We take a look at the most popular articles across the CMO site during 2019 according to our readership statistics
It’s taken just a decade for mobile advertising to rise from relative obscurity to represent a billion dollars of ad expenditure in Australia (according to the IAB), and account for 62 per cent of general digital display spending.
When you add in dollars spent on other marketing activities such as mobile sites, messaging channels, apps development and the number of other ways in which devices are used to deliver messages to consumers, the true value of mobile marketing grows much larger still.
With Australia poised for the launch of the first wide-scale 5G network roll outs in the latter half of 2019, marketers began questioning what new leap forward in mobile marketing this next-generation technology will unleash. CMO explored how this next-generation network technology will change the way mobile apps, advertising, experiences and event industries interact.
Read more about 5G's impact here.
It was arguably the biggest customer loyalty program launch of the year. First heralded in 2018, Telstra officially took the wrappers off a new-look loyalty program in 2019, part of its wider T22 strategy aimed at simplifying products and services, removing legacy systems and upping the ante on digitisation.
The new tiered Telstra Plus offering kicks off officially from 14 May and will see customers accumulating points they can exchange for discounts on devices and accessories. Consumers also gained access to benefits like sport and movie ticket discounts, complimentary extras and VIP services; offerings which were previously available via the ‘Telstra thanks’ loyalty initiative.
Read more on Telstra's program here.
In June 2019, Salesforce unveiled its first customer data platform (CDP). The move followed in the footsteps of other enterprise martech players including Adobe, IBM and Oracle, who all also debuted ‘CDP’ versions of their own.
Initially a category full of pivoting tag management vendors and best-of-breed upstarts, the fact enterprise martech players are now seriously adopting the CDP approach suggested its one that is here to stay.
Which raised a big question: What does it mean for the longer-standing data management platform (DMP)? Will these platforms will continue to co-exist, or will CDPs in fact replace DMPs? We delved into the DMP versus CDP battle.
Read more on CDP versus DMP here
The proliferation of digital ways of engagement, from chatbots to social and messenger apps, has been transforming the way consumers interact with brands and leading to the demise of the owned website.
Yet while the tools have changed, many marketing programs are still structured on a channel-based model with origins dating back to the 1960s. So as organisations strive to meet customers on any channel, on any device, at any time and anywhere, the question CMO asked was: How can brands best organise themselves to deliver that customer-centric vision?
The proposition for convenience stores is pretty straightforward. But how does that translate in a world where convenience is now more often associated with digital experiences rather than those in the real world?
This is one of the challenges facing Julie Laycock, head of marketing for 7-Eleven Stores in Australia. Her general management role sees her heading a blended marketing and commercial function that includes teams for insights, marketing communication, brand, digital marketing and loyalty.
At 700 stores and growing, 7-Eleven’s value has always been connected to attributes of location and availability. But the rise of home delivery services such as Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Drive Yello is starting to change consumers’ definition of what convenience means to one where the things they want come to them.
Read more about 7-Eleven's marketing strategy here
Still glowing from being named number one in the 2019 edition of our CMO50, Steve Brennen’s departure from Uber was sure to gain a lot of attention.
So his decision to switch the digital disruptor for a fintech upstart was not surprisingly one of CMO’s most read articles in 2019. Taking up the newly created role of chief customer officer, the well-known Australian marketing leader told CMO he was excited by the opportunity to disrupt the lucrative payments space.
Customer experience (CX) is being superseded by human experience (HX) and it is those companies who recognise this that will have an advantage. Or so says Amelia Dunlop, US head of customer strategy and applied design for Deloitte Digital.
In an interview with CMO, the leader explained the consulting giant’s new approach to CX, its decision to embrace human-centred design, and the considerations businesses of all shapes and sizes should be factoring in as humans and robotics increasingly pervade the way we engage as individuals and as brands.
Read more from Deloitte Digital here.
Another big trend CMO has documented in recent years is the rise in in-sourcing marketing capability. So it was no surprise to see one of our most popular news stories in 2019 being a new product aiming to enable marketers successfully do more about CX in-house.
CX Lavender launched a separate technology pure play company, CXTX, to empower marketers to create a better customer experience by simplifying the technology they need.
The company’s first product to market was no_code, a software tool aiming to enable marketers to produce agency-quality digital marketing in-house, in less time than it takes when engaging agencies or offshore suppliers.
“All the things that make our careers are the things that are a little hard. In fact, in every area of our personal lives, the areas you grow the most are those where it’s that little bit harder and you have to face into challenges.”
So says NAB’s executive GM of marketing and customer experience, Suzana Ristevski, who caught up with CMO in September to talk about how she’s helping steer NAB out of the lows of the Australian Royal Commission into the banking service, and ensure customer is front and centre in everything the organisation does.
“CX, marketing, digital, personal growth – it’s fascinating all the discussions about the identity crisis we’re having as chief marketing officers,” Ristevski said in response to what her modern role entails. “In a way, I’m disappointed we’re still having these conversations. It doesn’t matter where things sit – one of our jobs is to be integrators on behalf of the customer.”
It’s for this reason Ristevski is ultimately trying to help NAB land at a place where no one and everyone ‘owns’ the customer.
Read more from Suzana Ristevski here.
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In the third and final episode of our 3-part CMO50 video series exploring modern marketing and why it’s become a matter of trust, we’re delighted to be joined by Telstra’s former CMO and now digital services and sales executive, Jeremy Nicholas, and Adobe VP Marketing Asia-Pacific and Japan, Duncan Egan.
Flash back to the classic film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Television-obsessed Mike insists on becoming the first person to be ‘sent by Wonkavision’, dematerialising on one end, pixel by pixel, and materialising in another space. His cinematic dreams are realised thanks to rash decisions as he is shrunken down to fit the digital universe, followed by a trip to the taffy puller to return to normal size.
Why is it there is no shortage of leadership development materials, yet outstanding leadership is so rare? Despite having access to so many leadership principles, tools, systems and processes, why is it so hard to develop and improve as a leader?
As a nation united by sport, brands are beginning to learn money alone won’t talk without aligned values and action. If recent events with major leagues and their players have shown us anything, it’s the next generation of athletes are standing by what they believe in – and they won’t let their values be superseded by money.
