CMO’s top 16 marketing stories of 2016

As the year of customer experience, digital transformation, premium programmatic and ad viewability and addressability comes to a close, the team at CMO has pulled together a list of our most-read stories for 2016 to see what issues have really been keeping marketers awake at night.

Predictions: 16 digital marketing trends for 2016
We speak to marketing leaders, analysts and industry commentators about the key ingredients needed for the digital marketing mix in 2016.

Getting to the bottom of the digital transformation process
Digital transformation is vital when it comes to how companies work, market and innovate, but up until now little has been offered by way of a maturity model showing how companies actually go through the process. Altimeter Group principal analyst, author and influencer, Brian Solis, releases a new maturity model for digital transformation in his new report, The Race Against Digital Darwinism: Six Stages of Digital Transformation.

IBM CEO: Cognition is the next big business disruptor
In just five years, every important decision made by businesses will be aided by cognitive systems that understand, learn and augment our decision making, according to IBM’s chairman and CEO, Ginni Rometty. The IBM chief, joined by Myer CEO and NAB CEO, debate the role of machine learning and cognitive systems in business, innovation and customer experience.

Kmart CEO details priorities to turn Target around
Newly installed joint CEO of Kmart and Target, Guy Russo, answers questions about whether he can resurrect one brand without hurting the other.

Big four marketing cloud vendors top Gartner's digital marketing hubs list
Adobe, Oracle, Salesforce and Marketo are leading the way for digital marketing platform capabilities, according to the analyst group's new magic quadrant, but there are plenty of challengers, as its latest research report shows.

McDonald's CMO: Why we're focused on incremental customer experience improvements
There is so much incremental power in doing the small, practical things for customers over tackling the big, exciting experience game changers, according to the CMO of McDonald's. The US marketing leader shares details of the fast food restaurant's digital transformation journey and why incremental experience improvements at scale is vital for customer success.

Teradata marketing applications business sold for US$90m
Private equity firm picks up the enterprise vendor's campaign management, marketing resource management and marketing automation offerings for US$90 million in cash. And the analysts are asking questions.

4 epic social media marketing fails to avoid
The race to stay ahead of the social media marketing game is forcing several companies to stretch the limits of what is achievable or authentic in the fast-evolving social space. So what are the things marketers should avoid doing when implementing an effective social media strategy? Experts reveal the common mistakes marketers make when using social media to engage with customers.

CMO Interview: How Kodak’s global CMO is bringing the brand back from the brink
CMO catches up with the brand’s global chief marketing officer, Steven Overman, to find out how he is planning to resurrect the brand in the hearts and minds of connected consumers, as well as the very relevant role Kodak can play in a world where digital and physical experiences are not only converging, but shape shifting around us.

Predictions 2016: What’s trending in big data and predictive analytics
Big data and predictive analytics have been topics of hot debate across the marketing community this year, especially as the pressure to forecast and adapt to customer behaviour intensifies. Marketing leaders, analysts and industry commentators share their insights into what 2016 holds.

The pros and cons of a masterbrand strategy
In the past few years, more and more high-profile brands, including Coca-Cola, have jumped on the masterbrand bandwagon, merging product offerings into one overarching campaign in an effort to emotionally connect with their customer on a more holistic level. We ask the experts why this approach could be wildly successful for some, and challenging for others.

10 examples of how brands are using digital technology to attract customers
More than ever before, brands are turning to the power of technology in an effort to attract, engage and retain customers in new and innovative ways. We take a look at 10 real-life examples of how leading brands are using the latest tech offerings like augmented reality, facial recognition and virtual apps to vamp up their marketing campaigns

CMO interview: David Jones' marketing chief on data, loyalty and turning around a retailer
The Australian department store's CMO, David Robinson, has been leading a transformation of David Jones’ marketing function, using customer insights, digital channels, content and data as his tools for change. He shares how he's investing in significant customer analytics and insights activities, along with loyalty, as part of his new omni-channel marketing strategy

Six ways to prepare for the future of digital marketing
SAS Customer Intelligence director of product management, Ryan Treichler, speaks to CMO about what intelligent digital marketing really means in today’s fast-paced technological landscape.

What you need to know about account-based marketing
Account-based marketing (ABM) is not a new concept in the B2B marketing sphere. But like many buzzwords and emerging marketing technology categories, interest has been heating up globally as marketers look for ways to better target messages and content to customers, while supporting sales teams to close ever-more complex deals. We get the lowdown on what it takes to be great at ABM.

How to leverage design thinking for a better customer experience
Great strides in technology and connectivity have seen customers expecting faster, more personalised services. In response to this, design thinking has become increasingly more important as a way of meeting those demands. Forrester’s principal analyst reveals the power of design thinking to unlock greater marketing potential.

Follow CMO on Twitter: @CMOAustralia, take part in the CMO conversation on LinkedIn: CMO ANZ, join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CMOAustralia, or check us out on Google+:google.com/+CmoAu