Top 15 CMO stories of 2014

2014 was a big year for CMOs and the marketing fraternity, dominated by the rise of data analytics and customer journey mapping, mobile marketing strategies and content marketing prowess.

Here, we take a look at the most popular stories posted to CMO Australia during 2014 to check out where our readers are placing their focus and attention and to shine the light on some great advice and insight to help you drive the customer agenda in 2015.

5 Analytics trends to watch

Marketers and marketing industry experts from the likes of Forrester, Mindjet, Deloitte and BlueKai weigh in on the rise of analytics and data-driven marketing, pointing to the practical application of data as well as agile approach needed to get to that target of one-to-one marketing.

L’Oreal’s content marketing agenda

Sixty years after it revolutionised advertising by staging live radio shows, L’Oreal shares how branded online content would be key to reaching its ambition of one billion new customers by 2020.

Online advertising in Australia outpaces traditional

According to the results of its 2013 research, Frost and Sullivan predicted online advertising to outpace growth across traditional and more mature advertising formats, and reached $3.74 billion in 2013.

4 brands making customer loyalty programs work

Loyalty programs are big business in the quest to retain customers, and yet one in four consumers left such programs in recent years. We speak to four major Australian brands from very different walks of life – Thirsty Camel, BlueScope Steel, American Express and Accor – to find out what makes their customer loyalty programs work and how they’re tackling the increased need for mobile interactions with consumers.

Customer-led big data programs deliver millions to Westpac’s bottom line

Utilising big data to identify a range of personalised ‘next best offers’ is proving the key to delivering millions to Westpac’s bottom line, Westpac’s head of CRM and digital, Karen Ganschow, reveals. She details the bank’s ‘Know me’ program and the technology and cultural approach required to make it work.

Getting on top of data analytics

With as many as half of all Australian organisations admitting to an inability to utilise data, CMO offers up 8 ways marketers can get a handle on data analytics, ranging from the necessity of data hygiene and assessing your existing data assets, through to technology platform investments.

Fitness First’s decision to drop its customer loyalty program

In January 2014, Fitness First launched a brand transformation initiative that resulted in its decision to ditch a poor performing customer loyalty program in favour of personalised services and experience. We catch up with the group’s marketing chief to understand its membership approach and brand imperatives.

Programmatic advertising: Digital marketing’s saviour or real-time headache?

Programmatic ad buying was supposed to bring clarity and efficiency to the process of planning and booking online display ad campaigns. So where did it all go wrong? We take a look at the world of programmatic advertising and real-time ad buying to find out how it all works and where the potential pitfalls for marketers are.

Digital strategy the Amway

When many of us think of direct selling businesses, a digital-first approach isn’t what springs to mind. But for Amway, the world’s number one direct selling and multi-level marketing company, embracing digital is the key to ensuring its future.

Coca-Cola strategy VP talks real-time digital interaction

Communication between brands and consumers is at a premium thanks to real-time digital and social exchange. And according to Coca-Cola’s head of marketing, it is heightening the role of creativity and authenticity in marketing.

Domino’s Pizza puts product creation into consumer’s hands

Through its Pizza Mogul campaign, Domino’s Pizza shows how co-creation with consumers can be rewarding for both parties and a winner in social media marketing.

Adobe Digital Marketing Summit and the lessons in big data analytics

Fresh from our trip to the 2014 Adobe Digital Marketing Summit, we present a host of core insights from leading marketers and industry experts on big data analytics and find out why organisations don’t agree on the best way to deal with data.

Down and dirty in Deakin University’s social media command centre

Tapping into social media as a way of connecting with students is a cornerstone of Deakin University’s digital strategy, and even helped the institution turn a negative PR incident on campus into a marketing triumph. The university details the launch of its social media command and innovation centre and social media strategy.

Oracle’s Responsys buy highlights vendor race to win CMOs

Oracle’s US$1.5 billion acquisition of marketing automation player, Responsys, is one in a string of acquisitions made by the software giant in recent years to shore up its position in the marketing technology space. It’s also an example of the rapidly changing marketing software landscape and the race by vendors to win over CMOs with a growing suite of solutions.

CMO Interview: How Citibank dishes up more targeted customer engagement

Citibank Australia’s managing director of marketing, digital banking and customer experience, Linda Duncombe, isn’t afraid of change. She talks to CMO about Citibank’s transformation into a customer-first, digital business and her relationship with the IT team.

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