Tracking Digital Evolution and Maturity

Several years ago, marketing and social media guru Brian Solis dubbed the phrase “Digital Darwinism” to establish a stance that those who do not continue to evolve their ability to refine, reach and engage with customers through digital channels would be left behind, stuck in an age where the only opportunity in digital was less expensive media buying. Digital has provided an unparalleled ability to target, track and measure, allowing us to leave the age of “Spray and Pray” messaging. But just as it is important to understand how these new tactics and tools can optimize digital marketing performance, the next evolutionary leap is upon us. 

Enter the age of programmatic marketing—the application of data, intelligence and technology in order to automate the ability to identify relevant consumers and deliver highly relevant messaging. From real-time bidding (RTB) platforms and ad exchanges to dynamic creative optimization, shopping cart abandonment campaigns and real time product recommendations, the age of programmatic marketing offers the marriage between intelligent engagement and digital optimization. Yet many early campaigns have lost sight of key strategic imperatives: that the analytics behind the algorithm defining engagement automation must include intelligence around both content and context that can deliver an optimized, relevant, personalized experience for an individual consumer that is of value to the brand. 

To identify where the next digital evolution will impact digital marketing performance, The CMO Council, in partnership with DataXu, embarked on a benchmark of where and how marketers are applying programmatic marketing solutions and strategies to further advance customer engagements online. The study uncovered where and how these new tools and technologies have been embraced by leading brand advertisers, the key challenges to applying programmatic marketing, and how leading senior marketing executives rate their organizations’ ability to identify, reach and engage the right customer through a meaningful, omni-channel approach.