In early October, I attended “Ready for Takeoff: Navigating Today’s Emerging Martech Solutions.” The event was my first American Marketing Association (AMA) Atlanta event as a member. I had a blast learning more about upcoming digital marketing trends and building my professional network. Hosted by the Association’s Innovation Marketing Special Interest Group, the event featured a panel of three fantastic marketers: Jason Brett of IBM Watson Marketing, Joanie Twersky of AT&T, and Tod Szewczyk of Leo Burnett. Check out my list of five things I learned below!
5 Things I Learned at AMA’s Martech Panel
1. Consumers want brands to stand for something
As all three panelists emphasized, consumers expect brands to take a stand on current events and social issues. This consumer expectation is borne from a recent shift within the last two decades towards increased socially conscious consumerism. More than ever before, consumers want to cast their vote with their dollars. As consumers look to buy from companies that echo their activism, marketers must rise to the challenge of creating brands that are associated with taking action on social issues.
2. Objects populate the internet
More devices than ever before have internet capability. At the same time, the cost of these devices is decreasing, making them more accessible to consumers. Every device with internet capability is linked to an IP address, populating the web with devices ranging from the familiar to the unexpected. Cell phones, artificial intelligence (AI) smart-speakers, smart watches, washing machines, coffee percolators, and light fixtures now populate the internet. Collectively, this Internet of Things (IoT) produces tremendous user data that marketers must sift through. This sudden wealth of usable data poses an overwhelming challenge to marketers as they must evaluate how to use it.
3. The rate of change for technology is dramatically increasing.
As the above point illustrates, the rate of change for technology is rapidly increasing. As panelist Joanie Twersky of AT&T outlined, AI machine learning and virtual reality (VR) technologies have significantly altered the marketing landscape. With an influx of new technology, marketers are faced with a steeper learning curve for not only themselves, but consumers. Twersky explained that oftentimes marketers find themselves trying to utilize tech for marketing that consumers may not even be familiar with, citing AT&T’s recent augmented reality campaign to promote its 5G data network.
4. Keeping up with trends is hard work
So with all these technological jumps, how can marketers stay on top of changes? There is no simple answer. As all three panelists noted, the best strategy is to read as many sources as possible, talk to consumers, and get out of the office. One panelist boldly argued that as marketers we should all live by the acronym NIHITO— Nothing Interesting Happens In The Office. Although there is no singular answer on how to stay abreast of martech trends, avid reading and data-gathering an excellent start.
5. We must build experimentation into the budget
As one panelist stated, if you’re not experimenting you’ll be left behind. The same panelist argued that marketers should create a core budget for regular, expected expenses as well as an additional budget for experimental projects. The panelist argued that this calculated experimentation was the key to innovation. `
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