Marketers are being asked to do more than ever before. At our CMO Insight Summit in Amelia Island in April, executives explored insights and solutions that are making them more efficient, agile and able to focus on strategic growth activities rather than day to day operations. 

Back to Basics 

CMO Dwayne Chambers kicked off our summit with a keynote address stressing the importance of going back to facts and truth. 

“CMO’s don’t own the customer journey, the customer owns the customer journey.” 

“In business, we increasingly fall into the trap of thinking that because things are moving so fast that we must quickly change our course, grow markets, expand product lines, and find new avenues to address every customer need. Increasingly we want to do this by “controlling the customer journey” and focusing on data to drive the business. 

But I suggest to you that we all take a step back, stop trying to be everything to everyone and move forward with a purpose. Finding the purpose you can all get behind is the key to success.” 

Purposeful Conversations 

Marketing automation is allowing CMOs to tell a more relevant story. The automation enables engagement-based journeys allowing interactions that can be used to directly support sales efforts. The customer journey starts here, empowering CMOs to have more purposeful and personalized interactions. 

Customers are now looking for immediate gratification. Eric Wennerod of Sandbox asked the room, “What does it mean to market and communicate in an automated world? Performance-driven marketing starts by having a meaningful conversation.” 

The right person, the right place, the right message at the right time. Journeys should align with communicated goals, with a design to move along the path to conversion. Automation is helping to update communications based on customer engagement. 

“We are no longer in the advertising business. We are now in the attention business. But getting consumers attention is getting harder and harder.” 

Tom Kuhn, VP of Marketing at PGA Tour shared insight on putting fans first and how to move fans from just observer to getting involved: how to make your brand a lifestyle. According to Kuhn, it all comes from the data found at different touch points in the fan journey. 

For the fan looking for immediate gratification, allowing them to get involved and promote their experience at an event with their favorite player on social media is proving successful in moving an iconic brand like the PGA into today’s social media driven world. Kuhn warned, “the enemy is apathy.” 

Battle for Attention and Performance 

Across many industries, growth has slowed, costs are increasing and traditional marketing methods are losing effectiveness. These macro challenges, coupled with changes in consumer behavior and advertising consumption, are creating a mandate for new and different ways to drive growth and brand distinction through marketing. It requires adapting and implementing new methods while maintaining performance. 

“Growth is about team structure, people and process. It’s not about quick tactics and hacks that result in just short-term wins.” 

The director of growth marketing at Unilever, Dan Tramontozzi, took us on an in depth look on how to scale growth. Dan shared insights on how to leverage marketing, product, engineering and data to authentically grow your business. Tramontozzi joked, “good marketers copy, great ones steal.” But he also left the room thinking about future trends, as he warned: “Your efforts have to relate to a new audience type and everyone in this room should be testing voice search, it’s where it’s all going.” 

Consumer Choices in the Age of Connected Consumption 

What is the role of brand when brand loyalty has diminished? Shruti Saini, Senior Director Marketing strategy for Anheuser-Busch had her workshop room buzzing as they all discussed consumer motivations and behavior in a marketplace of exponential product solutions. The discussion focused on understanding key consumer themes of disloyalty, non-linearity, non-singular consumption and the implications this carries on brand selection & choice. Saini encouraged: 

“Retain the center of gravity of who you are as a brand without losing sight of who that is because for many reasons it actually makes sense to not reinvent yourself to go after the next big thing.” 

Solving Today’s Challenges With Tomorrow’s Knowledge and Solutions 

Marketing is continuously evolving. From driving strategy and execution to marketing attribution and driving personalization through the customer experience. Technology is fundamentally transforming the way marketers reach their customer, but that technology isn’t replacing the marketer, rather freeing them up to solve other challenges and helping them to become better connected to each-and-every one of their customers through personalized experiences. 

For more insight from leading executives in the marketing industry, check out the upcoming executive marketing events. 

GDS Group hosts experts to help experts. We strive to provide an atmosphere for our attendees that enables them to confidently lead their companies through major transformation projects. For information on upcoming events, view our Technology Summits and Executive Events. To remain current on our activities, visit GDS Group on LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter.