CMO’s Notebook: Takeaways From The Connected Marketer Summit

As quickly as the Mobile-First Age appeared, we are now rapidly entering the “Connected Consumer Age.” This transition requires marketers to become “Connected Marketers,” with the accompanying need to transform their thinking and tools to engage consumers differently.

As quickly as the Mobile-First Age appeared, we are now rapidly entering the “Connected Individual Age.” (Think: smart devices, IoT, and AI companions.) This transition requires marketers to become “Connected Marketers,” with the accompanying need to transform their thinking and tools to engage people differently.

This is what the inaugural Connected Marketer Summit, in San Francisco late last month, set out to address. The event featured thought leaders at the front of this marketing movement, with more than 200 attendees and representatives from leading brands, retailers, martech partners, agencies, media, and academia.

“In the age of the ‘connected individual,’ marketers are the closest to those they serve and, therefore, need to lead the tech decisions in their organizations,” said Michael J. Becker, co-founder and managing partner of mCordis and The Connected Marketer Institute. “They need to become technologists and data scientists. This is not inherent in many marketer’s DNA, but you must embrace this change and adapt to become a connected marketer.”

That was but one of the many fascinating takeaways from the event. Here are some others I thought were particularly shareworthy:

According to Paul Berney, co-founder and managing partner at mCordis and The Connected Marketer Institute:

• “The senior marketers presenting all emphasized that a brand is a collection of experiences—physical, digital, sensorial, and emotional—and you have to appeal to all of those.”

• “Successful marketing starts with understanding the needs of the individual. … This is so basic but seems to have been forgotten by many marketers who are focused on tactics as they digitally transform their martech operations.”

• “Martech offers incredible opportunities to engage with individuals but can be hard to understand and hard to master. It takes education and practice, and that takes time. Many speakers emphasized there is no silver bullet and that marketers need to put in the time to get this right.”

(Click here for more on Berney’s perspective.)

Said Dr. Carl D. Marci, EVP, chief neuroscientist at Nielsen Consumer Neuroscience, during “The Rewiring of the Connected Individual” session:

• “People process information consciously and nonconsciously. Marketers need to use research tools that can capture both. … The promise of consumer neuroscience is having tools that can measure if people are paying attention and are emotionally engaged and if your brand is leaving a memory trace. That is what drives engagement.”

• “Creative content needs to be tailored for the platform or screen that it is on. … You can’t use the same creative you run on TV and put it online and expect it to work the same. However, the goals should be the same: You need to engage on an emotional level; you need a well-branded message. For online and mobile video, we see that shorter is often better and branding is best early, often, and big.”

(Click here for Marci’s full presentation.)

Thomas Marzano, head of design for brand, communication and digital at Philips, shared how the company uses “brand experience playbooks” to set direction, inform, and enable its global teams to create 360-degree experiences:

• “You need a coordinated, orchestrated effort to create meaningful experiences and emotional connections at every single step of the journey that a customer has with your brand. This is a very complicated task. The Connected Marketer understands that this is how you will create meaningful relationships between customers and your brand, and between customers themselves.”

• “Our sense of identity and self is based on experiences and memories. This is why it is so important for brands to give people meaningful experiences that matter to them in their lives and contribute to their sense of well-being.”

(Click here for Marzano’s full presentation.)

Last but not least, we have Robert T. Chin, vice president, marketing services, at E. & J. Gallo Winery,** who spoke at the “Connecting with Individuals” session:**

• “In our digital age, I think we take understanding and comprehension for granted inside our companies. … A current Digital IQ is sorely needed in many companies. You do have to accept that you aren’t going to know everything, but you need to take personal responsibility for self-learning to stay digitally current. Our biggest threat as marketers is automation, so you owe it to yourself to understand these changes.”

• “A fundamental question I like to ask CMOs is, ‘Do you have a documented content strategy where everyone is aligned on behavioral profiles and personas? Are you clear on the types of connections you want to create with your consumers, the cadence you want to engage with them, and how often you want to optimize what you are doing?’ These are the questions all marketing leaders should be asking.”

If you are ready to become a Connected Marketer, you can meet up with thought leaders at the next TCM Institute Summit, London, in October.

Customer experience is going to be a big topic of discussion at Adobe Summit 2017, March 19-23. Click here to view the agenda and register. (Bonus: Enter code CMDC17 for an additional $200 discount.)