Survey of over 300 Marketing Leaders for trends and insights on data-driven marketing, includes trends in technology investment, challenges to implementation of data-driven marketing strategies, prioritization of objectives, challenges with improving the customer experience, impacts of privacy and compliance and forward looking predictions
SVETLANA YONCHEVA Evolution of digital marketing.pdf
Adweek 2019 Data-Driven Marketing at the Crossroads
1. D A T A - D R I V E N
M A R K E T I N G
A T T H E
C R O S S R O A D S
2 0 1 9 N e x T e c h S t u d y
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2. EDITOR’S NOTE
T H E N E E D T O P O W E R
C U S T O M E R E X P E R I E N C Eata-driven marketing
and technology really
have one overarching
objective: Reach the
right people at the right
time with the right
message. That goal is nothing new
for marketers, but as the industry
evolves into focusing on customer
experience and personalization, the
underlying technology is the engine
that drives this transformation.
Adweek Intelligence’s 2019
NexTech survey shows an industry
at a crossroads. The technology
investments that businesses make
over the next 12 to 24 months will
create the foundation that ensures
the customer-centric makeover
necessary for sustainable, long-term
growth and marketing success. But
the road to prospering as a data-
driven marketing organization is
bumpy, and significant obstacles—
both market-driven and self-
inflicted—need to be overcome.
Marketing organizations are
committing the dollars to make this
happen. Three-quarters of marketers
anticipate their spending on ad tech,
marketing tech and programmatic
tools and platforms to increase in
2020, with 24% expecting to spend
significantly more. Those budgets are
going to try to solve the most pressing
data-driven marketing challenges,
which respondents identified as
measurement/metrics, the lack of
a clear data strategy and managing
siloed marketing data.
Marketers’ top technology
investment priorities? Measurement
and analytics tools (chosen by 68%)
which they’ll need to both gauge
the impact of their campaigns
and anticipate the needs of their
customers, and data management
platforms (43%), necessary to
organize, access and activate the
vast amounts of customer data
they’re collecting.
Ultimately, it all comes down to
experience. We know that customer
experience is what drives most
marketing efforts today. And the
survey respondents echoed that
importance, rating it (surprisingly) as
the most underrated topic in tech that
the industry constantly talks about.
Still, putting a focus on CX is hardly
effortless and painless. Impediments
are both technological and cultural.
On the one hand, 30% of respondents
said that unclear ownership of CX in
their organizations is their biggest
hindrance. They’re also stymied
because they can’t leverage the data
tools they already have, and because
their data strategies are substandard.
Of course, no discussion of data
can occur without concern over
looming regulation. There’s a clear
recognition of consumer concern over
data privacy. There’s also anxiety that
privacy directives are going to impact
how brands approach data-driven
marketing, especially as conventional
tactics like cookies and third-party
targeting could fall out of favor. Over
80% of brands, agencies and platforms
agreed that large tech companies need
to be regulated, an acknowledgement
of the power of the biggest providers.
And nearly three quarters agreed
that marketers and media buyers will
need to find alternatives to current
programmatic approaches. How that
develops is something everyone will
need to keep an eye on.
Stephanie Paterik
Executive Editor, Adweek
D
M E T H O D O L O G Y
In June 2019, Adweek Intelligence
completed an online survey of
308 marketers. The goal was to find
out their insights and opinions on the
current state of data-driven marketing,
with a specific emphasis on the ad
tech, marketing tech and programmatic
challenges they’re facing, as well as
the impact of data privacy regulation.
All respondents were involved in
marketing for a brand, agency or
publisher/platform. Representatives
of ad tech and marketing tech vendors
were screened from the results.
3. he era of personalization
and experience is upon
us, and what that means
is that real people need
to be at the center of
your marketing. That’s
the essence of a modern, data-driven
approach, but very few organizations
are actually set up to succeed in this
environment. They lack clear strategies.
Their marketing data is siloed, disparate
and sometimes simply inaccurate.
They’re stuck in a culture that puts
channels, not customers, first.
The results of this Adweek
Intelligence study underscore the
importance of being a customer-
centric marketer, and also identify to
challenges that brands are facing in
actually making this happen.
There are two main impediments
brands are facing to achieve the
promise of customer-centric, people-
based marketing.
First, brands need to be able to
make sense of all of their existing
customer data. The truth is you know
more about your customers than
you’ve ever known before. The upside
to this is insights. The downside is
information overload.
Second, brands need to be able
to tie all of their marketing systems
to a common identity key. It’s pretty
simple. You need to know who your
customers are, how they behave,
what they like and what they want.
That means having a 360-degree
view of them, whether they’re online
or offline, no matter which device
they’re using or which channel
they’re accessing. If you’re still
depending on cookies, or identifying
them by web behaviors or email
addresses, you’re not talking to the
entirety of that customer. In other
words, customer-centricity starts
with an accurate, authoritative and
persistent identity for each and every
person.
Customer-centric marketing
starts with intelligence, and, as the
survey points out, measurement and
analytics is a key area of investment
for many marketing organizations. You
need to know everything about your
customers and prospects so you can
have a trusted two-way conversation
to learn what they’ve done, where
they’ve been and what they want.
It’s more important than ever to
analyze the entire customer journey,
so that you can build out the kinds
of experiences that create lasting
relationships.
Then there’s the issue of data
privacy, and that too links back
to being customer-centric. Think
about it. Consumers are becoming
increasingly adamant about protecting
their data in part because marketers
have failed to provide a fair exchange
in the form of great experiences.
Gaps in privacy and compliance come
from the lack of a cohesive data
strategy. Upcoming regulations will
increase the pressure on marketers to
consolidate disparate data silos and
affix a persistent ID to manage various
privacy requirements.
Identity resolution is the connective
tissue to build a complete view of
the customer and to make the data
you have actionable. Your entire
advertising and marketing stack
relies on this identity so you can
effectively plan, target, activate and
measure your tactics. The result?
You’ll know
what’s meaningful to your customers.
You’ll be able to create the kinds of
experiences that thrill and delight
them. You’ll be able to measure
the impact of these investments.
And you’ll be able to use these
journey-centric insights to optimize
your future tactics, become more
predictive and build the kind of long-
term value that defines business
success.
Devon DeBlasio
Product Marketing Manager,
Neustar
T
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4. Budgets to boost ad tech, marketing
tech and programmatic stacks are
going to increase next year. Three
quarters of marketers indicated they
will be spending more on technology in
2020, with 24% saying they expect to
increase their spending by more than
25%. Just 6% expect to spend less.
A S U R G E I N
T E C H N O L O G Y
S P E N D I N G
How will your spending on ad tech,
marketing tech and programmatic tools and platforms
in 2020 compare to what you spent in 2019?
Significantly less
(decrease of >25%)
SameMoreSignificantly more
(increase of >25%)
5%
51%
24%
20%
1%
5%
Less
5. What do you believe are the biggest challenges your company
currently faces regarding data-driven marketing and advertising?
Measurement and metrics
Attribution
Data privacy regulations
Lack of a clear marketing
data strategy
Misinterpretation of data
Finding reliable data partners
Managing siloed data across
different marketing channels
Finding skilled/experienced
employees
Too much data
Identifying customers/prospects
across channels and devices
Fraud and bot traffic
Brand safety
Lack of transparency
Other
40%
32%
32%
25%
23%
20%
19%
18%
17%
14%
13%
10%
7%
What are the technology challenges
that are keeping marketers up at
night? Respondents surfaced a
number of obstacles impacting
their ability to execute their data-
driven marketing and advertising
programs. Topping the list is
measurement and metrics, followed
by two areas that are related—lack
of a clear marketing data strategy
and managing siloed data across
different marketing channels. Issues
of brand safety and transparency,
interesting, fell to the bottom of the
list of their concerns.
O V E R C O M I N G
D A T A - D R I V E N
H U R D L E S
3%
6. Which of the following technologies do you consider
your top investment priorities to achieve your data-driven
marketing and/or advertising goals?
Measurement and
analytics tools
Customer data platform
(CDP)
Data management platform
(DMP)
Demand-side platform
(DSP)
Journey/experience
management platform
Identity resolution
Marketing automation platform
Other
68%
43%
37%
31%
28%
21%
16%
2%
I N V E S T M E N T
The good news is that the increased
technology budgets are going to go
to solving the data-driven challenges
marketers face. Measurement and
analytics tools are by far the top item
on marketers’ tech stack shopping
lists, as they need to make sense
of the myriad data points they’re
collecting across the online and offline
customer journey. Data management
platforms are also in their sights,
because there’s a growing need to
organize, optimize and activate the
data they already have.
P R I O R I T I E S
7. T H E B A R R I E R S
T O B E T T E R
E X P E R I E N C E S
Marketers clearly acknowledge the
growing importance of providing a better
customer experience. But they also
recognize that they’re not there yet.
And this, again, relates back to the ability
to manage and activate their marketing
data. First off, organizations are hindered
in becoming more experience-focused
because it is still not clear who owns
CX within their organizations.
Many forward-thinking organizations
have put it under the purview of the CMO,
but this move may not be as common as
people think. Next, companies are being
held back because they’re not using the
data tools they already have or because
they lack a cohesive data strategy.
What do you think is impeding your ability to provide
a better customer experience?
Unclear ownership of customer
experience within organization
Difficulty personalizing marketing
Inability to fully leverage
data tools we already have
Lack of corporate commitment
to customer experience
Poor overall data strategy
Transparency of
customer journey
Unclear customer
experience strategy
Inability to consistently
identify consumers
Lack of available data tools
Unable to identify key
customer touchpoints
Concerns about how
we collect and use data
Lack of reliable data partners
Other
30%
29%
29%
26%
24%
22%
19%
19%
18%
15%
14%
10%
3%
8. How concerned
are you about
the impact
data privacy
regulation will
have on
your company?
How concerned
do you believe
consumers
are about
data privacy?
How concerned
are you
personally about
your own data
privacy?
Somewhat
concerned
Not concerned
Moderately
concerned
Extremely
concerned
Very
concerned
30%
31%
23%
38%
25%
28%
24%
21%
28%
8%
16%
13%
6%
8%
1%
Data privacy regulation is coming
and it’s going to have an impact
on how brands approach their
strategies for ad tech, marketing
tech and programmatic advertising.
While 68% of marketers believe
consumers are extremely or very
concerned about data privacy,
they’re a little less concerned
personally about their own data
privacy. But they’re still anxious
over what the impact of data privacy
will be on their companies.
P R I V A C Y I S
C O N C E R N
E V E R Y O N E ’ S
9. S T R U G G L I N G
W I T H
C O M P L I A N C E
The EU’s General Data Protection
Regulation, or GDPR, which went into
effect in May 2018, served as a warm-up
for many brands that now have to deal
with upcoming directives like California’s
CCPA and potential emerging state,
federal and international laws. While
43% of respondents said they are fully
compliant with GDPR, they’re struggling
with CCPA, as just 13% say they’re
prepared for when that law takes effect
in January 2020. Also, note the high
number of respondents who just don’t
know if their organizations are compliant.
GDPR, the data privacy regulation in the EU, is now one year old.
How well do you feel your organization has managed GDPR compliance?
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) will take effect
in 2020. How prepared are you for CCPA?
We are fully GDPR compliant
Don’t know
We are somewhat GDPR compliant
We are not at all GDPR compliant
43%
28%
6%
23%
Somewhat prepared: We are
developing our strategies and will
have everything in place shortly
Not prepared: We are still
unclear about how to proceed
Very prepared: We have strategies
and policies in place for how we will
collect and use personal data
Don’t know
13%
33%
28%
27%
10. Please tell us whether you feel the following topics are underrated or overrated.
Customer experience
Data privacy
Journey management
Brand safety
Personalization
Machine learning
Digital transformation
Artificial intelligence
Advanced TV/connected TV
Blockchain
Virtual reality/augmented reality
28%
22%
15%
17%
18%
12%
11%
7%
8%
8% 24% 45% 23%
32% 38% 22%
46% 42% 5%
11% 43% 35% 11%
47% 33% 9%
53% 30% 5%
48% 27% 7%
59%
55%
61%
53%
12%
18%
22%
26%
5%
4%
2%
1%
Very overratedOverratedVery underrated Underrated
T H E I M P A C T
The advertising industry likes to talk
about the next big thing (because,
well, it’s the advertising industry).
That means that marketers are prone to
get caught up in the hype cycle in their
desire to stay on top of the latest trend.
We asked respondents to rate some of the
technology topics that people are talking
about. Underrated? Customer experience,
data privacy and journey management.
Overrated? VR/AR and blockchain.
O F T H E
H Y P E C Y C L E
11. W H A T T H E
F U T U R E H O L D S
With privacy, regulation and experience
top of mind, marketers have some clear
concerns about what the future will
look like. Over 80% agree that large
tech companies should be regulated.
Nearly three quarters feel like marketers
and media buyers will need to find
programmatic alternatives. 60% agree
that consumers will continue to revolt
against ad targeting. And a similar
number feel like walled gardens need
to open up and share their data.
Please rate your agreement with the following statements
about technology and marketing.
Disagree Strongly
disagree
Neither
agree nor
disagree
Strongly
agree
Agree
Marketers and media buyers need to find
alternatives to current programmatic buying methods
19% 9%19% 53%
Large tech companies need to be regulated
36% 45% 14% 4%
1%
Consumers will continue to revolt against ad targeting
17% 43% 20% 19%
1%
Walled gardens need to open up and share data for measurement
20% 41% 10%28%
1%