CMOs and marketing leaders predict what 2016 will hold with a pop culture reference infused for good measure.

1. WHERE WILL
THE ROAD
TAKE
MARKETERS
IN 2016?

2. MARKETING
PREDICTIONS
FROM CMOs &
MARKETING
LEADERS…
WITH A TWIST.
A POP CULTURE TWIST.

4. IN THE VOICE OF
MASTER YODA…
“Disruption, all around us
it is. Market share leader.
Hmph! Biggest distribution
network. Heh! Largest
number of employees. Ha!
In 2016 much more and
faster disruption will there
be.” – Randall Rozin, Brand
Management and Digital Marketing, Dow
Corning Corporation

5. BASED ON THE JUSTIN BIEBER
SONG “SORRY”
“Big data, predictive modeling,
digital marketing and
attribution tracking disciplines
have become table steaks for
CMOs. Today’s marketing
leaders must reach beyond
Marketing Mix Models and
general traffic counts to deliver
actionable MROI for every
dollar spent.“ – Julie, Lyle, Chairman
of the Board, Global Retail Marketing
Association

6. IN THE VOICE OF PUFF DADDY FROM THE
SONG, “IT’S ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS.”
“It’s all about curation baby.
Now, what ya’ll brands wanna
do? Wanna be creators? Story-
makers? Creatives, who be
dippin’ in the director seat wit’
the vids? On the low, people
don’t want to watch your ads,
Tryin’ to get they hands on
stories from their peers instead.
Yeah, curatin’ is the raw deal,
authentic feels, engaging,
shareable, and actually realIt’s
all about curation baby.” - Eric
Sheinkop, Founder of Music Dealers

7. IN THE VOICE OF THE NARRATOR OF
AN ACTION MOVIE TRAILER:
“In a world where mobile devices and on demand
communication collide… A set of mobile applications
will rise….to confront the challenge of connecting
consumers and businesses… And they’ll do it in real-
time. Starring… Facebook’s M, Operator, Magic and
HotelTonight’s Aces. And this time, they’re gonna
mean business – really, really big business. Now
showing at an App Store near you. “- Sam Shank, CEO,
HotelTonight

8. IN THE VOICE OF JOHN POPPER OF BLUES
TRAVELER FROM THE SONG RUNAROUND
“Like a game show contestant with a parting gift,
I could not believe my eyes,
When I saw through the voice of a trusted brand,
Who needs to humor me and tell me lies,
Yeah, humor me and tell me lies.
And I’ll tweet too and say I mind,
And as we seek so shall we find,
And when you’re feeling open I won’t be here,
My favorite brand should always keep me near,
Of what will be with you and me,
I still can see things hopefully.
But you… Why you wanna give me a run-around”
- Jessica Rogers, Lead Marketing Faculty, Southern New
Hampshire University

9. IN THE VOICE OF
MASTER YODA…
“A massive correction in
advertising budgets I foresee. The
force is with an increase in content
marketing . Get good at showing
Content Marketing ROI, we will.
Promotion is the path to the dark
side. Promotion leads to banner
blindness, DVRs, cord-cutters and
ad blockers. And these all lead to
marketer suffering. Personalize
content. Visualize content. Or do
not. There is no try.”– Michael Brenner,
CEO of Marketing Insider Group & Head of
Strategy at NewsCred

10. INSPIRED BY THE JAMES TAYLOR
SONG “SHOWER THE PEOPLE”
“For marketers thinking about
approaching social media from a
networking and community
building aspect rather than a
marketing and sales aspect can be
very difficult. Brands need to
attract customers, but breaking
through the clutter is challenging.
We are not there yet, but my
prediction for 2016 is that Brands
will start to realize that they will
Standout by ‘Liking’ them before
they ‘Like’ you.” – Ted Rubin, Keynote
Speaker, Brand Evangelist and Acting CMO
Brand Innovators

11. “Data has become the new
currency as it’s driving – or at least,
should be driving – nearly every
choice we make in marketing or
reputation management. Certainly,
we’ve known the Force of data was
out there since the days of Yoda
and beyond, but it’s only becoming
more essential and we’re seeing it’s
integration more deeply applied to
everything we do.” - Aaron Perlut,
Partner, Elasticity
INSPIRED BY
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS

12. INSPIRED BY
MASTER YODA…
“As Yoda wisely said, it’s impossible
to see what the future will hold. And
yet, I believe there are some
fundamental truths about what
consumers want that remain as true
today as they were a year, even five
years ago. Those truths can help guide
us and while not enable us predict the
future, certainly shape the strategies
we devise to create it. Perhaps the
single most meaningful truth is that in
a digital world, the human moment
matters more than ever before.” -
Elizabeth Pizzinato, SVP Marketing and
Communications, Four Seasons Hotels and
Resorts

13. INSPIRED BY THE FILM
SUNSET BOULEVARD
“Transformative storytelling is how
brands today affect change. In the last
24 months there have been more
stories made and shared than in all the
rest of human history. This means that
to drive engagement today, telling a
great brand story is not enough. Now,
consumers expect to participate in the
story. To tell their own story through
your brand’s story. Cosplay, larping,
the rise of experiential retailing, are all
examples that deliver this accelerated
engagement. In 2016 they expect to
star in your story!” - Shawn Dennis, Head
of Global Franchise for DreamWorks Animation

14. IN THE VOICE OF
MASTER YODA…
“The year that connection changes everything.
Consumer connection with digital devices
accelerates (think Apple Watch and more),
mobile really does come first and marketers
take seriously the revamping of their full
creative, connection and content process.
Think the relationship between person and
brand is only through commerce? In 2016 the
connection is all around you. This is the way
of things, the way of connection. If you choose
the quick and easy path, you will lag far
behind. First comes mobile and rebuild you
must all creative, connection and content.
Embrace the device to power the connection.
Size matters not.” – Deborah Wahl, CMO, McDonald’s
USA

15. IN THE VOICE OF GUNNERY
SARGENT HARTMAN FROM THE
FILM FULL METAL JACKET
My prediction for 2016 is Disruption 3.0.
“I’m Gunnery Sergeant Hartman…you
will speak only when spoken to, and
the first and last words out of your
filthy sewers will be 'Disruption.' You
must eat, sleep, and drink disruption.
And if you survive recruit training you
will be ministers of disruption, but
until that day you are pukes, maggots,
and the lowest form of life on earth.
Show me your war face private...you
didn’t scare me…work on it.”- Jan
Talamo, Chief Creative Officer, Head of Brand
Strategies, M Partners

16. INSPIRED BY THE FILM
JURASSIC WORLD
Claire: "So when you say you want to sponsor an
attraction, what do you have in mind?"
Hal Osterly: "We want to be thrilled."
Claire: "Don't we all?"
“Everyone wants to produce thrilling and
engaging content, because it's what gets and keeps
users engaged. But marketers often find it difficult
to produce thrilling content, and get the right
people to see it and enjoy it. In 2016, more
publishers will realize the huge opportunity to
help marketers do exactly that, and double down
on content marketing "attractions" (that hopefully
won't eat people like Indominus Rex.)” - Kunal
Gupta, founder and CEO, Polar

17. INSPIRED BY THE FILM
STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON
“I think 2016 is going to be a Straight Outta
Compton year for the CMO and the
MarketingTech and AdTech folks who
work for them. No “bubble gum pop”, no
'big hair glam rock' and no “Ice Ice Baby."
None of the sugary, false calorie stuff. The
CMO is sick of it, and so are his/her
customers. Not everyone will be bold in
our industry. A lot of folks will be
followers, who will only jump on the
movement after it’s safe, and it’s clear that
$billions have shifted and it’s now not only
acceptable, but trendy and at the top of the
charts. But a few are going to change the
world and 'GET REAL.’ - Kevin Akeroyd,
SVP & GM, Oracle Marketing Cloud

18. INSPIRED BY THE
NOTHINGNESS OF SEINFELD
“More brands will be
having to put themselves
under a microscope to
unearth their differences
for themselves and for their
consumers, oftentimes
when there is NOTHING of
any valuable difference at
all.” – David Brier, Chief Gravity
Defyer, Brand Identity & Rebranding
Specialist

19. IN THE VOICE OF COL. NATHAN
R. JESSUP FROM THE FILM
A FEW GOOD MEN
“Marketers like to use words like ‘flyers,
brochures and 50% off coupons.' They
use these words as the backbone of a life
spent trying to sell something. Today,
consumers use them as a punch line.
People today have neither the time nor
the inclination to buy something from a
brand who’s constantly trying to sell
them something. I would rather you
marketers just said 'I understand’ and
stop selling all the time. Otherwise I
suggest you look for a new line of work.
Either way, I don’t give a damn about
what you’re trying to sell if you all ever
do is sell in the first place!” - Steve Olenski,
Massive Coffee Imbiber

20. To read the predictions in their
entirety, click here
or on the Forbes logo.