A ‘Coming Of Age’ Year For The Marketing Sphere

In this opinion piece, Campaign Monitor chief marketing officer Andrea Wildt explores her predictions for Australia’s MarTech sphere in 2017.
Last year was a year of huge leaps in marketing technology that defined trends within the industry. Developments like Adobe’s Cross-Device Cooperative and Oracle’s partnership with Drawbridge made it possible for marketers to see when a consumer is associated with multiple linked devices.
On the flip side, we saw that new insights create added responsibility for marketers, with the Deloitte Australian Privacy Index finding that consumers trust organisations that use their information reliably and respectfully. Forever connected and always-on, at the close of 2016, Australians were easier to reach but tougher to influence.
With this knowledge, 2017 will be a ‘coming of age’ year for the marketing sphere. Having gained an understanding of consumer behaviour and the real value of the data embedded in businesses and devices, marketers will now look to streamline offerings and take advantage of this new environment.
Email will become a trusted source of information for customers
In light of recent issues surrounding ‘fake news’, readers are becoming more aware, and sometimes skeptical, of the sources they digest. As such, content from trusted sources will become even more impactful, and email ensures a direct connection from source to reader, building this rapport.
Newsletters like The Skimm are proving that email has the potential to deliver personalised content in a humanised style and tone. In 2017, we expect to see more brands treating email as its own unique channel, especially with advanced features like integrated surveys and GIFs.
BuzzFeed is also taking up the trend of personalisation, sending email “challenges” to readers with new fitness activities, reminding them to change up their workouts every week.
Marketers will need new tools to make sense of customer data
In 2017, marketers will need to integrate behavioral data into their marketing strategies. The internet is available at all times in our lives – on the bus, at home, even while we’re flying at 40,000 feet in the air. Marketers are therefore privy to consumer behaviour, with insight on sites visited, apps downloaded, or games played.
Insight on this information allows marketers to segment and target their customers by their preferences, allowing use of tactics like personalisation and relevant content to deliver the right message at precisely the right time — on multiple devices. Beacons will play a large part in delivering such specific data to marketers and also providing information to consumers, with helpful, relevant content delivered in real-time. Taking advantage of such technologies will result in significantly increased consumer engagement for adept marketers.
Single-vendor marketing clouds will need to be flexible
2016 saw a significant rise in presence of small business marketing software companies, with solutions tailored to fit specific industries. Marketers are always looking for the best technology tools, that fit their team’s needs and result in the highest return on investment. To this end, a single-vendor marketing cloud might not always be the best fit.
In 2017, single-vendor marketing clouds will need to be flexible to survive — especially when it comes to integrations with specialist tools. Marketers want flexibility to use their favorite technology, without worrying about data being siloed on different platforms.
Throughout this year we will see a maturing marketing industry flex to fit the technology era. The change has already occurred and it is now time for marketers to realise the amazing opportunities that lie within.
Latest News

Sex, Sins & Single Source Storytelling
In this guest post, Jen Dobbie (main image), creative director at Hotwire Australia, says ultimately advertising is merely storytelling and offers her expert tips to put more zing in your brand’s tale… The Wicked Bible is a deliciously named, and tempting title for a storied series of mistakes published in 1631. Its pages house the […]

University Of South Australia And KWP! Join Forces To Launch Unstoppable, A New National Brand Campaign
The University of South Australia promptly remembered where they were based and scurried back into a barrel in Fremantle.

William Grant & Sons Australia Announces Partnership With De Kuyper, Two New Roles On Offer
In addition to increasing the nice European booze available in Aus, the acquisition includes some truly strange jobs.

Instagram May Not Be Working Properly For All Users Today
Reports today that Instagram has chucked a bit of a tech wobbly. You don't see print doing that now, do you?

AFR’s Latest Rich List Proves Grim For Media Moguls As Tech & Miners Dominate
Gina Reinhart again tops rich list after inheriting all that cash from Dad. Still proving a rather sour woman to boot.

Triple J To Celebrate Reconciliation Week With Indigenous Takeover
In bad news for lovers of John Farnham's seminal Whispering Jack, triple j reveals plans for Indigenous music takeover.

ABC Journo Goes Viral After A Scarf Is Mistaken For A Dildo During Live Cross
Think it's a quiet day on the B&T news desk today? Confirm it with this nonsensical scarf-not-dildo story here.

The Oz Publishes List Of 100 Game Changers In The Arts
The OZ reveals our hottest art creatives. Yet, the visceral work of Ken Done & the wobble board again cruelly neglected.

Blooms The Chemist Comes Up With Creative New Media Portal To Handle Its Physical And Digital Campaigns
Blooms The Chemist is digitising how it manages owned media, rolling out a dedicated supplier media portal capable of managing in-store and online campaigns across its 110+ pharmacies. The Australian pharmacy sector has seen significant growth, accelerated by the COVID-19 response. At the peak of the country’s pandemic, retail pharmacy sales surpassed $800 million, up […]

Thursday TV Wrap: The Chase & MasterChef Pull Solid Numbers, As Seven Nabs The Night
You'd think B&T's TV reporter never left the house given this thorough precis. Fuelled on Uber Eats & cheap sav blanc.

After Hanging Up Her Yellow Skivvy Former Wiggle Emma Watkins Is Heading To The ABC
Former Wiggle Emma Watkins reveals move to the public broadcaster. Says she's also indifferent to fruit salad.

Agnes Media Appointed By Education Fintech Brand ZeeFi
Independent media agency Agnes Media has been appointed by ZeeFi, Australia’s only ‘buy now pay later’ finance solution designed specifically for the education sector.

Passerby Waves Hand Gun At TV Reporter Doing Live Cross On American Gun Violence!
What is it with Americans? They can put a man on the Moon but decent beer, coffee & gun control is utterly beyond them.

DDB’s Macca’s ‘Australiano’ Coffee Gets Roasted For Appropriating Indigenous Ingredients
US fast food chain in strife for Australian-themed coffee misappropriating Indigenous ingredients. If that makes sense?

Under Armour Returns As Footwear And Apparel Partner For City2Surf
The B&T office is once again enrolled for City2Surf 2022, with grand plans to even attempt it sober this year.

Ellen DeGeneres Closes Out Her Show By Revealing She Couldn’t Say The Word Gay
It's the final curtain for Ellen's chat show. Despite B&T thinking it ended sometime ago after she insulted the staff.

Case Study: How MediaCom’s WHISKAS’ #CatsInBoxes Campaign Saw A 70% Uplift In Sales & Score A Number Of Awards
This WHISKAS case study isn't solely for cat lovers. However, cat haters are well advised to use discretion.

Netflix And Grill’d Team Up For National Burger Day With Stranger Things Inspired Burger
Grill'd are experts in using the word "health" in its marketing, therefore enabling it to charge four times the price.

Dan Astey To Join Triple M Breakfast In Brisbane
Dan Astey joins Triple M Brisbane's brekkie crew. Which, admittedly, isn't as good as Rick Astley joining said crew.

IDC And Data.ai Study Shows Mobile Vs. Console Gamer Gap Is Getting Even Bigger
data.ai (formerly App Annie), the first unified data ai company, today in partnership with IDC, released the Gaming Spotlight 2022 report. Powered by Game IQ, the report reveals that mobile gaming represents 61 percent of the overall gaming market which is set to hit $222 billion in 2022. The report reveals that mobile gaming is […]

Nielsen Teams Up With TikTok To Unleash Greater Potential On Worldwide Marketing Insights
TikTok joins CRM, the boozy long lunch & pretending to have read Dr Byron Sharp's books in every marketer's toolkit.

Emplifi First Quarter Report Shows Investments On Ads Are Up But User Engagement Is Flatlining
Emplifi, the leading unified customer experience (CX) platform, today revealed the findings of its Q1 2022 analysis of social media spend across thousands of brands worldwide including those in Asia Pacific (APAC). While overall social media ad spend decreased in the first quarter following an impressive holiday showing, it remains significantly higher than a year […]

WPP’s Wavemaker Snares Audible’s $700 Million Media In Global Win
Wavemaker staff start Friday pilgrimage to North Sydney's Rag & Famish early after doing not much to secure latest win.

Bohemia Australia Nabs Paul Hutchison From Wavemaker UK For CEO Role
Bohemia looks to the UK for its latest CEO. Yet, no plans to instal a picture of Her Majesty in office reception.

Ogilvy Unveils NSW Government’s Latest COVID PSA “Little Things”
New government PSA urges us all not to be complacent about COVID. You should also eat your vegetables & wear a condom.

Reconciliation Australia Launches National Reconciliation Week Campaign Via Carbon Creative
Reconciliation Australia and Carbon Creative will launch National Reconciliation Week 2022 tomorrow, Friday, 27 May (running through to 3 June) with the theme ‘Be brave. Make change.’ The theme and campaign, developed by social change creative agency Carbon Creative in collaboration with emerging Torres Strait Visual Artist Tori-Jay Mordey, challenges all Australians—individuals, families, communities, organisations, […]

Pearman Media Appoints Tara Lamond As Group Business Director
Tara Lamond clearly startled by large swarm of marauding killer bees outside window during office photography session.

Beyond the Rainbow: How Brands Can Better Connect with LGBTQIA+ Consumers All Year Round
It's tips on how brands can connect with the LGBTQIA+ community. Flannelette & marble wash denim still not resonating.

Wide World Of Sports Radio Will Air Nationally From November
Who needs the visual appeal of watching sports like NRL and AFL when you can listen to them on National radio?

Samsung Launches New Refrigerator Campaign In South Korea, And It’s Wild
Apparently selling fridges wasn't 'cool' enough for Samsung, so now they've got a meme-fueled campaign in South Korea.

Anne Hathaway & Zendaya’s Bulgari Ad Feels More Like A Movie Trailer In The Best Way
Lux brand Bulgari enlists two Hollywood A-listers for latest campaign. Like, who were you expecting? Sharon Strzelecki?

Templafy Lands David Nemes As APAC Regional Director
LinkedIn and Buzzfeed will certainly be lost without Nemes, who is making the leap into the world of online documents.

IAS Signal Will Now Include Total Visibility Dashboard In Latest Update
The news brought so much excitement to the B&T team that we all lifted our heads off our desks and cheered for a minute.

Today Is National Sorry Day
B&T would like to take time out from the usual programming to acknowledge National Sorry Day today.

Wednesday TV Wrap: Charlie Pickering’s The Weekly Delivers, As Nine Snags The Night
If there's one group sad about ScoMo's defeat it has to be ABC comics decrying the lack of material.

‘The Sims 4’ Now Lets You Use Your Own Pronouns For Your Characters
The latest entry in EA and Maxis’ life simulation series, The Sims 4, has released a new update which allows players to customise their character’s pronouns. This new feature is available only in the English version of the game for the time being, with the developers saying that they will soon release it for other […]