Digital Marketing News, Features, and Interviews

​A new report into media ad buying from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) has slammed the lack of transparency around agency practices including cash rebates, raising significant questions about the state of the industry both abroad and locally.

Like many categories of marketing technology today, Data Management Platforms (DMPs) are getting their fair share of buzz and hype. Likewise, there’s plenty of confusion about what a DMP does, and why you may or may not need one in your martech stack.

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.

Adobe, Salesforce, SAS and Oracle are leading the cross-channel campaign management pack, according to the latest Forrester research.

As we approach the end of the financial year, marketing budgets are likely to be reviewed and re-evaluated, but some experts believe marketers often fall victim to making critical mistakes early in the year that lead to ending the financial year over budget.

IBM-owned The Weather Company is launching Watson Ads, a new ad tech solution that utilises machine learning to give consumers an ability to interact with digital advertising.

News Corp Australia’s managing director of metro and regional publishing Damian Eales announced the appointment of former Woolworths and Coles marketing executive​ Tony Phillips as the company’s new chief marketing officer. ​

The tried-and-tested way of bringing a new car model to market usually involves significant spend on a mass market TV campaign. So that’s exactly what Toyota didn’t do when it launched its latest Prius hybrid car to Australian consumers earlier this year.

With more than 7 million Australians now on LinkedIn, there is a good chance that any professional salesperson’s prospects will be counted amongst them.

All the latest martech and ad technology news from Marketo, Salesforce, Demandware, Spredfast, Nudge, Verto, CoreLogic, Krux, Vibes, Adestra and Fiksu.

With content marketing and native advertising hailed as the latest saviour for publishers, Rene L’Estrange-Nickson is puzzled by the number of publishers, brands and agencies that seem to be getting it wrong.

Time-poor marketers inevitably risk leaving budget planning until the last minute, a situation that can have a devastating impact on the effectiveness of their overall marketing strategy.

Marketo’s shift into private equity hands could provide the financial safe haven the vendor needs to realise its enterprise solutions ambitions, industry analysts claim.

Recent studies show 87 per cent of B2B sales and marketing leaders are using LinkedIn and other social media platforms, but fewer than one in five can clearly prove and demonstrate social media ROI. I believe it's because the attention and efforts are on the top of the funnel instead of thinking about the complete buyer journey.

It’s a journey many marketers will be familiar with, if not already on: How to turn a product-centric, sales-led organisation into one that’s customer-centric and engagement driven. For Stephen Ingledew, MD of marketing and customers at UK-based Standard Life, that transformation effort has involved harnessing technology, investing in data analytics and fresh skillsets and importantly, breaking down internal barriers to embrace cross-functional, agile working.

Marketing-software maker Marketo has agreed to be acquired by private equity firm Vista Equity Partners for US$1.79 billion, the company announced Tuesday.

With more consumers now attracted to the convenience of mobile and online shopping, the pressure is on bricks-and-mortar retail stores to find innovative ways to leverage technology to enhance the in-store customer experience and detract shoppers from simply ‘showrooming.’

IBM’s marketing cloud efforts might have been overshadowed by the likes of Adobe, Salesforce and Oracle in more recent times, but the vendor was in fact one of the first enterprise vendors to spy the massive opportunity for technology, analytics and automation in the marketing function. IBM’s biggest competitive advantage, however, may well be from outside its current martech stack.

Australian wealth and financial management giant, AMP, is on a multi-year, customer-led digital transformation journey that stretches from replacing core infrastructure to building a customer goals-oriented culture. As part of these efforts, the group’s marketing operational capabilities have undergone a shake-up, driven by the adoption of a marketing automation platform in just nine months.

Suncorp’s new operating model and platform approach is about elevating customer needs and will help the banking and insurance group keep hold of some of the 125,000 members who churn each month, its CEO claims.

Rapid advances in technology and digital have transformed customer expectations at a consumer level, but they’re also placing pressure on B2B marketers to be more agile and innovative.