CMO wraps up the most read articles across our site this year
2022 was a big year for diversity and inclusion, reconciliation and team emphasis for marketing leaders.
From how brands better break the bias, to First Nations reconciliation planning, there was a distinct desire to work out how to become more inclusive both internally and externally. At the same time, with growing adoption of NFTs in preparation for a Web 3.0 world, as well as the ongoing dominance of the creator economy, it’s been another year of significant overhaul and innovation from a digital marketing perspective.
And through it all, how to ensure our staff remain energised, motivated and resilient was top of mind for our CMOs.
As we see out 2022, CMO took the opportunity to look back and review our top 15, most-read stories of the year. Here they are.
Are marketers proving their contribution to business growth? Or are they more fixated on simply articulating outcomes? Is a rebrand really innovative marketing? Are we entering another golden age of marketers driving product innovation? How far can the CMO’s scope go? Is one marketer’s customer ‘journey’ the same as another’s? And are marketers capitalising on the moments that actually matter in the pursuit of growth?
These are just some of the questions the CMO50 judging panel explored as we set about the task of compiling the eighth edition of the CMO50, our annual list recognising Australia’s most innovative and effective marketers.
While this is strictly not one article, this year’s CMO50 portal saw record visitors this year and makes it to the top of our most read in 2022. Check out our top 50 here.
What does a world free of bias look like? This year’s International Women’s Day theme was ‘breaking the bias’ and focused on working towards a world free of stereotypes and discrimination that is diverse, equitable and inclusive. It’s a world where difference is valued and celebrated.
In the lead-up to the big day, CMO asked: What’s being done and how much more is needed across the industry and beyond to really foster change?
Check out our full report here
From community engagement to creative expression, raising funds for not-for-profits, lead generation, campaign promotion and influencer marketing, brand uses cases of NFTs are wide and through the funnel.
Here, CMO investigates 15 ways brands have tapped non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as they look to build learnings and engagement in the emerging Web 3.0 era.
News that Netflix was entertaining an advertising model for its streaming services platform following the loss of more than 200,000 subscribers globally was a big topic of discussion in April.
So CMO asked industry thought leaders to weigh in on the viability of the idea, how to successfully execute it and what it means for brands.
Here are those first takes on Netflix advertising 1.0.
Would you put your brand into the hands of a complete stranger? For a rapidly increasing number of Australian marketers, the answer is yes.
Modern marketers need to produce ever-greater volumes of content to reach increasingly fragmented audiences and do so in a meaningful way. This challenge sits alongside the ongoing requirement for mass-market brand campaigns, but it is a challenge mass-market production models are ill-suited to meet.
It is, however, a task that appears tailor-made for the thousands of independent content creators who have emerged across Australia in the past decade, promising fresh ideas with rapid turnaround times. And better yet, many of them also bring loyal audiences of their own.
In this feature, marketers from Coles, Glenfiddich, Officeworks and more talk about the rise of the creator economy and how they're harnessing its power to foster brand engagement.
Ok, so it’s not strictly an article, but the third episode of the CMO 2022 readiness video series focused on the great resignation and staff motivation and leadership certainly gained a lot of traction.
The three-part video series focused on delivering marketing impact in the next normal and in the shadow of the Covid-19 hangover. In this third episode, we delved into the great resignation and ongoing challenges CMOs face as functional and business leaders, driving staff and team leadership and motivation with the help of Great Southern Bank’s Megan Keleher, Southern Cross Austereo’s Nikki Clarkson and Mars Wrigley’s Ben Hill.
Check out the video episode here.
The combination of a big CMO move and first insights into Wesfarmers was extending its OnePass group customer loyalty program made this story an irresistible one to click on in June.
The retail giant confirmed it had brought on former Carsales marketing chief, Kellie Cordner, as chief customer officer of its new-look OnePass retail loyalty program. Cordner joined the ASX-listed company’s OneDigital division, established last year to build out the group’s digital and data ecosystem. Overseen by MD and former Australia Post chief customer officer, Nicole Sheffield, the division brings together digitally native businesses from across Wesfarmers including membership programs, data platform and marketplaces, and is tasked with building shared data and digital asset foundations, along with an advanced analytics centre and data governance.
Read more about the appointment and plans here.
As always what to expect when it comes to digital marketing is always a popular topic at the beginning of each year.
In this hefty industry round-up featuring marketing leaders, industry experts, agency thought leaders, adtech and martech vendors, CMO explored what's in store for digital marketing in the post-Covid era of 2022.
Read the full 2022 digital marketing predictions list here.
As third-party cookies disappear and first-party data strategies take centre stage, what is the fate of the DMP?
As third-party cookie demise came ever closer, CMO decided to explore the future of digital advertising-oriented data management platforms and targeting approaches which have been playing such a pivotal role in digital advertising efforts over the last few years.
Read about the fate of DMPs in a post-cookie world here.
Solving the challenge of a single customer record that can be harnessed for event-based and personalised marketing, with tools to visualise and analyse the full customer journey, has led Australian tech vendor, Autopilot, to a new platform play and brand overhaul.
Autopilot officially rebranded to Ortto at the end of March. As co-founder and CEO, Michael Sharkey, told CMO, the name change was in response to significant growth, expanding capabilities and alignment with its new vision. It also comes off the back of $35 million in investment funding from a number of big hitters, including Blackbird Ventures, Salesforce Ventures and Rembrandt Venture partners.
As it transitioned from Autopilot to Ortto, the Aussie founder detailed the product overhaul that led to a company rebrand.
Work on Reconciliation Action Plans has accelerated this year, with a flurry of announcements from brands and agencies regarding their actions and intentions for reconciliation programs. It’s a list that stretches from JCDecaux and Foxtel to the Australian Sports Commission, Ampol and the Independent Media Agencies of Australia (IMAA).
In this in-depth report, CMO look at what it takes for organisations to truly embrace First Nations cultures.
To the uninitiated, cryptocurrencies can raise thoughts of unbelievable volatility and a currency type that offers safe harbour to the kind of people who would otherwise reject oversight of their financial dealings.
Those ideas are quickly fading away however as cryptocurrencies and their various offshoot concepts work their way into the mainstream. Stereotypes are being replaced by communities of investors who got in early on one of the most significant changes to the world’s financial system yet seen.
In this feature, CMO detailed the rise of cryptocurrency and what the experts were seeing as its next phase, as well as asked what it means for marketers.
A ratio of two in three new customers from its first full-funnel Pinterest marketing campaign was one of the biggest markers of success for Australian retail brand, Beacon Lighting.
Looking to capitalise on Pinterest’s home decor audience, the local retailer debuted its first paid campaign across the social media platform late last year to showcase its summer lighting catalogue as well as complement sponsorship of TV show, The Block.
In this case study, Beacon Lighting digital marketing manager, Mairaid Laskey, talks through its social media marketing and campaign strategy.
Have you ever wondered what you would sound like if you were a melody? Do you suspect your favourite cheese brand would have strident tones of sauciness if it could talk? How about your Xbox – have you ever paid attention to the ding it makes every time you choose an option from the menu? And what about what you hear while on hold to your bank, telco or insurance provider: Does it scream personality?
Now more than ever, what a brand ‘sounds’ like has become as much a part of individual and distinctive brand identity as a visual logo, service experience, advertising and product and services set.
Here, CMO dived into why sonic branding is one of the hottest trends for brand strategy in 2022 and asked the experts: What does it really means to find and articulate your audio brand identity?
Blooms the Chemist former CMO and now COO, Pamela Bishop, never thought to use the phrase “kindness in business” two years ago. Fast forward to today and not only is it part of her vocabulary, it provides the foundation of her leadership and ESG approach.
“But it’s also beyond the human interaction with teams. Companies can be kind to our planet, to society, to customers, employees and communities," Bishop told CMO.
In part one of a 2-part feature series on kindness in leadership, CMO explored the concept of kindness and how it's becoming increasingly critical to business success.
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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.
