Celebrating CMO50 and reflections on marketing in the age of COVID-19

There was once a time when marketing was seen as a distinct function within a company, for which its principal responsibility was to maximise return on investment. It was about convincing customers to buy a product and controlling the costs. In tough times, it was a cost centre and one of the first areas of the business to be cut.

If those assumptions were warranted in the past, they are obsolete today. Marketing is no longer a function; it is a way of doing business. During the pandemic, we have seen marketing elevated within the c-suite as a key driver of digital transformation, the leader of the customer experience and the voice of the customer. The role of the CMO has never been more business-critical to a company’s future success.

I recently had the honour of hosting the 2021 CMO50 Awards in Australia – a program that illuminates the leadership achievements and a collective body of work that genuinely resets marketing industry standards around the world. I was so inspired by the countless examples of ingenuity, innovation and sheer determination by marketing leaders to position their brands and businesses for the next horizon.

What’s even more impressive is that these achievements were often delivered in the face of adversity or, at the very least, amid rapidly changing consumer and stakeholder expectations. Take Tourism Australia. The organisation was able to overhaul its online presence, digital engagement and data strategy to launch its “Holiday Here this Year” and “Gift of Travel” domestic marketing campaigns, providing much-needed support to local businesses reliant on tourism.

It also gave me a chance to pause and reflect on how marketing is being redefined in the age of COVID-19 and what the future holds. As the economy opens up, demand across industries is already changing in step with easing restrictions, restarting the ‘COVID-19 era cycle’ that has become akin to seasonality. From here, businesses will be relying on marketing leaders to help them navigate new demand cycles and turn short-term opportunities into long-term commercial momentum.

While anticipating what consumers will do next remains a challenge, there are two new realities that marketers will need to navigate to position their brand for success.

Trust can make or break CX

The new reality of moving from a ‘world with digital’ to a ‘digital-first world’ will long be remembered as an inflection point for the digital economy and marketers. Consumer preferences have been reshaped in many cases, and delivering the next generation of world-class digital experiences is crucial to maintaining connections.

When we talk about customer experience, a word that often comes up is trust. How do brands create and maintain it, and what does it really mean to consumers? As part of Adobe's more recent Future of Marketing research, we spoke to Australian businesses and customers, revealing that three in four brands today rely on customer experience to engender trust – and then loyalty as a natural extension.

But in a world where the entire purchasing journey can be delivered digitally, some rules are being reset. Our research shows that most consumers value personalised engagement in one form or another. Where it gets interesting is when you introduce views on data and execution. And, when it comes to their data, consumers want control.

They believe that brands should ask for permission and be open about how data is used. Many say they will reward brands that get it right, equating to more purchases. 71 percent said they will buy more from a brand, 66 percent will make positive recommendations, 1 in 2 will join your loyalty program, and 45 percent will actively post a positive review about your brand online.

But trust is hard to earn and very easy to break. When it comes to losing trust, consumers say that creepy digital experiences and believing that brands are listening - are at the top of the list. And the stakes are high. 76 percent of consumers say they will immediately stop purchasing when confronted with these experiences and trust is broken. 57 percent of consumers have quit a brand entirely over the past 12 months.

For Gen Z – or what we’re calling the ‘new Generation Opt-out’ - that percentage was 77 percent. That’s 3 in every 4 consumers in that demographic quitting brands because of ‘trust issues’. The message for marketers is clear: to create and sustain a relationship with the consumer, it needs to start with trust, first and foremost.

Collaborating to develop critical skills

As the awards have revealed, marketers are no strangers to uncertainty or navigating the unexpected. They operate in fast-paced environments every day. But our ability to drive future innovation and success will depend on our understanding of how data and technologies can be used across the organisation, and ensuring that everyone has the right skills and knowledge to employ them effectively.

In Australia, we’re seeing a generational opportunity. On the one hand, we have many roles being disrupted and, on the other, escalating talent shortages in areas of high demand. According to RMIT, an additional 156,000 technology workers will be needed by 2025. If we reskilled Australians currently out-of-work into these roles, our current unemployment rate would drop by a staggering 25 percent. Just imagine.

This is where I believe industry-led collaborations like Skill Finder can help lift digital literacy, broaden digital inclusion and put people into the jobs of today – and the jobs of the future. Led by Adobe, built by Balance Internet and supported by a coalition of leading technology companies, Skill Finder is a free digital skills marketplace that helps Australians looking to reskill or upskill in digital technology.

One year on, Skill Finder is a resounding success. It offers more than 3,000 courses, and more than 300,000 Australians have visited the site and completed and acquired more than 72,000 courses and micro-skills. We have also expanded its scope to include 20 career pathways, guiding users to the specific skills needed to enter professions such as UI and UX design, data analytics, graphic design, AI and machine learning, security, game development, and many more.

What’s so unique about this program is that in collaboration with the Australian Government, 27 major technology vendors and education providers came together to help solve the skills gap. Every company put their competitive differences aside for a greater cause. It has been uplifting and, for me professionally, life-changing, sparking much confidence in our future.

The road ahead

Unquestionably, there are challenges ahead. But the CMO50 awards is evidence that marketers are both visionaries and chameleons - leaders who can navigate, transform, innovate, invent, and react to anything that’s put in their path. They have whole-heartedly embraced digital strategies, relentlessly sought a deep data-led understanding of their customers, and deftly navigated uncertainty.

The future is bright for marketers who embed a digital-first approach, prioritise the customer experience and commit to investing in new skills and knowledge.

Suzanne Steele is Vice President and Managing Director of Adobe Australia and New Zealand. This blog is an excerpt from Suzanne’s speech at the 2021 CMO50 Awards.