in marketing culture,structure, and operations.The foundation of that shift must bethis affirmation…

Marketing must lead its own technology. Marketing is now atechnology-powered discipline.

A new kind of marketing professional isemerging in this environment…A technical/marketing hybrid…The marketing technologist.

Analogous to the creative technologist roleat agencies, but different.Less about building stimulus ―creative.‖More about building: The extended customer experience (CX). The new marketing operations.

How should we organize professionalsin this new discipline?

The original marketing-IT organization: Traditional IT Mktg no marketing no IT/technology perspective perspective

The original marketing-IT organization: Traditional IT Mktg no marketing no IT/technology perspective perspectiveIn really bad situations: Estranged IT Mktg

King Solomon’s Marketing-Technology Split (Not a good idea.)

A marketing technologist team shouldprovide an integrated, holistic view. MTUnderstand good Understand good IT practices marketing practices Think natively in the combined domain of marketing technology

Practice Center IT MT MktgColocated IT MT MktgJoint Venture IT MT MktgEmbedded IT Mktg MT

The marketing technology team should beled by a chief marketing technologist.Or whatever title you prefer: VP/Director Marketing Technology VP/Director Marketing Operations VP/Director Customer Intelligence Marketing CTO

What’s important is the role.And we can define it with 5 missions.

Mission #1Build and lead asuperb team ofmarketingtechnologists.- Tech experience- Marketing passion- ―T-shaped‖- Self-learners- Highly collaborative

―Not simply a collection of design-savvy developers.To meet the explosion in channels, devicesand touchpoints, build a team that blendsskills in analysis, programming, and userexperience.‖ – Forrester Research, October 2011 Investing In Marketing’s Technology Future

Mission #2Help the CMOtranslate strategyinto technology(and vice versa).- Prepare the CMO- Map tech & business- Drive innovation- Justify investment

Mission #3Choreograph dataand technologyacross themarketingorganization.- Manage vendors- Integrate & operate- Interface to agencies- Champion data- Balance cost/value

The MarketingStandardize Experiment Technology Cycle

Mission #4Fuse technologyinto the DNA ofmarketing—practices, people,and culture.- Teaching their peers- Illuminate possibilities- Tech transparency- Cross-pollinate ideas- Agile marketing

Mission #5Enforce andinform IT policyand governancefor all marketingtechnology.- Mind security- Mind regulation- Share infrastructure- Support the CIO

In the words ofSeth Godin, thisperson should be alinchpin.He’d definitely callthem weird (in agood way).

―Splintering touchpoints and the growing torrent of data force marketers to build up investments in technology to keep up with customers. To manage and direct the increasingly complex marketing technology stack, Forrester recommends that organizations create a marketing technology office.‖ – Forrester Research, October 2011 3 Approaches to the Marketing Technology Office

Motivation: Marketing Marketing Technology Who’s packing your parachute?

So what does this mean for agencies?

Advertising automation and optimization willcontinue to accelerate… but will increasinglyneed to integrate with the client more deeply.This value will be eroded by software andnetwork synchronization.

Creative technology will continue to growand thrive… but will increasingly need tointegrate with the client more deeply.This will be a high value service.

New demand for designing and buildingcustomer experience elements will arise…but must integrate with the client deeply.This will be a high value service.

There’s apattern here…Agencies will needto integrate with theirclients more deeply.

Will require more ―marketing technologist‖—not just ―creative technologist‖—technicalcapabilities.Account managers must also learn towork with more technical stakeholderson the client’s team.

A client-side marketingtechnology team shouldbe your new best friend.

Practice Center IT MT Mktg AgencyColocated IT MT Mktg AgencyJoint Venture IT MT Mktg AgencyEmbedded IT Mktg MT Agency

With the advantage of perspective acrossmany clients…Agencies have the potential to becomecurators of ―best practices‖ for the futureof marketing technology.This too can be a high value service.

The Marketing Technology Express

Will you be a conductor, a passenger,or someone left behind?

Thank you.Get these slides atwww.chiefmartec.comFollow me on Twitter@chiefmartec