Marketers: Why You Need To Look Beyond The IT Guys

The use of Technology in marketing is booming, however marketers do not have the skills needed to properly utilise this, argues James Forbes, head of digital and marketing at information management consultancy, InfoReady.
One of the more infamous predictions that Gartner has made in recent years was the off-quoted comment published in 2012 that suggested by 2017 the CMO will spend more on technology than the CIO within an organisation.
The closer we get to 2017 the more that prediction is one worth challenging, but that’s a discussion for another day. What’s pertinent is that even if technology budgets are not shifted wholesale to marketing initiatives and the dynamic between marketing and technology is not changed completely, what’s undeniable is the idea that technology is playing a more significant role in the marketing department.
However, worryingly many marketing teams still lack the right skills to take on this growing accountability.
Relying on IT and marketing to collaborate together effectively within an organisation can be risky, as there are no guarantees that they’ll be speaking the same language when they do. The technology skills that the IT and marketing teams have an interest in are often fundamentally different.
In organisations with a lean IT capability IT’s focus is going to be around ‘keeping the lights on’ for critical business systems, for example keeping servers healthy, managing the organisation’s BYOD policy, running security checks and upgrading devices. They’re not necessarily going to have the capacity or the skills to orchestrate the kind of marketing technology capability that leading marketing organisations demand.
By contracts, leading marketers will be demanding a single view of their customer that enables a real time dialogue across multiple channels, advanced analytics capabilities to predict consumer behaviour and advanced digital skills including SEO, social media and video.
This means IT and marketing are looking for very different technology skillsets when recruiting and developing talent, and for many organisations each team will be left under equipped to respond to the technology demands of the other. Invariably the reality is for organisations to go out and actively recruit people with specific skills in marketing technology.
Some organisations have been aware of this need for years, but the challenge has been how to find the right people where there is a rapidly growing skills shortage. Digital marketing resources provider, Mondo, found that 50 per cent of all marketing hires will have a technical background in 2014. The sharp demand for technology marketing skills has a meant a lot of people are currently training themselves up in these fields to grab their piece of the action. But it has also made talent acquisition expensive with employees knowing the raw demand for these skillsets within the organisation, and the value they’ll bring into the organisation.
For highly commoditised skills, an inexpensive and relatively easy solution can be found in the likes of Freelancer.com, though that comes with the usual caveat emptor warning. The wealth of training and information that is available on effective technology marketing also makes it possible to bring in someone and train them from scratch, though this requires patience on the part of the organisation, and a strong mentor to oversee the development of raw talent.
When it comes to recruiting, the tried and tested strategy of placing an advertisement on a recruitment website or the like is still worthwhile, but there are more proactive means to identify and target talent with specific skills through digital channels. Typically a talented technology marketer will be an experienced user of social media and is likely to be engaged in digital forums, user groups, blogs, networking communities that relate to specific technologies. This is where you are likely to come across the most motivated and skilled advocates for what you’re looking to do within your own organisation.
For those marketers on the leading edge importing skills from overseas is another option. With new technologies emerging at a rapid rate, there’s not always going to be a local support team that you can access. This doesn’t always have to mean sponsoring a foreign national, as there may be the option to place a local returning from a stint overseas.
If you do recruit from overseas, be sure to have a plan to knowledge share and build up the capability of your wider team. It’s an additional investment up-front but there’s little substitute for on-the-job training, and you’ll end up with a competitive advantage in developing skills that are hard to come by locally.
Latest News

Man Of Many Joins The Australian Press Council
Listing a Mumbrella Award under the accomplishments of Man of Many guarantees scorn from the B&T editorial team.

Ubiquity Lab Expands Team: Nidhi Rajan Joins As Director Of Digital & Performance
It's always good to have someone keep tabs on whether you're underperforming.

Elsa Pataky Hits The Cover Of T Australia
The article compares Pataky's life balance to cocktail ingredients. B&T's recipe would be gin, schnapps and regret.

PlayStation Australia Put NSW And QLD Head-To-Head In Gran Turismo 7 Campaign Via Creative PR Agency Poem
For anyone who wants to take a car and go through the city streets at 200 m/ph.

“Be Very Careful!” Liberal MP Tim Smith Threatens To Take Action Against Teenage Journo
Maybe this little conflict can be resolved in the principal's office or over decaffeinated coffees.

State Of Origin Flasher Upstages ABC Reporter During Live Cross
It's always impressive when a supporter manages to be more badly behaved than any of the players.

Audible Announces First Nations Content For NAIDOC Week
First Nations content should be consumed all year round. But get this in your ears as a start!

10’s Star-Studded Pilot Showcase Features Courtney Act, Abbie Chatfield & Melissa Leong
Channel 10's latest pilot season line-up just screams! We want more Logies next year.

Amazon Staff Ask The Company To Pull The Plug On Books Calling Trans People ‘Mentally Ill’
If Amazon listens it will be the equivalent of putting your coffee mug in the dishwasher at work: the bare minimum.

McDonald’s Australia Announces Digital Sauce Quest
In a Willy Wonka-esque move, Maccas is sending the public on a quest for sauce, something stoners will be familiar with.

B&T Awards Adds NEW CTV Category!
Here at B&T, we love a new category as much as Kochie loves droning on about the economy.

Sunday TV Wrap: State Of Origin Game Two Is Down 100,000 Eyeballs From Last Year
If you knew our TV Reporter, you'd understand the investigative journo skills she used to know who won Origin.

Meta Shuts Down On Employees Talking About Abortion Rights, Report Says
Meta would seemingly prefer workers to talk about MySpace then Abortion Rights.

“Simple Screw Up!” The Daily Aus Mistakes German Flag For Aboriginal Flag In Editing Blunder
Here at B&T, we'd find this mistake way funnier, if we weren't all so confused about how commas work.

UN Women’s New Campaign Highlights Humanity’s Priorities
The new UN Women's Campaign is a nice reminder that some people do want women to have rights.

How To Test A Business Idea: A Step-By-Step Guide
Surely the best way to test a new idea is to go down to the pub and see if anyone calls it, "a bit shit."

Google Gives Relocation Choice To States With Abortion Rights For All Its US Employees
Packing up and moving your entire life to a place that isn't still stuck in the stone ages is totally a thing now.

Carat Lands $10m Funding For MOOD Tea’s Woolworths Launch
MOOD tea is clearly targeted at younger audiences who can say stuff like "yass" while downing some earl grey.

Cannes Lions: Oglivy Named Network Of The Year, Dentsu Bengaluru Picks Up Agency Of The Year Award
All winners walk away with industry bragging rights and probably a nasty hangover too.

Former Foxtel Exec Launches On-Demand Service Oh! Jazz
If you want to feel better than everyone, but can't be bothered going to a Jazz Club, Oh! Jazz is for you!

Kantar Push Sustainability Efforts Through Appointment Of Bethan Hockey
Feeling smug that you own a Keep Cup? Sorry, sweetie that simply isn't enough.

B&T’s Best Of The Best Late Entries Close Friday + Judges Wanted!
Missed the original deadline? Here's another deadline, although this is actually the last one.

Could The Gift of Adventure Help Drive Your Next Promotion?
Give up on the branded akubra for your GWP, no-one wants it. Try something with a little more adrenaline involved!

Delacon Becomes The First To Release Call Tracking Technology Integration For Google Ads Within APAC Region
Call tracking technology... try finding three more threatening words to put together in a sentence, we dare you!

Eastern Standard Times Hold Launch Event In Deeply Cultural Setting
Global media network Eastern Standard Times had their official launch event on Thursday (23/6) night at the Lucky Kwong restaurant in Sydney’s South Eveleigh, with the focus being placed on how this platform will provide Asian communities in Australia with a greater insight on what they need to know. Editor-in-chief Keshia Hannam, who served as […]

Samsung Slammed With $14M Fine By Federal Court For “Misleading Waterproof Claims”
Thank god we have Korean boy bands because some of the country's leading brands lead a lot to be desired.

Woolworths’ Andrew Hicks Named As One Of The World’s Top 50 CMOs
Woolies' marketing supremo celebrating with an iceberg lettuce or two after being named one of the world's best CMOs.

Nike To Become Latest Big Brand To Officially Abandon Russia
Russians set to queue for bread in their thongs as Nike becomes latest western capitalist dog to exit the country.

Netflix Co-CEO Meets With Reps From Google At Cannes To Strike A Potential Ad Partnership
Ads might soon be coming to Netflix. Although we're quite sure Messrs Warburton, Sneesby etc will be having none of it.

Harrowing Campaign Shows The Last Photos & Videos Of Suicide Victims
Ready the tissues at this incredibly powerful and brave mental health initiative.

Alfi Study Reveals Entertainment & Media Will Be Main Focus Of DOOH Ads Within The Next Year
DOOH continues to prove the hot category in adland. That said, B&T's still got a soft spot for towed plane banner ads.

TV Journo Goes Viral After Mistakenly Drawing Large Penis During Report Into The Capitol Riots
Were your school days full of drawing penises on the blackboard and afternoon detentions? Relive the good times here.

ACT Responsible Awards Wunderman Thompson Australia As One Of This Year’s Champions Of Good
ACT Responsible celebrated 4 Champions for Good from the agency, advertiser, NGO and public sectors who have made an impact in the social and environmental areas and helped improve the world through personal contributions or creative campaigns. “It is not an Award. There is no competition and there is no winner. The goal of this […]

Thursday TV Wrap: Footy Punts Seven To A Big Win
The AFL proved a ratings winner for Seven last night. Just not in Sydney, were no one gives a shit unless the Swans win.

WARC Announce The Winners For Their 2022 Award In Effectiveness
If B&T ever had an award for effectiveness, it would go to our publican for his 5-6pm half-price pints happy hour.

Cannes Lions: VICE Media Win Third Grand Prix For Their ‘Unfiltered History Tour’
On the third day of the 2022 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the “Unfiltered History Tour” campaign by VICE Media walked away with yet another Grand Prix, this time in the Social & Influencer Lions. The campaign, which was held in partnership with the British Museum by the Dentsu Creative teams of Mumbai, Bengaluru […]