# data[].attributes.headline
Marketing Tech - How marketers can address the social media skills gap

# data[].attributes.subject
Marketing Tech - How marketers can address the social media skills gap

# data[].attributes.body
We all know that the rise of social media has revolutionised marketing and changed how businesses market themselves to, and engage with, customers. However, the rapid pace of this revolution has left a digital skills gap with many in today’s workforce woefully ill-equipped to unlock the value of social media.

OG comments:
We know Mapp is keen to comment on the digital skills gap, this is a good example of a content on this topic.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
With more than 10 years' experience in B2C and B2B marketing, Melanie has a proven track record in building marketing and PR strategies for technology and automotive brands. Currently Senior Marketing Manager for Northern Europe & EEMEA at Hootsuite, Melanie leads integrated marketing programmes to enable brands across countries to unlock business value via social media. During previous years, Melanie worked for international organisations including NTT Data and BMW's Consulting where she developed and executed cross-regional strategies.
(c)iStock/lechatnoir
We all know that the rise of social media has revolutionised marketing and changed how businesses market themselves to, and engage with, customers. However, the rapid pace of this revolution has left a digital skills gap with many in today's workforce woefully ill-equipped to unlock the value of social media.

According to a government report, the UK is on the verge of falling behind on the global stage if we don't address this skills shortfall. We don't need everyone to become computer scientists overnight, but when you bear in mind that 12.6 million adults lack basic digital skills, it is a cause for concern.

Businesses and marketers know they need to be on social to reach their audiences, and you can't just "wing it" anymore. Social Media Examiner found that 92% of marketers have said that social media is important to their business, and it is clear having the right digital skills is essential to both social and business success.

This calls for workforces around the country to assess the social media skills they have. Are they sufficient for today and can they bring you into a future where we'll be even more reliant on social for new business and customer engagement?

What's behind the gap

How social media is used in the workplace has fundamentally changed. Social media used to be the domain of specialist social media managers. However, in just a short space of time, activities on social media have been radically democratised and decentralised by easy to use social media management technologies. Since then, employees - marketing employees in particular - have been asked to use social media in ever more numerous and unfamiliar ways. According to Indeed, job ads that mention social media in the description but not the title have grown by 89% - that's a huge swing.

For marketers, the sudden proliferation of new platforms and features is also a factor in the skills gap. Only a year ago, snapchat was for teens, and today it's the latest way to engage business audiences. As more platforms incorporate more sophisticated features, even the most plugged-in users are struggling to keep up. Only 5% of marketers actively adopt new channels.

Given the proliferance of social in our daily lives, social management is sometimes assumed as an inherent skill. However, just because somebody grows up as a social media native, they aren't by default equipped to represent a company's interests online.

As more platforms incorporate more sophisticated features, even the most plugged-in users are struggling to keep up. No one should be expected to dive into the world of corporate social media management without guidance and training.

Bridging the gap

While social media races ahead, formal training and education programs are lagging seriously behind.

Few employees have time for in-depth courses or bootcamps, so the right training solution needs to be on-demand and mobile-friendly. Companies immersed in the social and digital media space can offer real lessons from the front lines in an alternative way - online education.

Getting an online education and certification is convenient and allows training materials to be short and easy to digest. We recently launched Hootsuite Academy to play our part in boosting social media skills.

Hootsuite Academy is an online offering that provides hundreds of free social media videos, resources, and industry certifications to help professionals drive value from social media.

Our aim is to help marketers and other employees involved in digital become comfortable using the variety of channels and tools available. Social media knowledge beyond personal use is a job skill that is no longer a nice to have, but a must have.

The future

Although the digital and social landscape is moving at great speed, we can be prepared by improving our social media skills. Yes, this includes technical knowledge but just as important is the ability to think entrepreneurially and to consider how your company can grow its market share by using social media imaginatively.

It all starts from a base of knowledge that grows and becomes more fruitful as time progresses.

It is vital that we give social skills the attention they deserves as our digital livelihoods depend on it. Although your working knowledge might be small now, it may not be too long until you are commanding attention online for all the right reasons.

With more than 10 years' experience in B2C and B2B marketing, Melanie has a proven track record in building marketing and PR strategies for technology and automotive brands. Currently Senior Marketing Manager for Northern Europe & EEMEA at Hootsuite, Melanie leads integrated marketing programmes to enable brands across countries to unlock business value via social media. During previous years, Melanie worked for international organisations including NTT Data and BMW's Consulting where she developed and executed cross-regional strategies.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How marketers can address the social media skills gap - Marketing Tech News

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We all know that the rise of social media has revolutionised marketing and changed how businesses market themselves to, and engage with, customers. However, the rapid pace of this revolution has left a digital skills gap with many in today's workforce woefully ill-equipped to unlock the value of social media.

# data[].attributes.headline
Internet Retailing - GUEST COMMENT Email marketing: what retailers can learn from other sectors

# data[].attributes.subject
Internet Retailing - GUEST COMMENT Email marketing: what retailers can learn from other sectors

# data[].attributes.body
Email marketing is proven year-after-year to be an extremely important channel for retailers, those doing it right enjoy not only more business, but both higher customer engagement and satisfaction levels. But how exactly is email marketing used by retailers, which areas are showing successes (and failures) and what can this sector learn from its peers?

OG comments:
A good example of best practices on email marketing and how effective it is to retailers

# data[].attributes.headline
The Telegraph - Five useful trends to help digital marketers in 2017

# data[].attributes.subject
The Telegraph - Five useful trends to help digital marketers in 2017

# data[].attributes.body
From personalised content to chatbots and virtual assistants, marketing experts share their thoughts on what the industry can expect – and how to get ahead – in the coming year.

OG comments:
An article on the predictions from industry experts in the market.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
1. Digital talking back
Emily James, chief strategy officer, RKCR/Y&R
"2017 will be the year when digital will start 'talking back'. It will be when marketing gets so personal that it seems to know what we're thinking. From chatbots to virtual assistants, conversations with robots will increasingly become a part of our everyday interactions with brands.

"The best will have brand personality designed into them, but as machine learning progresses, robots will become increasingly fluent at speaking 'human'. If you've ever taken a Facebook personality survey, don't be surprised if you're soon served up digital advertising that seems to read your mind with uncanny psychological accuracy.

"Data services business Cambridge Analytica helped the Trump campaign target individuals with adverts designed to match not just their political views, but their personality type. For example, if you're a gun-owning nostalgic type, you would have been served an ad showing a father and son hunting.

"If this approach helped Trump win the White House, expect a lot more brands to start taking a more personal approach to communications."

2. Live streaming
Ben Lunt, executive digital director, BMB
"Two things have always been true of digital. First, the internet is a tool for talking about what's happening in the world right now. Second, the interest in what's happening has generally reduced as people are given more ways to talk about it.

"Recent product innovations from Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and so on have focused on reducing that gap to as close to zero as possible, such as Periscope and Facebook Live.

"Broadcasters have known this for a while, but in a world in which we're all drowning in content, being 'live' has a lot of currency. When a viewer has a million options around what to watch, knowing that the moment will be gone if you don't watch something immediately helps to make the decision for you.

"With the exception of Red Bull, no brands have fully capitalised on this yet. But the infrastructure is now fully in place to give them reach and engagement. With users becoming more used to the concept, it makes the opportunity worth a brand's while. In 2017, someone will create something big, unmissable, and real-time. The rest will follow."

3. Web TV
Dan Calladine, head of media futures, Carat Global
"Many people now have the ability to put video from the web on to the biggest screen in the home, thanks to devices such as Google's Chromecast and Amazon's Fire TV Stick.

"Big and small players can now easily get involved. Gaming company Toca Boca became a global kids' TV channel overnight when it introduced video to its app. Twitter and Facebook have both made apps that allow users to put videos from their feeds on to the TV, including Twitter's live NFL games.

"This new technology also brings a return path; Mr Porter has shoppable videos on Apple TV, and Facebook is experimenting in the US with putting ads, using its own targeting, on platforms such as Roku. It seems likely that 2017 will see this arrive in the UK."

4. Content that's even more personal and relevant
Reeha Alder-Shah, managing partner, DARE
"One of the biggest digital marketing trends for 2017 will be the rise in brands trying to create content that connects with audiences in more personal, relevant ways.

"This won't come from a new piece of technology, but through brands and marketers simply using data better. Spotify's recent campaign used its own data and combined it with user listening habits and real world events to create adverts featuring hyper-localised facts specific to different countries and cities. For example, a UK poster read: "Dear 3,749 people who streamed It's The End Of The World As We Know It the day of the Brexit Vote, Hang in there."

"The brand showed the true power that comes from blending data and culturally-relevant content to showcase products in a meaningful way. There's potential for other brands to follow suit. From retailers to more traditional brands, take the data that you collect from your customers, and use it in your campaigns to create more personal, meaningful connections with them."

5. Mobile-first
Amy Cole, head of brand development, EMEA, Instagram
"Video on mobile is one of the biggest trends we've seen this year, and we expect it to grow in 2017. It's essential that marketers think about mobile first and foremost - including the consumer mindset, how the format works and what the messaging should be.

" Being on mobile means that brands can be targeted in their approach. It used to be the case that you had to run brand awareness and direct response ads on different channels. Now, in the digital era, it's possible to run brand and performance campaigns on the same channels and measure impact.

"Regardless of evolving digital technology, how brands engage with audiences comes down to the same core marketing principles: define your objectives, be consistent and relevant in your messaging, and measure impact against your business goals."
* What's your digital marketing trend for 2017? Share it in the comments section below

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
5 useful trends to help digital marketers in 2017

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Marketing experts share their thoughts on what the industry can expect - and how to get ahead - in the coming year.

# data[].attributes.headline
Campaign - Customer Engagement Agency of the Year 2016: TMW Unlimited

# data[].attributes.subject
Campaign - Customer Engagement Agency of the Year 2016: TMW Unlimited

# data[].attributes.body
TMW Unlimited is parent company Creston’s flagship agency. With healthy revenues, client stability and innovative work, it remains the group’s biggest earner and impressed Campaign this year. TMW began the year by securing a place on L’Oréal’s integrated marcoms roster and, following subsequent pitches, became the sole agency for the cosmetic giant’s Clarisonic and Professional Products Division brands.

OG comments:
Flagging this as it's a good example of a placed case study. We could do secure a similar opportunity if we had access to a Mapp customer.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
TMW Unlimited is parent company Creston's flagship agency. With healthy revenues, client stability and innovative work, it remains the group's biggest earner and impressed Campaign this year.
Dogs Trust Ooutdoor campaign
TMW began the year by securing a place on L'Oréal's integrated marcoms roster and, following subsequent pitches, became the sole agency for the cosmetic giant's Clarisonic and Professional Products Division brands.

The shop also picked up below-theline work for Ferrero, across its Kinder Bueno, Tic Tac and Raffaello brands.

It developed an outdoor campaign for the Dogs Trust, won SEO projects for Weetabix and Infiniti, and expanded its long-standing relationship with Nissan Europe, winning pitches to develop a brand and customer portal. All this has helped to boost TMW's already strong financial record.

It had steadily grown revenues from £25.7m to £26.9m in the year ending March 2016 - a 5% increase year on year. This allowed the agency to invest internally - relaunching "social-first" marketing agency Things Unlimited, previously a joint venture with PR sibling Nelson Bostock, as a wholly owned brand and opening Navigate Unlimited, a marketing tech and automation specialist.

TMW's record on digital innovation is impressive. The agency has a labs division that helps embed start-up thinking into client organisations, and this is now being used by high-profile companies. It also set up a quick-turnaround digital production studio for Sony Mobile's global marketing team, with the ability to create an ad within two hours.

Virgin Trains digital campaign Lynx 'Men in progress'
Carrying on from its engaging work with Lynx and charity Calm in 2015, TMW released a series of candid films called "Men in progress" for the deodorant brand in which men discuss masculinity in today's world.

Other commendable creative included a risqué digital campaign for Virgin Trains comprising online videos in which couples appear to discuss their sex lives but are in fact talking about travel. The films ran across AOL's network and Facebook's promoted posts and targeted people living in cities where Virgin Trains operates.

TMW's impactful business-tobusiness work for Canon, "#unleashprint", had social, experiential, online, press and out-of-home elements, and helped deliver a 30% increase in sales at the annual Drupa print show.

The only blip came at the year's end, with Nissan-owned Infiniti launching a procurement-driven European pitch. TMW is repitching. Next year, it will be interesting to see the impact of Creston's new owners - private-equity investors based in the Isle of Man that, until November, were minority shareholders.

Proximity

Proximity's new management team, headed by Gabby Ludzker, has enjoyed a prosperous year and the agency came a very close second to TMW. It won new clients Virgin Holidays and Specsavers, becoming the optician's first external agency.

But Proximity also achieved 56% of its new-business target through organic growth, hitting the shop's annual targets by September - an agency record. Work for The Economist secured a Creative Effectiveness gold in Cannes and two IPA Effectiveness golds.

The agency launched brave work for RNLI when, against the backdrop of consumers being turned off by the pressure charities put them under, it re-asked all supporters for permission to contact them again. If someone didn't opt in, the charity promised never to contact them again.

So far, the number of supporters choosing to opt in is 166% above the original target. Another highlight, for Martini, was using a "DJ bot" on Facebook Messenger to create bespoke summer playlists.

Partners Andrews Aldridge

Partners Andrews Aldridge has produced some outstanding work, from creating bespoke DM packs for the BBC to revamping E.ON's entire digital presence.

The agency won B&Q's customer-experience account and Santander's content business, while First Group appointed it to relaunch the TransPennine Express franchise. PAA has continued to innovate, setting up an in-house research and usertesting facility, Experience Lab, and a customer engagement and mediadelivery platform, Rapport.

It has worked closely with clients, including embedding employees on-site at E.ON, sending staff on secondments to government departments and welcoming clients to its new hot-desking spaces. PAA continues to impress.
Recent winners: Proximity (2015); Lida (2014); Lida (2013); OgilvyOne (2012); OgilvyOne (2011).
Lida

It was a rocky start to the year for Lida, when long-standing executive creative director Nicky Bullard quit and one of its major clients, Land Rover, shifted the CRM account. But a good agency can roll with the punches and Lida did just that.

It went on to win seven new pieces of business, including the Royal Mail Group after a high-profile pitch, when the company consolidated all of its below-the-line activity across seven business units. Lida also picked up The Open University's integrated account, the NSPCC, NN Investment Partners (formerly ING) and expanded work with RBS Group and Camelot.

All of this activity means the agency is set to grow revenues by 10% year on year. Strong work included a cross-stitched mailer asking people to sign up for Ikea's email communications.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Customer Engagement Agency of the Year 2016: TMW Unlimited

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The high-achiever of the Creston family continued to make its parent proud with a strong all-round year in which the creative work became more visible.

# data[].attributes.headline
Minute Hack - Better Customer Engagement: Research For Development

# data[].attributes.subject
Minute Hack - Better Customer Engagement: Research For Development

# data[].attributes.body
No matter what your company’s services are, the need to engage customers effectively is paramount. Here are some key ways to adapt and develop your company, taking into account the needs of customers and the best ways to interact with them. Taking the time to keep reassessing who you think your market is, who is actually buying from you, their needs and how they absorb information is vital to your company’s growth. Does your target market read trade titles or just consume through TV and social media?

OG comments:
Backs-up Mapp's message on understanding what customers want and ensuring brands provide personalised content.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
No matter what your company's services are, the need to engage customers effectively is paramount. Here are some key ways to adapt and develop your company, taking into account the needs of customers and the best ways to interact with them.
Research what your customers want
Taking the time to keep reassessing who you think your market is, who is actually buying from you, their needs and how they absorb information is vital to your company's growth. Does your target market read trade titles or just consume through TV and social media?

For the first time ever, the UK will be spending more media time on their mobiles than laptops and computers, with 2 hours and 29 minutes, representing an 11.8% increase*. It is also predicted that by 2018, an average of 29.5% of media time will be spent on mobile and tablets, just 1%* behind TV.

We are always analysing what types of ads various groups of people engage with the most. Research and analysis, especially into marketing, can often be overlooked, but is such an essential part of winning business and raising awareness of your brand.

Our Format Effect research into online video advertising shows that the proportion of millennials who felt inspired by watching an outstream video format advert was double that of a more intrusive pre-roll format, which can have a negative effect on the viewer's feelings towards the brand.

Knowing your market through research like this can give you an advantage over the competition. Consumers expect meaningful engagement from brands, and if they feel like their private sphere is being invaded by blanket marketing messages, the next step is usually installation of ad blocking software.
Ensure authentic and engaging content and ethos
You might find yourself just going through the motions but taking a step back and thinking about why your company started, what the aims are and what your ethos is can reignite that passion or excitement you can then share with your customers.

How you present your marketing materials to your audience can also have a great impact on the impression you make.

Our research shows audiences are becoming less tolerant of bad, obvious advertising and instead look for more of a connection and emotional engagement. Consumers, particularly millennials, want to feel engaged with brands that reflect their lifestyle and interests and also want to gain interesting or valuable insight.

Engaging content will draw the viewer in to keep watching or read more. This elevates their thoughts on the brand. Whether it's a sponsored interview with an intriguing person or stunning imagery, content should tell an exciting story and it will really pay off by making people more likely to buy your products.
Adapt to become future proof
Invention, innovators and technology all can move at a rapid rate and it is important to keep up. As things have reached what we call "escape velocity", many larger and more traditional businesses simply cannot match the pace new companies set.

Whether it is social, on-demand services, the IoT, or brand new developments like Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality technology and OTT, it is been proven that smaller and more nimble organisations tend to disrupt the normal business cycle.

Large businesses from London to California have continued to "gobble-up" the start-ups and, most of the time that leads to the end of innovation, or worse, the end of the company.

At Publicitas we have had to adapt from print to a digital world and there are some really exciting opportunities around Virtual Reality and 360 video we can move into. What are the challenges facing your industry and are you acknowledging how you can adapt for the future?

Adopting new technology and changing your offering can elevate you to become a leading force and unlock new opportunities for growth, so why not start offering 360 or VR tours and product views if that is applicable to your business?

In our Marketing Priorities Survey, almost all of the participants agreed that developments in mobile technology, and the power of mobile devices especially, will most likely influence their business in the next 12 months.

There is interest in immersive technologies such as VR and AR technology, and a clear feeling that these will impact their business in the immediate future. In fact, 70% agree that Virtual Reality will drive the next technology revolution.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Better Customer Engagement: Research For Development - Minutehack

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Opinion pieces by entrepreneurs, executives and experts on aspects of running businesses

# data[].attributes.headline
The Drum - Seven data-driven marketing predictions for 2017

# data[].attributes.subject
The Drum - Seven data-driven marketing predictions for 2017

# data[].attributes.body
Data and analytics have become indispensable for marketers during 2016, yet most of us would agree that we’ve barely scratched the surface of what’s possible.

OG comments:
A good example of predictions from marketers. Could be an opportunity for Mapp to comment on whether they agree and provide their predictions.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Seven data-driven marketing predictions for 2017

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Data and analytics have become indispensable for marketers during 2016, yet most of us would agree that we've barely scratched the surface of what's possible.

# data[].attributes.headline
Real Business - Digital customer experience lessons companies can learn from the unicorns

# data[].attributes.subject
Real Business - Digital customer experience lessons companies can learn from the unicorns

# data[].attributes.body
What is the key to the success of the so-called unicorns? Alex Klose, head of marketing at digital customer engagement specialist IMImobile argues that companies seeking to emulate such success should look to deliver the best customer experience possible whilst questioning the value brought to customers.

OG comments:
While there isn't a comment opportunity we wanted to flag as an FYI.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
For people starting, running and growing a small business, Real Business is the content brand that tells the truth about SME life today.

# data[].attributes.body
The customer obsession mantra has been the tune of 2016 in marketing. Focus on your customers’ needs. Pull not push. Invest in getting to know your audience (because there’s a good chance you have no idea who they are). It’s all been great fun. The recurring theme in all of this of course has been data - collect as much data as you can from as many different avenues as possible. The more concrete insights you can gather about your audience, the more likely it is that your content will engage, possibly even convert.

OG comments:

This could be a good opportunity to provide comment based on Mapp's Digital Customer Engagement Index to explain how brands are still not meeting the customer needs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The customer obsession mantra has been the tune of 2016 in marketing. Focus on your customers' needs. Pull not push. Invest in getting to know your audience (because there's a good chance you have no idea who they are). It's all been great fun. The recurring theme in all of this of course has been data - collect as much data as you can from as many different avenues as possible. The more concrete insights you can gather about your audience, the more likely it is that your content will engage, possibly even convert.

The problem is, your competitors are just as savvy as you are. They too understand that data-driven content can lead to higher reach, engagement and conversions for a content campaign. And in the noisy space of social, optimizing for campaign KPIs can only get you so far.As many as 62% of US online adults actively avoid ads in any channel.

Social media users today are easily distracted, they tend to tune out when marketers turn up the volume, and they respond readily to real-time interactions - even if those interactions are coming from your competitors. So how can you adopt a more sophisticated approach that can ensure more lasting relationships with your customers?

Campaigns are so 2016. This new year, marketers should be thinking more in terms of interactions. Optimizing your content for campaign KPIs will only get you so far. To stand out, you need to optimize content for moments of interaction with your customers.

So what does that mean?
Create for interactions
The first step is to design your content strategy as a means to deliver to moments within your customer's journey through social media. Think about all of your social content as the substance of a meaningful experience with your prospects, not as a cog in the push-marketing machine. Instead of creating content for the purpose of conversion, create it with the wider context of the customer journey in mind.

A link campaign shouldn't just be pushed out to an audience with the right demographic interests, it should be pushed to an audience who are at the optimal point in their journey to be receptive to that link. This type of thinking leads to a meaningful interaction, rather than simple push marketing designed to keep your brand top of mind.
Expanding your touchpoints
To deliver content in this framework requires both a realistic understanding of your customer's journey, and contextual insight around each individual. It's no good sending out a link campaign to an audience pool that have never engaged with your brand before.

Accurately mapping your customer journey is essential for interaction-based optimization. The modern customer journey is fragmented, with so many communication channels and social networks out there, it can be difficult to know where exactly your customers are coming from, and how warm they are to your brand.

To overcome this challenge, brands should begin by expanding their pool of possible touchpoints. Use a social listening tool to tap into conversations outside your existing comms channels, and find new opportunities to build brand touchpoints. The more potential interactions you can build, the more data streams you'll have, and your customer journey map will be far more accurate as a result.
Connect your data
The next step is to make all your customer data streams speak to each other. Most brands keep their customer data sources locked in disparate systems that are difficult or expensive to connect. What's more, it can be difficult for marketing departments to make data connectivity a priority within the organization - but unifying your customers' data story is crucial.

For example, insights from your community management activities could be used as the basis for a retargeting campaign. Imagine you have a lot of social followers posting comments about an upcoming product release - this group could make the perfect audience for an ad campaign once the product is launched, one that will deliver much higher conversion than simply targeting by interests.

Investing in the right social data platform can make this process much more simple than trying to integrate a stack of individual technology vendors. Find a platform that gives you visibility into as many touchpoints on social as possible. This will ensure that you can easily access contextual insight around an individual or audience cluster to identify exactly where they are positioned within their journey.

Optimizing your social content strategy means going beyond campaign KPIs. With the customer journey becoming more complex, brands need to be doing more than simply posting more content or buying more ads. Why? Expanding your brand's potential for customer engagement by creating more touchpoints will drive huge growth in your volume of customer data. You can collect insights on everything from transactional, to behavioural to emotional. Removing the silos from your data streams will enable you to use these data insights to deliver contextually relevant experiences, rather than just content designed for conversions. This will not only give you a clear competitive advantage, but it will help you use social as a medium for building lasting relationships.
Manita Dosanjh is PR and communications executive at Falcon IO

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The customer obsession mantra has been the tune of 2016 in marketing. Focus on your customers' needs. Pull not push. Invest in getting to know your audience (because there's a good chance you have no idea who they are). It's all been great fun.

# data[].attributes.headline
Infographic: How Programmatic Is Getting a Major Boost This Holiday Season

# data[].attributes.subject
Infographic: How Programmatic Is Getting a Major Boost This Holiday Season

# data[].attributes.body
According to new data from ad tech company Index Exchange, the beginning of the 2016 holiday advertising season started several weeks earlier than usual. This year's other big holiday ad trend? Programmatic, of course, which saw a steep rise around the globe. "With more holiday budgets moving into programmatic, and with more guaranteed deals, negotiations between buyers and sellers must happen earlier than ever," advised Index Exchange vp, business development Will Doherty.

OG comments:

We wanted to flag this as an FYI. It claims that Porgrammatic was on the rise this year, particularly during the Christmas period. It includes some useful stats for future bylines and comments on this topic.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Brandweek will feature live discussions with marketing pros at Dakota Media, Converse, UPS and more. Meet us in Miami Sept. 11-14 to boost your business and elevate your brand.

If it seems like the deluge of online holiday advertising is starting earlier every year, you're not just imagining things: According to new data from ad tech company Index Exchange, the beginning of the 2016 holiday advertising season started several weeks earlier than usual. This year's other big holiday ad trend? Programmatic, of course, which saw a steep rise around the globe. "With more holiday budgets moving into programmatic, and with more guaranteed deals, negotiations between buyers and sellers must happen earlier than ever," advised Index Exchange vp, business development Will Doherty.

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

To Read the Full Story Become an Adweek+ Subscriber
View Subscription Options
Already a member? Sign in

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Infographic: How Programmatic Is Getting a Major Boost This Holiday Season

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
If it seems like the deluge of online holiday advertising is starting earlier every year, you're not just imagining things: According to new data from ad tech company Index Exchange, the beginning of the 2016 holiday advertising season started several weeks earlier than usual. This year's other big holiday ad trend?

# data[].attributes.headline
For torchbearer marketers, 2017 will be the year of effortless engagement

# data[].attributes.subject
For torchbearer marketers, 2017 will be the year of effortless engagement

# data[].attributes.body
There’s no denying ‘customer engagement’ was a buzzword in 2016. But for many marketers, that’s all it was. Only 5% of marketers are confident they have mastered the ability to predict and adapt to the customer journey, which is a vital component when building out any customer engagement strategy. Instead many have found themselves weighed down by data overload, existing legacy systems, and the increasing number of channels and competing priorities.

OG comments:

We wanted to flag this byline as an FYI. This backs-up Mapp's message on the importance of customer engagement.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
There's no denying ' customer engagement' was a buzzword in 2016. But for many marketers, that's all it was. Only 5% of marketers are confident they have mastered the ability to predict and adapt to the customer journey, which is a vital component when building out any customer engagement strategy. Instead many have found themselves weighed down by data overload, existing legacy systems, and the increasing number of channels and competing priorities.

However, in 2017 to remain competitive marketers will need to move away from a short-term focus and make the moves needed to build long term, more sustainable relationships with their customers. Typically, this has been difficult when marketers have been forced to place much of their attention on customer acquisition and, despite their best intentions, only been able to pay lip-service to the practice of building true customer engagement.

But increased efficiency is on the way. According to IBM's global C-suite study, CMOs believe the marketing industry is on the cusp of a technological revolution that will transform the way brands interact and engage with customers. Using technology, it's now possible for marketers to see and understand customer journeys in real-time, unlock the knowledge they already have about their customers across the business, and use this combined insight to deliver joined up and consistently good customer experiences that drive long term customer engagement.

In today's digital economy, where every business is a service business, engagement will be the key differentiator. Progressive businesses and their marketing teams will stop talking the talk and start walking the walk when it comes to putting the customer first. However, as these torchbearers adopt the disruptive technology that will allow them to do this, customer expectations will continue to increase. As customer experience becomes a real battleground for competitive advantage, the focus of marketing will change so that customer experience is placed firmly back at the top of the agenda, supported by an inside-out, customer-centric approach.
Taking accountability - end-to-end
In 2017, marketing teams will continue to move beyond their traditional remit and look at the customer lifecycle and the end-to-end customer experience. There are a couple of factors driving this. Firstly, industry research has established a clear relationship between customer experience and business value and as marketing is generally the primary growth engine for any business it's vital that markers take responsibility for the end-to-end experience to ensure that they build longer term and more profitable relationships with their customers. Secondly, customer perception and how they feel about brands has always been the marketing team's remit and that's often based on the many different interactions that a customer has with the organisation, so it's vital that the marketing team make sure that the brand delivers the value that the customer expects at every point.
Two-speed marketers will bring engagement marketing to the fore
Savvy marketers are beginning to complement their traditional, campaign-based marketing strategies with strategies that build long term value and engagement. In 2017 we expect to see the rise of two-speed marketing - a term coined by Jake Sorofman of Gartner. This will become embedded into the culture of the marketing team, blending traditional and customer engagement strategies to succeed. Marketers can do this by listening to customers and responding with the next-best conversations, rather than attempting to direct their own dialogue. In this way, torchbearer marketers will be able to strike that fine balance, moving away from campaign and towards ongoing relevant conversations with customers.
Engagement is the key to digital transformation
Marketers are beginning to realise that customer engagement and digital transformation are inextricably linked. Digital transformation has to start from a customer centric standpoint, it has to be centered around creating value for the customer. This means that digital transformation initiatives will need to be driven by the insight that marketers gather around customer behavior throughout the customer journey.
New year, new goalposts
In today's digital economy, where every business is a service business, engagement will be the key differentiator. In 2017, the key to effortless engagement will be harnessing actionable insights in real-time, bridging the gap between disparate customer interactions and departmental silo and making adjustments at each interaction to ensure a seamless customer experience throughout the journey.

As the race to engage with customers hots up over the coming months, we will start to see brands begin to adopt new metrics that reflect lifetime customer value, retention, referral and influencer value, and brand engagement.

Altogether, 2017 will be the year that forward-thinking marketers begin to blaze a trail towards effortless engagement.

Follow the customer engagement blog for more trends to look out for in 2017.
By Jason Hemingway, Chief Marketing Officer, Thunderhead

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
For torchbearer marketers, 2017 will be the year of effortless engagement

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
There's no denying 'customer engagement' was a buzzword in 2016. But for many marketers, that's all it was. Only 5% of marketers are confident they have mastered the ability to predict and adapt to the customer journey, which is a vital component when building out any customer engagement strategy.