1. October 2011
Rise of the
Marketing Technologist
(And What It Means for Agencies)
by Scott Brinker
@chiefmartec

2. Who am I?
Hybrid software architect & marketer.
Blog about that intersection at
www.chiefmartec.com.
Co-founded interactive agency in 1998.
Transformed agency into a specialized
marketing technology software vendor
www.ioninteractive.com.

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

4. Based on
predictive
analytics:
Digital
has won.

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

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

10. A digital strategist must be
fluent in using technology.

11. A digital strategist modern marketer must be
fluent in using technology.
But not necessarily building it.

12. Enter the creative technologist.

13. Brain of a software developer
Heart of an artist
Anatomy of a Creative Technologist

14. 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

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

17. The modern creative triumvirate.
Concepts
Creative
Art Director + Copywriter + Technologist
(Images) (Words)
(Code)

21. Agencies are becoming more and more
technically sophisticated.
Some faster than others.

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

23. Across the agency-client divide…

24. A fundamental shift is underway in most
marketing departments.
From technology adverse…
…to technology savvy.

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

26. But let’s start with the root cause.

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

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

29. ZMOT: Winning the Zero Moment of Truth, Jim Lecinski

30. 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

31. 5 killer properties of the ZMOT:
1. Almost entirely digital (or digital-ish).
2. Many touchpoints.

33. 5 killer properties of the ZMOT:
1. Almost entirely digital (or digital-ish).
2. Many touchpoints.
3. Real-time dynamics.

35. 5 killer properties of the ZMOT:
1. Almost entirely digital (or digital-ish).
2. Many touchpoints.
3. Real-time dynamics.
4. Shattered boundaries.

37. 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.

38. Marketing/
Advertising
New Existing
Prospects Customers
Product/
Service

39. Marketing/
Advertising
New Existing
Prospects Customers
Product/
Service
Customer Experience

40. It’s
@$%*&!#
complex.

41. From Stretched to Strengthened, IBM Global CMO Study 2011

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

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

44. 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.

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

46. 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 build
great software.

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

48. Marketing Technology Landscape August 2011
MOBILE MARKETING MOBILE APPS GAMING/FACEBOOK APPS CREATIVE TOOLS DIGITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT
TARGETING DISPLAY AD E-COMMERCE PERSONALIZATION LOYALTY MANAGEMENT
MANAGEMENT
VIRTUAL EVENTS VIDEO CONTENT APIs EVENT MANAGEMENT CALL TRACKING
CREATIVE
OPTIMIZATION VIDEO AD MANAGEMENT SEO TOOLS CORE WEBSITE CUSTOM WEB APPS CRM
MARKETING AUTOMATION
SEARCH AD MANAGEMENT
WIDGETS/PLUG-INS
SALES AUTOMATION
SOCIAL MEDIA AD MANAGEMENT
LANDING PAGES BLOGS COMMUNITIES EMAIL MARKETING
& MICROSITES
CUSTOM DATABASES
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING MANAGEMENT
WEB TESTING & OPTIMIZATION BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYTICS WEB ANALYTICS CUSTOMER ANALYTICS MARKETING RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
MULTI-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

49. The Golden Age of Marketing Software.

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

51. Software doesn’t just help marketers
manage the new customer experience.
It often defines the customer experience.

53. But all this wizardry raises a question…

54. Who choreographs this
marketing technology ballet?

55. Or is it more
of a mosh pit?

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

57. Marketing
IT

58. 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

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

61. So how do we reconile this?

62. Well, there’s always a committee…

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

64. Collectively, these forces demand a
fundamental shift in marketing culture,
structure, and operations.
The foundation of that shift must be
this affirmation…

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

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

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

69. How should we organize professionals
in this new discipline?

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

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

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

73. A marketing technologist team should
provide an integrated, holistic view.
MT
Understand good Understand good
IT practices marketing practices
Think natively in the
combined domain of
marketing technology

74. Practice Center IT MT Mktg
Colocated IT MT Mktg
Joint Venture IT MT Mktg
Embedded IT Mktg MT

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

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

78. Mission #1
Build and lead a
superb team of
marketing
technologists.
- Tech experience
- Marketing passion
- ―T-shaped‖
- Self-learners
- Highly collaborative

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

80. Mission #2
Help the CMO
translate strategy
into technology
(and vice versa).
- Prepare the CMO
- Map tech & business
- Drive innovation
- Justify investment

81. Mission #3
Choreograph data
and technology
across the
marketing
organization.
- Manage vendors
- Integrate & operate
- Interface to agencies
- Champion data
- Balance cost/value

82. The
Marketing
Standardize Experiment
Technology
Cycle

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

85. Mission #5
Enforce and
inform IT policy
and governance
for all marketing
technology.
- Mind security
- Mind regulation
- Share infrastructure
- Support the CIO

86. In the words of
Seth Godin, this
person should be a
linchpin.
He’d definitely call
them weird (in a
good way).

87. ―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

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

89. So what does this mean for agencies?

90. Advertising automation and optimization will
continue to accelerate… but will increasingly
need to integrate with the client more deeply.
This value will be eroded by software and
network synchronization.

91. Creative technology will continue to grow
and thrive… but will increasingly need to
integrate with the client more deeply.
This will be a high value service.

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

93. There’s a
pattern here…
Agencies will need
to integrate with their
clients more deeply.

94. Will require more ―marketing technologist‖—
not just ―creative technologist‖—technical
capabilities.
Account managers must also learn to
work with more technical stakeholders
on the client’s team.

95. A client-side marketing
technology team should
be your new best friend.

96. Practice Center IT MT Mktg Agency
Colocated IT MT Mktg Agency
Joint Venture IT MT Mktg Agency
Embedded IT Mktg MT Agency

97. With the advantage of perspective across
many clients…
Agencies have the potential to become
curators of ―best practices‖ for the future
of marketing technology.
This too can be a high value service.

98. The Marketing Technology Express

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

100. Thank you.
Get these slides at
www.chiefmartec.com
Follow me on Twitter
@chiefmartec