In 2018, my wish for marketing or marketing tech is…to lose the fear of AI! The possibilities for real-time, 1-to-1 personalization — the kind of experiences customers expect — is now possible with AI. We can begin to understand why customers interact with us, what content they prefer, and what they’re likely to do next if we harness the power of AI with programs like Einstein.
According Salesforce’s 4th Annual State of Marketing report, high-performing marketers are already leveraging AI to reach customers on their journey. For example, FareCompare, an online travel planning company, has turned to AI to drive personalized engagement with consumers around the world. As a result, FareCompare has been able to compete on the basis of consumer experience, and has seen an ROI of 33%, increased revenue by 13% and boosted its email click through rate by 11%. In 2018, we’ll see more and more marketers using AI to drive this level of personalization. Meghann York, director of product marketing, Salesforce Marketing Cloud
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In 2018, my marketing wish is for…agencies, tech companies and advertisers to collaborate together more often. One trend we started seeing in 2017 was marketers developing more internal experts focused on programmatic and data science, to work closely with their agencies and tech partners. We have some clients who pull in attribution path data and analyze it so they can give their agencies more direction on what media channels are working best. Other clients are building their own algorithms by scoring their CRM data. I think we’ll see a lot more of these collaborations in 2018. — Brian Stempeck, Chief Client Officer, The Trade Desk
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In 2018, I need to see this happen in marketing or marketing tech: According our State of Marketing report, 52% of B2C customers are likely to hop to the competition if a brand isn’t delivering a personalized experience. In 2018, I hope to see more marketers using AI to uncover patterns and anomalies in customer data, which will lead to better decisions.
At the end of the day, marketers are still on the same quest — ensuring the right message on the right channel and at the right time gets to the right consumer. This coming year, AI is going to be the way we achieve what I call this “personalization nirvana.” — Meghann York, director of product marketing, Salesforce Marketing Cloud
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In 2018, I hope to see…creative content catch up with programmatic advertising and cross device targeting. Programmatic advertising is mainstream now; in 2017 it grew by 27.8% to $32.5 billion. I think the next big opportunity for creative agencies is to be more data-driven and experimental. Right now, there are very few brands experimenting with telling a story across channels, for example. Today’s programmatic technology lets an advertiser sequence ads across a smartphone, laptop and connected TV, but from a creative standpoint, those channels mostly still live in silos. — Brian Stempeck, Chief Client Officer, The Trade Desk
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In 2018, my wish for marketing and marketing tech is…that nerds and artists truly converge into the new “creative team.” Data will continue to be the centerpiece for creative success in the video-led content world. The use of data in informing and collaborating with creative needs to become the norm, not the exception. As a result, far more interesting and successful content, experiences and ventures will continue emerge. And brands will have more of a chance to consistently get closer to their audiences emotionally, than ever before. — Paul Beck, CMO, Storybooth
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In 2018, I need to see this happen in marketing or marketing tech: We understand what motivates people or what they aspire to and are able, from that understanding, to engage with them on a meaningful level. — Peter Hobolt Jensen, director of digital innovation/CDO, Moleskine SpA
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In 2018, we need to see…innovation in business relationships between creators and brands directly, leading to more appropriate and beneficial deal structures for both. This will drive new video content forms and formats, show formats, engagement while viewing, live streaming and more. Given the fact that video will account for 80% of Internet traffic by 2020, this coming year can set the foundation where advertising on this media ceases to become largely disruptive, and begins to become known as relevant and effective…creatively. Marketing tech will fuel the resulting innovations. — Paul Beck, CMO, Storybooth
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In 2018, my wish for marketing or marketing tech is…that it starts being about the individual and not about the company that creates it or licenses it. Currently a powerful technology like machine learning is being used almost entirely to generate “data economies of scale.” This means it’s currently mostly being used to better process issues that companies have – like determining the optimal insurance premium. I wish for it to be used to improve the lives of individuals, be it improving their understanding of their surroundings or placing themselves better and in more rewarding ways in the world which surrounds them. — Peter Hobolt Jensen, director of digital innovation/CDO, Moleskine SpA
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In 2018, my marketing strategy is going to include…a focus on customer marketing and retention. The old adage is that it costs less to keep current customers than to get new ones. That may be true, but the opportunity cost of losing a valued customer is what hurts most of all. Cheetah Digital is dedicated to marketers and that means inspiring our clients (marketers) to think bigger and be bolder, as well as educating them so that they get better at their jobs and are viewed as business leaders throughout their organizations. We’re doing a lot more of this in 2018. — Judd Marcello, EVP, Global Marketing, Cheetah Digital
