2. Looking for More
Predictions in 2013?
Visit blog.exacttarget.com for
additional insights from our
Predicting the future is by and large a they do share a passion for marketing’s past, present, and future ExactTarget community of clients,
partners, employees, and industry
wonderfully futile endeavor. Were it not, gambing centres around that lets them spot trends—many of which will be very relevant to
thought-leaders.
the world would have to close up shop overnight as we all your brand in 2013.
became perfect prognosticators of every rugby, AFL and soccer
score. So dig in—think, question, and challenge the predictions you
find within these pages. Do they align with what you’re seeing
This is not to say, however, that predictions are without value. within your market? Is there a big trend coming that you nee
The mere act of contemplating the future removes our day-to- to prepare for today?
day blinders and helps us contemplate how the events of the
past and present may shape what’s yet to come. For Australian The value of these predictions lies not in their accuracy at some
marketers, this is a priceless exercise as we live in a state of future date, but in the questions they inspire today. We hope you
constant change—often afraid to look anywhere but forward find them as thought-provoking as we do.
for fear that we’ll fall behind our peers and the technology that
seemingly drives our every move today.
To an inspired future,
And that’s exactly why we ask you to stop and read this
collection of predictions from ExactTarget clients, partners,
employees, and friends. Collectively, they have hundreds of
years of experience as marketers. They understand brand,
audience, technology, data, automation, measurement, and the
landscape - across Australasia and abroad. And while they don’t
share some magical crystal ball that lets them predit the future,
Lee Hawksley
Managing Director, Australia
ExactTarget
2

3. Table of Contents
Introduction 2
Section I: CROSS-CHANNEL MARKETING 5
Matt Fleckenstein, Microsoft 6
Jay Baer, Convince & Convert 7
Christopher Parkin, Adobe 8
Ashraf Montaser, Adfinity 9
Section II: EMAIL 10
Bryan Wade, ExactTarget 11
Matt Blumberg, Return Path 12
Kristina Huffman, ExactTarget 13
Section III: MOBILE 14
Brent Hieggelke, Urban Airship 15
R. J. Talyor, ExactTarget 16

4. Table of Contents
Section IV: SOCIAL 17
Susan Marshall, ExactTarget 18
Marcus Nelson, Addvocate 19
Jeff Bullas, Blogger, Author, Speaker and CEO 20
Iggy Pintado & Chris Baumann, Author & Lecturer 21
Section V: MARKETING AUTOMATION 22
Stephanie Miller, DMA 23
Mathew Sweezey, Pardot 24
Section VI: NEW & EMERGING TRENDS 25
Joe Pulizzi, Content Marketing Institute 26
Christopher Krohn, Restaurant.com 27

5. CROSS-CHANNEL MARKETING
5

6. Big Data Breakthroughs
Big Data seems to be the “big thing” right now. International Data campaign approaches can’t keep up with pervasively addressable customers
Corporation (IDC) recently released a worldwide Big Data technology and services who engage well before and after the point of purchase.” More than ever,
forecast showing the market is expected to grow from $3.2 billion in 2010 to $16.9 customers create their own paths across channels and touchpoints, bobbing and
billion in 2015. There’s no denying that companies across the globe in nearly weaving as they discover, research, buy, and evangelize products and services.
all industries are investing heavily in big data solutions to drive their business in Existing CRM solutions can’t keep up.
new and interesting ways.
I predict that in 2013, we will see big data solutions extend beyond traditional CRM,
While big data continues to grow in popularity, it seems that the majority of use and a new category of real-time, cross-channel digital marketing automation will
cases center around improved business and customer intelligence. Respondents emerge. For the first time, customers’ online transactions, responses to (or non-
in Forrester Research’s June 2011 Global Big Data Online Survey reported that responses to) digital marketing efforts, and product/service usage behaviors will
the majority of companies (55%) are leveraging big data for business intelligence stream in real time into advanced, data-driven marketing automation platforms that
and analytics, while nearly three out of 10 (28%) were using big data for ERP sit atop big data solutions.
or CRM purposes.
As in the past, digital marketers will leverage their marketing knowledge and business/
While progress is being made in leveraging big data for CRM (see ING Direct customer intelligence to create a series of interactions that cut across the customer
and Target), it is becoming increasingly clear that in today’s digital world, traditional journey to determine which message to serve to a customer. But once a campaign or
CRM approaches fall short. As Forrester analyst Rob Brosnan writes, “Traditional CRM program is launched, real-time marketing automation solutions will take over,
leveraging rules-based personalization and adaptive algorithms/machine learning
to modify and optimize messages to individual users based upon current and past
marketing performance. More than ever, marketing automation tools that are adaptive
and flexible enough to keep up with and respond to customer interactions are critical,
given the amount (and changing nature) of customer data we now have available and
the fact that no two customers follow the same customer journey.
In the past decade, we’ve seen automated, algorithmic platforms revolutionize how
Matt Fleckenstein we buy/sell/trade stocks. (In 2010, it was projected that as much as 60% of all orders
Director of Product Intelligence on the New York Stock Exchange were fulfilled by automated trading tools.) In 2013,
Microsoft Office and Office 365 we will see real-time, cross-channel marketing automation tools emerge and begin a
Microsoft similar revolution for driving CRM across the customer journey.
www.microsoft.com
@MatFlec
Inspired Predictions for CROSS-CHANNEL MARKETING 6

7. Viral Breathes Its Last
2013 will be the death of “viral” as a marketing strategy. Despite the success of Old Customers are more curious and
Spice, Honey Badger, Gangnam Style, and other outliers, brands will recognize that
swinging for the fences breeds strikeouts and is wholly unpredictable and unreliable. more suspicious than ever. The only
In 2013, brands will eschew the strategy of hope and embrace a new strategy of way to succeed in that environment
help—and in doing so, will usher in a new era that diminishes promotion in favor
of information.
is to tilt the marketing objective
from selling to helping.
According to research conducted by Google, in 2010, consumers needed 5.3 sources
of information before making a purchase. In 2011, just one year later, they needed
10.4 sources. In just 12 months, the amount of information needed to pull the “buying Youtility is marketing that’s so useful, people would pay for it. If brands do that—
trigger” doubled. Why? Are we less decisive? More risk adverse? No. We need more if they make their marketing inherently, truly, astoundingly useful—their customers
information because we have more information. From blogs to podcasts to review will do their marketing for them. They’ll sell more by selling less.
websites to Facebook and beyond, prospective customers are floating in a sea of
data, and brands will begin to aggressively wage this war of information in 2013. That’s my prediction for 2013. Brands will focus on making their
marketing indispensable.
Simultaneous shifts in how, why, and how much information customers consume have
fundamentally altered the success formula for modern business. Brands can’t survive
by shouting the loudest and relying solely on anachronistic, interruption-marketing,
or even wacky videos that they pray will go viral. They can’t send an email every day,
proclaiming that they’re featuring the “biggest sale ever!” They can’t simply rewrite a
portion of the online brochure and hope that Google funnels customers to the website.
Customers are more curious and more suspicious than ever. The only way to succeed
in that environment is to tilt the marketing objective from selling to helping.
If you sell something, you make a customer today. If you help someone, you may
create a customer for life. Brands will take cues from Hilton Hotels, McDonald’s Jay Baer
Canada, Clorox, Columbia Sportswear, and many, many others that have realized the President
key to success is to stop being a salesman and start becoming a “Youtility.” Convince & Convert
www.convinceandconvert.com
@JayBaer
7 Inspired Predictions for CROSS-CHANNEL MARKETING

8. The Millisecond Opportunity
The explosion in data and content while a challenge to marketers, To address the last millisecond opportunity, marketing leaders are re-platforming with
is leading to innovation. new systems that help them:
•
Sort through customer actions to find the meaningful signals that help
We are rapidly moving into a post-PC world of unprecedented mobility, social
them understand what they’re doing right now, where they are,
connectedness, and content creation. The types, power, and connectivity of
and what device they are using
the devices we use is creating an increasing number of signals that each of us
broadcasts—our likes, interests, posts, traffic patterns, etc. These signals aren’t •
Marry those signals with what is known about the customer from all
random acts and facts—they are self-defining choices with meaning. available sources of data (CRM, social, etc.) to create a more holistic view
•
Use this view to predict the most appropriate content to deliver
Powerful devices and social connectedness have also made it much easier for
•
Automatically assemble and deliver the appropriate content experience
businesses and consumers to create and distribute quality content.
regardless of channel or device
•
Accomplish it all within milliseconds
Marketing leaders will accelerate Consumers have started to experience some really positive engagement experiences
innovation in 2013 to make sense and are thus increasingly demanding it as part of their relationship with brands.
Marketing leaders will innovate in 2013 with newly available technology platforms and
of all of these signals and content tools to deliver on this customer expectation.
to deliver meaningful engagement.
And they will do it in milliseconds.
Marketing leaders will accelerate innovation in 2013 to make sense of all of these
signals and content to deliver meaningful engagement. And they will do it in
milliseconds. By “meaningful engagement,” I mean delivering content and experience
that is so timely, relevant, and personal that it adds value to our customers’ lives. This
isn’t a new concept, but we are just now gaining access to the technology needed to Christopher Parkin
deliver on the promise of personalization. Strategic Alliances Adobe Genesis
Adobe Systems
www.adobe.com
@CParkin70
8 Inspired Predictions for CROSS-CHANNEL MARKETING

9. True Cross-Channel Marketing Arrives
How many times have you heard the term “cross-channel” bandied We can start doing what marketers
about? As a marketer, the answer is probably more times than your average political
candidate has been pictured kissing babies—constantly. everywhere are trying to do—
What is usually meant is that you can do web and social and email and offline and
send each user a tailored message in the
mobile separately. Or, you can do it just as ineffectually as you aggregate these bits right environment at the right time.
of data and try to reach them through a single channel. Either way, it’s not great.
No more. The user will be a single user and each channel will have context of the Real-time recommendation engines are a simple example of this. Used in a checkout
user’s state at that moment in time. The technology has been around for awhile and lane and integrated into email receipts, they’ve been around for some time. Display
now “big data” has moved from a buzzword to business-as-usual. We can start doing ads use behavioral targeting in the same way to target messages. The proliferation
what marketers everywhere (no matter the channel) are trying to do—send each user of offline and online profiling through social media sites and loyalty schemes, cheap
a tailored message in the right environment at the right time, otherwise known as one- computing power, and company acquisition/consolidation is all happening. The only
to-one marketing in many channels. thing missing is the elastic bands to tie them together and a multi-disciplined approach
by marketers. Target was a case study in profiling and targeting (forgive the pun) a
few years ago, and now these tools are cheaply available to all.
The final technology piece is real acquisition modeling, which can account for the myriad
of data noise in all channels. Marketers can move to building campaigns and messages
around context and real time profiling and data enrichment rather than medium.
So the best advice is to go back to Marketing 101:
• Keep it simple.
• Focus on target and message, not medium.
Ashraf Montaser • Make the experience spookily personal—not creepy.
Co-Founder Director
AdInfinity
www.adinfinity.com.au
@AdInfinityAU
Inspired Predictions for CROSS-CHANNEL MARKETING 9

10. EMAIL
10

11. The Year of the First Impression
When it comes to email, 2013 will be all about making that first and managing the inbox. Both ISP based-organizers (e.g., Gmail and Yahoo!) and
impression of the email count, reaching your readers wherever they are, and making client-based organizers (e.g., Outlook) automatically organize and display content
sure your message gets read. The changing landscape for where and how emails based on rules set up by the consumer—essentially changing the way consumers
are being viewed opens the door for new innovations in email. Three things in view emails in their inbox. This technology could be a game-changer in the way
particular will impact email marketing in 2013: marketers think about inbox preview and rendering.
1. Mobile will become the platform of choice for email. 3. Testing will become the new send wizard.
Handheld devices will overtake the PC screen as the place where consumers read In 2013, marketers will increasingly allow data to drive their email strategy through
emails first, making mobile rendering the most pressing issue email marketers face. the use of testing. Marketers will devote more time to testing subject lines, images,
Marketers must adapt—literally—with adaptive HTML design using responsive content areas, or even entire email layouts to see what drives a higher ROI.
designs. The @Media rules built into HTML to detect handheld devices versus Sophisticated marketers will not only test the emails themselves, but they will also test
C screens will make their way into the mainstream email design standards. which data segments perform best. Testing tools are so easy to use that every email
New technologies are making links device-aware (thus allowing marketers to send will become a test—and today’s winner will become the baseline for tomorrow’s
redirect to a mobile app instead of the web), causing link redirects to be smarter test. Marketers will gain greater insight into winning subject lines, content, and
and more mobile-aware. layouts—including important information about seasonality or how a campaign may
lose effectiveness over time.
2. Inbox organizers will change subscribers’ view of email.
Marketed to consumers as time savers and productivity tools, inbox organizers will
become increasingly popular in 2013 as consumers realize their benefit for organizing
The changing landscape for where
and how emails are being viewed opens
Bryan Wade
the door for new innovations in email. Vice President, Email Products
ExactTarget
www.exacttarget.com
@Bryan_Wade
11 Inspired Predictions for EMAIL

12. Consumers Will Fall in Love with Email (Again)
In 2013, consumers will start discovering what industry insiders are already The inbox of the future also manages email more actively. It automates sorting
seeing—email is cool again. For the record, it’s always been cool. But it’s been and prioritizes messages with solutions like OtherInbox (a Return Path subsidiary),
a long time since so many new ideas about email came to light. This burst of Sanebox, and Gmail’s Priority Inbox. It dictates when messages are received and
new development offers a glimpse into the inbox of the future, and for smart sent (Boomerang for Gmail), and lets users set reminders (FollowUp.cc) so they
marketers, it’s an opportunity. can ignore messages until they’re ready to read them.
First and foremost, the inbox of the future is a command center. It’s where users Soon, experiences that once required leaving the inbox will start taking place directly
manage social data, schedules, and even other communication channels. Think from messages. Consumers will watch video, they’ll read Tweets, they’ll review offers
of how Rapportive displays contacts’ social media information in a Gmail sidebar; based on geo-targeted messages. Thanks to widespread industry adoption of security
or how Google Voice via Google Talk lets Gmail users make phone calls from their advances like DMARC, people will even shop directly from the inbox of the future—
inboxes; or how TripIt uses flight confirmation emails to build and manage travel although probably not in 2013.
itineraries. Then there are task managers like MailPilot and ActiveInbox that turn
email into a to-do list. All of this happens in the inbox, and as users embrace and
spur more innovation like this, email will increasingly centralize an array of online As consumers rediscover email’s
and offline experiences.
coolness and manage more of their lives
from the inbox, they’ll offer marketers
an opportunity to truly engage them.
So as consumers rediscover email’s coolness and manage more of their lives from
the inbox, they’ll offer marketers an opportunity to truly engage them. One critical
factor will separate brands that take advantage of this offer from the rest: intelligence.
Matt Blumberg Marketers that succeed will know what devices their subscribers read email on, when
Co-Founder, they read their messages, what they do with them (move them, forward them, ignore
Chief Executive Officer, them)—and use these insights to build highly customized, highly effective campaigns.
and Chairman
Return Path Meanwhile mailbox providers will offer an additional incentive: they’ll use some of
www.returnpath.com these same insights to guide deliverability decisions, further distancing the smartest
@MattBlumberg marketers from the rest.
Inspired Predictions for EMAIL 12

13. Email Flexibility Unlocks True Creativity
In 2013, designers will stop redesigning the wheel with every email send and uniqueness of our business. You sent a Columbus Day sale email,
set up flexible email templates so they can increase production efficiencies and spend but can you really explain what Columbus Day has to do with your business?
more time coming up with new ideas. Ideation and openness to change are innate Be honest and transparent with your subscribers and they will return the favor.
to a designer’s nature and training and can be a hugely valuable asset in broader
creative conversations outside of just cranking out emails. The static, print-inspired email will die. Emails will not look the same in every
email client, whether it’s because we’re using progressive enhancement tactics or
responsive layouts. Content and design will be tailored to subscribers. This means
giving up some control around how an email looks, which isn’t always easy.
The static, print-inspired email
Finally, we’ll see socially-ranked and curated content take front and center, letting
will die. Emails will not look customers connect directly with influencers. Customer-curated content is trustworthy
the same in every email client. and personal—two aspects of marketing that are the hardest to achieve. It’s a win-
win—influencers are featured, which extends their reach, and marketers receive
thoughtfully crafted content for their communications.
We will all get our heads out of the “Apple tree” and start to recognize Android as the Let's create this future together!
mobile market leader, accommodating its preview pane and image-blocking when
we design. We will monitor the open tracking data and market share data and make
appropriate, informed decisions for the future of our subscribers. Subscribers are
starting to expect mobile legibility. Clear communication equals good design—
don’t be deleted.
We will stop hoarding and hyper-analyzing all of our competitor’s emails.
Instead, we’ll replace that time with true collaboration between internal stakeholders
to develop and test new, crazy ideas that really speak to the personality and Kristina Huffman
Design Practice Lead
ExactTarget
www.exacttarget.com
@ETDesign
13 Inspired Predictions for EMAIL

14. MOBILE
14

15. Mobile Apps Become a Strategic Imperative
Let’s just get this out of the way and proclaim 2013 as with Kraft Foods Group (now Mondelez) moving 10% of its media budget to mobile. In
another “Year of Mobile.” In fact, global PC sales were outpaced by total smartphone addition, the Mobile Marketing Association’s recent MXS mobile study recommended
sales starting in 2011, so it’s probably time for us to just agree that this is the decade that marketers in 2013 should spend 7% of their budget on mobile advertising.
of mobile. The fact is that mobile changes things more than anything we’ve ever seen.
In 2013, mobile apps will move from being a brand’s playground to a strategic
imperative:
It’s probably time for us to just agree •
Smartphone users worldwide will download more than 45 billion apps
this year—nearly twice the number of apps that were downloaded in 2011.
that this is the decade of mobile. (Gartner, August 17, 2012)
The fact is that mobile changes things •
Mobile apps are a $6 billion market today, growing to $55.7 billion by 2015.
(Forrester, February 13, 2012)
more than anything we’ve ever seen. •
Consumer spending on mobile app stores and digital content will increase
from $18 billion this year to $61 billion by 2016. (Gartner, July 12, 2012)
In 2013, we’ll see mobile advertising spend grow at an increasing pace. We’re not going And now with push messaging, apps have a direct voice with all of their best
out on a limb to say that mobile ad budgets will at least quadruple in 2013 as brand customers and can reach out anytime, any place—without the app even being open.
advertisers seek to be where consumers are. We’re already seeing evidence of this Push establishes direct-to-consumer communications with the future potential to steal
advertising budgets from other channels as brands find higher response rates and a
much lower cost—for example, sending Rich Push videos versus having TV ads being
skipped over on DVRs. And there’s already growing evidence that push messaging is
a primary reason that consumers keep some apps on their smartphones.
In 2013, location will become apps’ trump card. Apps will leverage location to offer
more value and innovative features to users. Location insights will enable apps to
attain an unprecedented level of messaging precision—not only knowing where you
are right now, but where you’ve been…where you live, work, and play.
Brent Hieggelke
CMO
Urban Airship
www.urbanairship.com
@BHieggelke
Inspired Predictions for MOBILE 15

16. Mobile ROI Takes Hold
2013 will be the year of the mobile return on investment (ROI). Marketers have Clicks, opens, mCommerce conversions,
already invested the resources into experimenting with mobile. In 2013, they’ll use
data to prove what works, and what doesn’t. coupon codes, in-app conversions...it’s
No matter the sophistication level of a mobile program, marketers can calculate its a dream field of marketing data that
ROI. And the good news with mobile marketing? The data is there. Clicks, opens,
mCommerce conversions, coupon codes, in-app conversions... it’s a dream field of
can be used to quickly calculate ROI.
marketing data that can be used to quickly calculate the ROI of a mobile marketing
investment. Doing so will lead to a number of shifts in 2013. The most advanced marketers will determine ROI based on market segment—or
individual. ROI by segment (or individual) will show that different channels work for
Marketers solely adopting mobile will recognize their mobile email open rate (some each consumer, each purchase path and each marketing goal.
marketers are seeing mobile opens over 30%; others, over 50%!) and refine
templates and practices for conversion on the handset or tablet. Seeing its return In 2013, marketers will create simple to complex marketing campaigns that start,
on investment, marketers will decide on how best to incorporate SMS and push continue, and end on a mobile device. Accountability for mobile investment is coming
messaging into a lifecycle marketing program, or whether to stick with transactional in 2013, and the data is there. Where will this new ROI lead you?
use cases only for those channels.
More advanced marketers will integrate advertising, email marketing, SMS/text
marketing, and push messages into the ways they promote their apps and mobile
websites. In calculating the ROI for a mobile website or app, marketers will abandon
disparate marketing programs and go with fully integrated cross-channel programs
that result in higher ROI.
R. J. Talyor
Vice President, Mobile Products
ExactTarget
www.exacttarget.com
@RJTalyor
16 Inspired Predictions for MOBILE

17. SOCIAL
17

18. Slimming Down, Shaping Up, Getting Organized
It sounds like a New Year’s resolution that could easily go awry, but it staffing adequately in-market and-in region to ensure conversations are authentic and
sums up what will likely be a rude awakening for many marketers. Quality of fans local. This will require support from executives—which means that the champions
and followers will matter more than quantity, and savvy marketers will begin to find will need to prove why social media is critical to all areas of the organization, not just
creative ways to leverage social to drive more relevant, higher performing interactions marketing and customer service.
with their customers.
3. Offline/Online Social Advertising Experiments
1. Community Curating
As networks like Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Google+, and Pinterest look for new
In an effort to eliminate unnecessary noise, people will continue limiting their friends and imaginative ways to expand their percentage of the advertising revenue pie, we’ll
on Facebook and hiding content in their newsfeeds to only see what’s most relevant experience some in-your-face bloopers that people will readily reject. We’ll also see
to them. Since most people are not emotionally connected to brands, we’ll also start creative uses of hashtags and conversation starters on TV, in-store, and on the radio.
to see people “unlike” and “unfollow” brands that aren’t adding any value. Brands will
need to think carefully about the creation of relevant, timely, and valuable content to
ensure they aren’t curated right out of the picture. Quality of fans and followers will
2. Social Re-Org 101 matter more than quantity, and
savvy marketers will begin to find
Many organizations haven’t figured out how to staff for social media, but they’ll have
no choice in 2013. You’ll either see brands outsourcing community management or creative ways to leverage social to
drive higher performing interactions.
4. One World, Many Voices
We all know that social media enables communities to freely connect, mobilize, and
swiftly make decisions. This is what’s so powerful and amazing about social media!
Susan Marshall These growing connections across regions will forge powerful social and economic
Senior Director, Product Marketing - relationships, resulting in new businesses, fairer trade, and community activism.
Social Product Line What’s more, video will bring us all closer as we get to “know” our customers and
ExactTarget vendors without travel.
www.exacttarget.com
@S_Marshall
Inspired Predictions for SOCIAL 18

19. Rise of the Amplified Employee
The 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer revealed the rise of credibility amongst It’s usually not a matter of employees not wanting to share content about their
regular employees in social media. The sudden rise in credibility was the greatest company. Typically it’s that they either don’t know what to share, or they don’t want to
increase since 2004—one that should serve as a wake-up call to leaders and say the wrong thing and get in trouble. So instead, they do nothing at all.
communicators.
This can be easily overcome by putting syndication systems in place to distribute
Consider for a moment that in aggregate, your employees have an entirely different content and drive success toward your company’s key performance indicators.
audience than your brand channels. It could be argued also that an enormous amount of Internal metrics will no longer be just a luxury, but an absolute necessity. In addition,
intimacy, influence, and trust exists with these personal accounts vs. corporate channels. consideration for acknowledging and crediting your newfound evangelists will also be
necessary to assist in supporting, rewarding, and perpetuating the behaviors you’re
looking to encourage.
Ask any person whether Without consistent recognition, your employees will likely lose interest and drop off.
they’d rather talk to a logo or Even so, the greatest challenge marketers will have is organizing and creating
a real person on social media. authentic content your employees feel is worthy of being shared.
Anecdotally, ask any person whether they’d rather talk to a logo or a real person on
social media, and you’ll have a better understanding of how important placing faces
amongst your brand can become.
To capitalize upon this trend, marketers will be required to think long and hard about
putting together thorough training programs, conscientious social media policies, and
inspired content that employees would want to share as brand advocates. Marcus Nelson
Co-Founder and CEO
Addvocate
www.addvocate.com
@MarcusNelson
19 Inspired Predictions for SOCIAL

20. Social at Scale
Reality Sets in. Business and brands have realized that they need to do 1. Designing, developing, optimizing and launching the social platforms such
social and do it well. So they create a soicla media marketing strategy and then they as blogs and branded social network accounts:
start implementing the tactics to achieve the doals. It all looks rosy at the state and 2. Constant content creation, curating and sourcing
everyone is excited. They staff is singing Kumbaya, the angels are dancing and every 3. Updating multiple networks daily with fresh content
can't wait to play with the shiny social media toys. Social media is the new saviour. 4. Monitoring and managing the engagement on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest,
LinkedIn and Google+ and others.
Then reality sets in.
There was never a grand plan. Social networks are a global social and connected
It takes a lot of resources. That means time, money and people. It needs creativity
consciousness powered by technology that is evolving before our eyes. It’s fun,
and inspiration. It requires a long-term commitment. Succeeding with social media
it’s crazy and it’s chaos.
is not a get rich quick scheme. Creating quality content takes skill, experience and
expertise. Building tribes, followers and fans takes focused attention and engagement
It was one channel. Television or radio. Magazine or newspapers. Direct mail or
Obtaining 10,000 Twitter followers or 20,000 Facebook likes requires serious
telemarketing. You planned and set up your marketing campaigns for the year.
investment.
All these social networks have popped up and are screaming for attention.Social
media marketing requires the day to day grind doing some of these key activities.
The reality is that marketing is
moving from campaign marketing to
continuous marketing
They started and finished. You moved onto the next one. That was it. They worked
or didn’t work.
Social media marketing is a consistent and continual treadmill. Creating content
needs to be done every day. Then monitoring the engagement and responding
to Facebook comments and Twitter streams needs to be attended to. Often
outsourcing it or asking the intern to take it on is not just going to cut it.
Jeff Bullas The reality is that marketing is moving from “campaign marketing” to “continuous
Blogger, Author, marketing“. Marketing has now become a big daily commitment. That is a
Speaker, and CEO problem, because you need the technology and tools to do it at scale.
www.jeffbullas.com
@JeffBullas
Inspired Predictions for SOCIAL 20

21. The Year of the Social Brand Conversation
Recently, we came across the story of a CEO of a large bank, who, In saying this, this attitude must be reflective of the organization’s values and
when visiting one of their contact centers, was asked to monitor the bank’s twitter behavior in the brand presentation across all social conversations. While the
handle and to publicly respond – as the CEO – to tweets addressed to the bank. The strategic intent may be there, the brand experience should be consistent across all
tweets were a mix of comments, some positive and others ranging from small issues social brand interactions with the brand’s audience, offline and online, and using
to complaints and rants. The CEO lasted five minutes, leaving the room stating that both traditional marketing channels and the new social media landscape. There
he was “out of his depth” in this space. are an increasing number of case studies of organisations setting up social media
presences with the best intentions, only to fail when a situation requiring them to
When asked why he could not cope, he replied by saying that he was comfortable ‘step up’ to an issue is flawed by an inconsistency with their stated brand values and
speaking to people one on one about any subject relating to their dealings with the positioning strategy.
bank. He was also formally trained in public speaking so he could speak to many
people in a mass audience situation.What he had difficulty with was replying at an In a world drowning in content, ultimately context is king. Organisations need
individual level at the same time that a mass audience was listening, judging and to understand and manage interactions relative to their brand and the market’s
ready to respond. consumer segments, geographic regions, product and service categories they
choose to serve. There are numerous social tools for monitoring brand mentions
Herein lies the challenge with the ‘social brand conversation.’ Organisations now and sentiment. Organisations need to not only listen and respond appropriately to
need to consider their attitude, behaviour and context towards the conversations they what people are saying about their brand but they also need to listen for relevant
have in the social space to best manage their brand presence. opportunities to develop more business in their chosen markets by engaging
customers and prospects on platforms they choose to interact in.
Connecting on social media has the potential to magnify your brand presence. In the Originally published in Marketing Magazine (marketingmag.com.au) in 2012
year 2013, it is essential that messages communicated using social platforms such
as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are considered and protective, if not enhancing,
of brand value. Therefore, an organization must understand their attitude and Chris Baumann
behavior towards social connection. A brand who is strategically prepared to have Senior Lecturer
both the standard and the ‘tough’ conversations in a public forum is best positioned to Macquarie University
develop greater trust and integrity with both their current and potential stakeholders. Sydney, Australia
Such an attitude of being open, sincere and truthful complements brand values and
perceptions, and will subsequently trigger effective behavior.
Iggy Pintado
Author, Speaker
An organisation must understand their and Marketing Leader
attitude and behaviour towards social www.iggypintado.com.au
@IggyPintado
connections.
21 Inspired Predictions for SOCIAL

22. MARKETING AUTOMATION
22

23. Technology Optimized to Serve Customers
Technology will not drive digital marketing innovation in the coming years. Now that the data is manageable and accessible, we marketers have the chance
Smart marketers will. To be precise, smart marketers who use smart technology to stand up for our customers’ satisfaction. Smart marketers will put the customer
will drive the most innovation. But don’t get cocky, now. Marketers are not in needs first (and really first, not just first after the product needs). Driving response and
charge—consumers are. revenue. I predict that marketers make this their mantra in the coming year. No one
will do this because I predict it--they will do it because it’s what works.
Marketing automation technology has advanced to unlock the mysteries of consumer
data so that marketers can help enable and encourage fantastic and customized As Uncle Ben said to Spiderman, “With great power comes great responsibility.”
consumer experiences. The days of “set it and forget it” are over. One size fits all Marketers, this is your year to use your big data technological power for the good
marketing programs—built in January and left to run through June—are no longer of customer satisfaction.
going to meet consumer expectations.
The best tool in our arsenal is great strategy—driven by consumer need, choice, and Marketing automation technology
behavior. Consumers know that we have data about them, and they expect us to use
it responsibly and respectfully. This creates a forced collaboration between marketers
has advanced to unlock the
and their customers—with industry bloggers, analysts, and journalists chiming in too. mysteries of consumer data.
This is the year of the great omnichannel marketing strategists.
Now, those brilliant strategists of the future look familiar because they are you and me
and those folks down the hall who really get data analytics. Smart marketers will think
outside the channel. Although most of our data today comes from email marketing
interactions, we won't work from email data alone. Instead, smart marketers will
analyze and utilize most (or all) of the data they have to consistently present
messaging that reflects customer interests and passions. Yes, the technology is
important (essential!)—but it doesn’t alone ensure engagement.
Stephanie Miller
VP, Member Relations
DMA Email Experience Council
www.the-dma.org
@StephanieSAM
23 Inspired Predictions for MARKETING AUTOMATION

24. Early Adopter Window Closing
The modern digital marketing revolution has spawned new The sizeable increase is directly tied to marketing automation’s ability to track
marketing mediums and techniques such as SEO, SEM, and social media. The early individuals across multiple marketing mediums and keep a central database of their
adopters of these technologies have seen the largest gains for taking that initial risk. actionable, individual history. The history is then used to dynamically personalize
marketing efforts to each person across any medium, at any time. This allows
Now that SEO, SEM, and social media are standard marketing avenues, what’s next? marketers to be infinitely more relevant to each person, increasing engagement.
The new wave of innovation for marketers is automated marketing. Leading B2C and
B2B companies and increasing marketing engagement through behavioral-based These abnormally high gains will not last forever; however, they will continue for
tracking and dynamic messaging are deploying marketing automation worldwide. the next year or two. The next wave of adopters to marketing automation will be
the early majority. These adopters will see the tail end of the largest returns from
Currently, marketing automation is used by less than 15% of all companies in marketing automation. We should expect to see adoption creep into the mid-to-
the United States. Despite its slower adoption rate, that 15% comprises leading high 20% by the end of 2013.
companies like Restaurant.com. Some companies who have implemented this
technology have reported an increase in revenue of over 300%.
Now that SEO, SEM, and social media
are standard marketing avenues, the
next wave of innovation for marketers
is in the field of automated marketing.
If you're searching for a solid way to increase marketing engagement rates, look
into marketing automation—and doing it sooner than later. Early adopters have
Mathew Sweezey already proven the advantages, and big gains are still there to be had by the next
Marketing Evangelist wave of companies adopting marketing automation.
Pardot – an ExactTarget company
www.pardot.com
@MSweezey
Inspired Predictions for MARKETING AUTOMATION 24

25. NEW EMERGING TRENDS
25

26. The Rise of the Chief Content Officer
2012 was the year content marketing came to life in North America. My advice for 2013: find
According to research from Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs,
approximately 90% of all marketers use some form of content marketing. This means your content marketing
that now, when we say that marketers are publishers, it's a true statement. In addition,
budgets for content marketing now surpass 28% for both B2B and B2C companies
mission statement.
That's a lot of content!
So these marketers know that they need to be creating valuable and compelling
But just because marketers can and do use content marketing, doesn't mean they do information in multiple channels to attract and retain customers–but it's a struggle.
it well. Actually, there's something quite amiss with content marketing. According to After all, most marketers weren’t trained as journalists and publishers.
the same research, just one in three marketing professionals feel that their content
marketing is effective. Now this is a real problem, especially when more than half of And now, to the inspired predictions for 2013:
these marketers are planning to invest more money into this area over the next 12
1. Rise of the Chief Content Officer. More and more organizations (such as
T
he
months. (Could this be the definition of insanity?)
Kelly Services) will hire a dedicated chief storyteller to work with marketing and
public relations departments to create a cohesive content strategy and unified
customer experience around content.
2. he New Home for Journalists. In 2013, more journalists will be hired by
T
non-media companies than by media companies.
3. ontent MA. Google started acquiring smaller media companies, such as
C
Zagat, over a year ago. In 2013, we'll start to see big brands in all industries start
to purchase media companies. While many will still opt to build, many will just
buy the media brand and talent as part of their content marketing initiatives.
Less than 5% of organizations have a written content marketing strategy. How can
you develop winning content without a vision of what that content is supposed to do?
Joe Pulizzi My advice for 2013–find your content marketing mission statement.
Author and Founder
Content Marketing Institute
www.contentmarketinginstitute.com
@JuntaJoe
Inspired Predictions for NEW EMERGING TRENDS 26

27. 2013 Means “Game On” for Gamification
Marketing fads and gimmicks come and go— Gamification works because humans are innately wired to compete—even if it’s just
from sock puppet ads to Second Life virtual stores. Every now and then, however, against themselves or a neutral “progress bar”—and game structures are an effective
true innovations emerge that revolutionize how marketers engage with customers. tool to get them to do so. The underlying mechanism here is dopamine, a powerful
From where I sit, 2013 will be the year in which “gamification” moves from the neurotransmitter and behavioral motivator that acts on the reward-seeking system of
periphery to the core of the cross-channel marketing tool set. the human brain.
Marketing innovations tend to move through a classic product lifecycle curve: By providing the right rewards at the right time, a properly structured gamification
introductory phase, early adoption phase, late adoption phase, long maturity phase, program can prompt dopamine releases in the customer's brain and thereby incent
and eventually decline. For cross-channel marketers, gamification is now entering in its and reward desired customer behaviors. Even more attractively, many of the best
introductory phase—but many are unsure if it is a true innovation or just another fad. rewards like leader boards, leveling up, achievement badges, and social recognition
awards are non-monetary, creating highly attractive ROI scenarios for gamification
The rise of gamification doesn’t mean every brand will (or should) launch its own marketing. And best of all, it's engaging and fun!
version of Farmville on Facebook—far from it! Cross-channel marketers should
understand that gamification applies certain aspects of games to non-game
applications, capitalizing on behavioral psychology to reward customers for changing Gamification works because humans
their behaviors. The ultimate goal is to generate greater lifetime value and higher
profits. When properly applied, gamification techniques have been shown to increase
are innately wired to compete—
customer retention, social sharing behaviors, user content generation, acquisition even if it’s just against themselves
campaign ROI, and online retail conversion rates.
or a neutral ‘progress bar.'
A study by M2 Research predicted that the $100 million spent by corporations
on gamification in will rise to $2.8 billion by 2016. Gartner estimates 70% of Global
2000 businesses will be gamified by 2015. Those numbers indicate that gamification
is more than just a fad, but rather a true innovation that savvy marketers should
capitalize on as early adopters.
Christopher Krohn
President CMO Game on!
Restaurant.com
www.restaurant.com
@CKrohn1
Inspired Predictions for NEW EMERGING TRENDS 27