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Filed Under: Connections E-Zine, Digital Proficiency, Getting Hired in Digital Marketing, Spotlight On

Who’s Hot In Digital?

One of the hottest, fastest-growing areas of Digital Marketing is Social Media…and the top 10 global advertisers are all investing in SM brand-building and business-building initiatives. There is a growing demand for leaders in Social Media which is morphing into a bigger platform…Social Business. Finding stellar talent in this area is challenging since Social Media is only 5-6 years old and there are not many senior-level marketers with experience driving significant change in this new field.

Robert Harles

One of the hottest, most successful Social Media/Social Business leaders is Robert (“Rob”) Harles, the new Global Head of Social Media at AccentureDigital. Prior to joining Accenture, Rob was Global Head of Social Media at Bloomberg LP, where he influenced Bloomberg’s global viewpoint and strategy related to this new emerging marketing and media channel. For a company as conservative and private as Bloomberg to embrace Social Media/Social Business, and open up to its use and possibilities, speaks volumes for Rob’s vision and leadership abilities.

Prior to Bloomberg, Rob was VP, Social Media at Sears Holdings, where he also evangelized the role of Social Media and developed the first platforms and programs across the entire Sears Holdings enterprise.

We congratulate Rob Harles on his latest career move and encourage top global brands seeking to establish a Social Media/Social Business strategy to connect with Rob Harles. Rob is one of the true revolutionaries in this rapidly emerging, important new marketing and media channel.

Filed Under: Digital Proficiency, Executive Coaching, Executive Talent, Getting Hired in Digital Marketing, Uncategorized

Mobile Marketing Talent Gap is Growing

Overview
Organizations (marketers, media companies, agencies, and marketing technology providers) know that consumers’ attention is increasingly being drawn to their mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.), but most companies are still in the early stages of mobile marketing strategy development — and they face an uphill climb to evolve beyond basic mobile marketing campaigns to building the dedicated mobile marketing organizations and recruiting/developing the talent required for sustained future mobile marketing growth and success.

Central Issues – Mobile Adoption Outpacing Talent Acquisition

Consumer mobile adoption is outpacing mobile marketing talent investment. The central issue facing marketers is the rapid pace of consumer mobile adoption which is outpacing mobile marketing talent investment, as marketers are still at an early stage in proving ROI of mobile marketing investments. Only 16% of marketers out of 250 global marketers surveyed have developed a mobile strategy, according to a 2013 report from the CMO Council. 46% of marketers surveyed in the CMO Council study said they are either evaluating or reviewing the role of mobile in their organizations.

Consumer adoption of mobile technology is increasing extremely rapidly. Marketers understand that mobile has opened up a new touch point through which they can engage their customers, but while mobile budgets and programs are on the upswing, they don’t yet come close to matching consumer enthusiasm. By the end of 2013, more than two-thirds of US online adults owned smartphones — and 45% of US online adults fall into a category Forrester calls “SuperConnecteds” — people who use the mobile Internet at least daily and who download and use applications and consume news and information on their smartphones. Publicis’ 2013 “Tablets Rising” global study indicated tablets are the fastest scaling technology innovation ever…surpassing the rate consumer adoption of TVs, PCs, mobile phones, etc. The majority of CMOs and agencies now consider mobile devices the “first screen” for development of branding campaigns.

Marketers are behind in developing mobile organizational strategies. Most large marketers are spending less than $5 million on mobile marketing today, and 60% of them expect their budgets to increase significantly in 2014. However, the CMO Council’s study findings point to marketers treating mobile as a standalone channel instead of being incorporated into an overall digital marketing and branding strategy. Additionally, 47% of CMOs said they are not satisfied because of a lack of talent, ad formats, or resources to roll out mobile campaigns. The findings also point to mobile being used for more one-off campaigns versus being integrated into a brand’s overall marketing mix.

“Mobile spend should be an integral part and extension of all marketing and customer relationship investments including customer help, service and support, advertising and custom content delivery, Web site interactions, word of mouth and search optimization, loyalty and rewards program management, feedback and insight gathering, point-of-sale merchandising and shopper marketing as well as campaign performance measurement,” said Donovan Neale-May, Founder & Executive Director of The CMO Council. Unfortunately, this strategic approach is lacking for a majority of marketers.

Mobile strategies are still young. More than one-third of marketers say their company has had a mobile strategy for less than two years, and another one-third have even less experience with the mobile channel. It’s still early days for most companies with this emerging channel. They’re still figuring out what mobile means to their businesses — which tactics to use, how to use them, and how to staff to support the programs.

Companies are using a variety of talent and staffing approaches to support mobile programs. This increased investment in mobile requires an increase in talent and digital/mobile staffing support — but there’s no one way that companies are staffing fast enough to meet the growing talent needs. Internally, only a small percentage of marketers have hired full-time mobile-dedicated employees, others are having full-time digital marketing teams supporting mobile part-time, and others use contract or freelance employees. One-third of marketers plan to hire more full-time mobile employees, and one-quarter plan to hire more contract mobile employees in the next six months…but marketers still rely primarily on agencies and part-timers.

Many firms are turning to their agencies to help them navigate this opportunity. Currently, marketers work with an average of three external agencies for mobile marketing. One-quarter of them use anywhere from four to 15 or more. And these agencies are only working on execution — the majority of companies are working with their traditional brand agency to help them incorporate mobile into their overall plans.

Some marketers are making acquisitions to quickly scale the mobile talent gaps. One of the most important strategic staffing decisions CMOs and CTOs will make this year is deciding how to meet their mobile development needs. Most companies have leaned on specialist firms and don’t have first-rate mobile development skills in-house. Now they must decide if that approach will cut it as smartphone and tablet platforms become as indispensable as the Web in engaging customers. The Financial Times decided that relying on a contractor wasn’t good enough and they acquired Web app developer Assanka. In its report on the acquisition, FT CEO John Ridding said:

“This is a unique opportunity to bring talented and very creative software engineers with proven skills in emerging web technologies into our team. It will further boost our momentum in digital journalism, help us improve our development processes and allow us to maintain our edge in this strategically important area.”

Walmart also acquired the 13-person mobile development firm Smart Society, as well as other mobile and social acquisitions including Kosmix and Grabble. These strategic mobile acquisitions by large marketers underscores the challenge large companies face in scaling mobile talent acquisition once the ROI case for mobile has been proven.

Summary
Mobile advertising is driving the growth of digital media spending at such a rapid rate that digital media (including mobile) is forecasted to exceed broadcast spending before 2018 (within the next 5 years). In order to support this, marketers and agencies need to hire, train/develop, and retain the mobile marketing talent required at both the strategic and tactical/technical development levels in order to maximize the effectiveness of increased mobile marketing investments. The winners and losers in closing this “talent gap” will define the next generation of “best in class” marketers.

Filed Under: Executive Coaching, Executive Talent, Spotlight On

“8 Pearls of Marketing” by Marty Homlish | ANA | Spring 2013

We are always looking to share Marketing “best practices” and highlight CMOs who are stars and game changers in the companies and industry sectors.

Marty Homlish, CCO at HP and former global CMO at SAP, is a marketing star and we are pleased to include a link to his 2013 ANA article and highlight Marty’s “8 Pearls of Marketing.”

Complete Article: Marty-Homlish-ANA

Communicate with your team. Never assume everybody understands what you’re trying to do and how you intend to get there. Always make yourself available for questions and feedback.
Reach out to your peers. Successful marketing is a team effort across many disciplines — creative, IT, web development, just to name a few. Make sure you understand their requirements, limitations, and priorities — and establish a foundation of trust and good working relationships.
Agility matters. Plans and circumstances can change in no time. When that happens, embrace the change and get the job done.
Be authentic. Nobody knows your brand better than your fans. Don’t disappoint them by trying to be something you’re not.
Approach the bandwagon with caution. The “next big thing” may or may not be just that. Do your homework before jumping aboard.
Focus on what’s essential. Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard said that investing in new product development and expanding the product catalog are the most difficult things to do in hard times, and also among the most important. But don’t let the quest to be innovative cause you to forget your business’s core competency.
Have a story to tell. And make sure the story illustrates how you add value to your customers’ lives.
Content matters. Create compelling content. Then package, distribute, and syndicate it.

Filed Under: Digital Proficiency, Getting Hired in Digital Marketing, Recommended Articles

Social Media Has Gone Mainstream

I can remember attending a B2B magazine CMO Awards luncheon late in 2012 when the moderator asked the panel of 15 CMOs for their 2013 business outlook and top marketing priorities. Almost every CMO listed their top 2013 marketing priority as investing in Social Media, however, none of them knew what this would look like for their companies. So in effect, this was a “leap of faith” CMOs knew they had to take to catch up with consumers who were connecting through social media channels including Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube to share their brand likes, dislikes, and reviews.

Fast forward to yearend 2013 and Chief Marketer magazine (www.ChiefMarketer.com) announces “Social Marketing has gone mainstream.” According to Chief Marketer’s 2013 Annual Social Media Survey, 77% of marketers are integrating Social Media into their annual marketing strategies, plans and campaigns. In addition to coupons and discounts, marketers are offering unique content as a reward for engaging with the brand socially, and over half of marketers are including Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest links in all marketing messages.

B2B marketers are embracing Social Media to enhance brand awareness and grow their businesses. Robert (“Rob”) Harles, Global Head of Social Media at Bloomberg LP, is one of our picks at “best in class” Social Media/Social Business leaders. Rob has totally transformed Bloomberg’s Social Media policies and practices over the past 3-4 years, and now their partnership with LinkedIn is being used by Bloomberg’s sales force as a top lead generation tool. Check out the recent article on Harles and Bloomberg…the transformation success has been phenomenal – Social Media Today.

On the B2C side, Brion Roberto – Global Head Digital Marketing & Social Media at Diageo is a marketer we nominated in 2013 for Marketing EDGE’s “Rising Star” award recognition. Brion is one of the best and brightest marketers under 40YO and Diageo has utilized Social Media and other digital marketing strategies to engage consumers in building brand awareness, purchase/preference, and loyalty.

Another marketer we would like to recognize is John Bell who recently joined Travelers as VP, Enterprise Digital Marketing. John is former Managing Director – Social@Ogilvy which he built into the largest Social Business/Social Media practice in the agency sector with annual revenue exceeding $100M+. John was a former Creative Director at Ogilvy Public Relations and he was one of the early pioneers in Social Media well ahead of the rest of the marketing sector.

While 75%+ of marketers are moving aggressively into Social Media/Social Business, less than 25% have a Social Media specialist on staff. This means marketers are relying on agencies (like Social@Ogilvy) and consulting firms (like Accenture Interactive) to develop and manage Social Media technology software and campaign management platforms. Clearly, increased hiring and technology investments to support Social Media growth are priority areas for marketers in 2014.

By Jeff Gundersen

Twitter (@Jeff Gundersen)

Filed Under: Digital Proficiency, Executive Coaching, Getting Hired in Digital Marketing

Disruptive Marketing Technologies

Leading edge marketers and agency leaders agree advances in new, disruptive marketing technologies have created new global media and marketing experiments as marketers race to infuse digital media and mobile commerce into their arsenal of marketing programs.

“Mobile is the first screen, the screen of today,” according to Bob Bowman, CEO of MLB Advanced Media. Mobile is Word of Mouth on steroids, and for MLB over 50% of their traffic is mobile and they expect 80-90% of traffic via mobile devices within 2 years. We have one chance to WOW people says Bowman…which has led MLB to focus heavily on “fan engagement” using sophisticated analytic tools and mobile apps to enable fans to transact, as well as share their experiences real-time.

Russell Wallach, President Live Nation Media & Sponsorship, indicated Live Nation is using their scale (22,000 live events) to “rewrite the rules” in entertainment marketing and media by increasing their brand advertiser’s ties with audiences. “Eighty percent (80%) of our customers use phones to engage with social media via Twitter, take/share pictures during events, as well as buy tickets. We are focused on creating “active social audiences” vs. “passive enjoyers.”

Some brands, including Bud Lite, have the scale to enable them to create/own their properties/events. Paul Chibe, VP Marketing at Anheuser-Busch described Bud Lite’s “Made in America Festival” where the brand sponsored 50 shows in 50 states in one day…integrating television commercials and social media led by their endorsement spokesperson, Jay-Z. This is the type of social currency and buzz factor BudLite needs to turnaround their market share slide.

CMOs today have to be nimble, digitally-savvy, and take risks…including a lot of new media and social/mobile testing…since marketing budgets are moving quickly in the direction of these disruptive marketing technologies and new media possibilities. While this is “advertising re-imagined,” according to Linda Sawyer (CEO at Deutsch) and Susan Credle (CCO at Leo Burnett), some things have not changed. “There is still a great need for storytelling and consumers love to be entertained,” Sawyer indicates, and as marketing gets more automated, we free up more time and $$$ to focus on creative. Credle, who is new in her role leading Creative at Burnett, indicates, “I am here to run a creative agency. We have to put creativity first…that’s my remit…because ‘purposeful brands’ can change the world on their best days.”

Perhaps the best example of a ‘purposeful brand’ is Dove and their global beauty campaign. Those of you who have not yet seen the “Sketches” campaign on YouTube should check it out (over 200 million+ views). Dove conducted global research which showed over 95% of women do not consider themselves to be beautiful. Think about this from a self-esteem impact…and the internal attitude shift required for C-level women to make their way into the Board room. Babs Rangaiah, VP Global Media Innovation & Ventures at Unilever, indicated Unilever and Dove have defined a dual mission for brands to (1) do good and (2) produce business results.

How is your company/brand utilizing new disruptive marketing technologies to drive innovation and growth? What are you doing to build purposeful and socially responsible brands and businesses regionally and globally?

As always, we welcome you comments and input.

Filed Under: Board of Directors, Branding Yourself Online, Digital Proficiency, Executive Talent, Getting Hired in Digital Marketing, Marketing Conferences & Events, New Executive Search, Personal Branding, Webinars

Short-Form Content Is A New Media and Entertainment Priority

One of the most interesting conversations during Advertising Week 2013 was Michael Kassan, CEO of Media Link, interviewing Jeffrey Katzenberg, DreamWorks Co-Founder & CEO of DreamWorks Animation regarding the future of media and entertainment in the face of the current technology changes.

Creating New Opportunities in the Content Creation Business
Rather than feeling media and entertainment companies are facing a diminishing and fractured market, Katzenberg indicated there has never been a better time to be in the content creation business.

He indicated new, smaller mobile screens (smart phones and tablets) which are with people constantly…have created new opportunities for short-form content including both news and entertainment. Katzenberg talked about Brian Robbins, Founder & CEO of Awesomeness TV, an exceptional storyteller and producer of TV and motion pictures. Robbins has now shifted and is devoting 100% of his energy producing short-form content.

Katzenberg indicated new technology (and devices) have created an opportunity to fill the “waiting time” in people’s lives…short windows when people are waiting for a bus, waiting in line, etc., and are passing time accessing their mobile devices. Awesomeness TV is already one of the leading producers of content on YouTube and he expects this sector to represent a new opportunity for growth in entertainment and media content distribution. Forrester and other research firms have confirmed consumers are spending 2+ hours daily on mobile devices separate from the 4-1/2 hours of daily television time. So that’s the new “window of opportunity” in a nutshell.

Never Been a Better Time
This reminds me of past experiences when new channels opened up…and Katzenberg commented on this…when TV arrived back in the 1950s, there was speculation other channels (newspapers, radio) would diminish. In fact, this never happened, and Katzenberg indicated with so many consumers watching high-quality, premium content (movies and television) ON-DEMAND, the market (on demand) and consumer response (to great content) has never been stronger. Just check Homeland, Boardwalk Empire, Breaking Bad, and other outstanding entertainment content being produced by the networks, cable channels, and movie studios…with the addition of short-form content programming, the future looks very exciting and there has never been a better time to be in these businesses.

Filed Under: Executive Coaching, Executive Talent, Getting Hired in Digital Marketing, Personal Branding

AdWeek NYC 2013 – “Winning The Talent Wars”

Talent is the single most important factor in guaranteeing sustained business success. Marketing is changing rapidly and becoming more technology- and analytics-based, in addition to creativity.

This is such an important topic, AdWeek NYC 2013 devoted two entire panels to the topic of winning the talent wars starting with the CEO. Here are some thoughts offered by David Kenny (CEO, Weather Channel), Michael Leedy (CMO, American Eagle Outfitters), Andrew Bennett (Global President, Havas WW), James Citrin (Spencer Stuart), and Sheila Marcelo (CEO – Care.com):

Only 20% of CEOs are recruited from the outside…67% come from within the company;
Leadership is more important than strategy…great leaders can fundamentally “change the game” in their companies and industry sectors;
Leadership is about setting a vision, having a great product, and creating an environment that stretches and empowers people;
Encourages risk-taking and gives permission to make mistakes;
Winning the talent wars is about attracting vs. recruiting; great work and big ideas (and ideals) attracts great talent;
Employees are looking for a social mission in addition to the business mission;
Many businesses are pushing global expansion, but lack people with the skills in emerging economies;
Strong leaders allow “moonlighting” by employees to create new products and distribution channels;
New CEOs need to understand and respect the bedrock (rich history) of their companies;
One of the biggest factors in becoming a successful CEO is “learning agility;”
Also being socially and culturally aware; instill pride and expect emotional buy-in…you are part of it (culture)…its up to you to participate;
Cultural fit is ranked by 84% of C-suite leaders as the #1 criteria; people have to stand up for it become cultural advocates;
Many companies are using Social Hiring and Firing practices; usually if someone fails, they get fired from below; once leaders flatten out the hierarchy and eliminate walls and office barriers, it becomes clear who is not delivering;
People have to fight for it (culture); the challenge is finding smart people who are also kind;
Another factor is the leader seeking (surrounding) diversity; agencies struggle because there is not enough diversity;
Structures will continue to change; development is happening at a faster rate; leaders need the confidence to turn over leadership earlier and employees need to seek to accept it earlier;
Allow for failure; some of the best people/leaders have failed, gotten fired; they were humbled; look for fighters who pick themselves up and keep going.

How is your company doing at winning the talent wars? What changes are you pursuing as the leader to create sustainable business success? Let us know.

Filed Under: Announcements, Ask Our Coach, Branding Yourself Online, Digital Proficiency, Executive Coaching, Executive Talent, Getting Hired in Digital Marketing, LinkedIn, New Executive Search, Personal Branding, Uncategorized, Webinars

DMEF Rebrands to Create a Marketing EDGE

Marketing EDGE is launched…to Educate, Develop, Grow & Employ the next generation of marketing leaders!

At the Direct Marketing Educational Foundation (DMEF) annual “Rising Stars” Awards Dinner Tuesday night in NYC, Terri Bartlett – DMEF President – announced the rebranding of the organization introducing a new name – Marketing EDGE (www.MktgEDGE.org), aligned with the organization’s mission to Educate, Develop, Grow & Employ the next generation of marketing leaders. This rebranding clarifies the organization’s mission and vision to all constituencies including students, corporations/employers, academics/educators and individuals.

“Rising Stars” Recognized & Celebrated

The evening was a major fundraising success with record-breaking attendance… in excess of 400 people created a “sold-out” event at Three-Sixty in a trendy downtown NYC venue. The evening celebrated 6 of the marketing industry’s “Rising Stars” (40YO and under) including JP Lind – Co-Founder SpotRight, Matt McGowan – MD, Americas – Incisive Media, Kim Postulart – Marketing Director – Democratic National Committee, Brion Roberto – Global Head – Digital Marketing & Social Media – Diageo, Slavi Samardzija – EVP, Market Intelligence – Wunderman/KBM, and John Wernz – EVP & CMO – Wealth Enhancement Group.

These next generation marketing leaders are steeped in digital marketing, marketing technology, analytics, social media, and mobile marketing skills. This underscores the importance of current and future education, training/development, internships/placements, student and educator forums being led by Marketing EDGE.

Epsilon receives Corporate Commitment Award

The evening also celebrated Epsilon as the recipient of the 2013 Corporate Commitment Award. Epsilon has been a consistent and long-term sponsor and champion of the Marketing EDGE programs.

Now Is An Ideal Time To Join MarketingEDGE.

We encourage all companies to check out the programs offered by MarketingEDGE including The Next Generation Leaders Forum, I-MIX, I-MAX, Student Career Forums, Scholarships, and Journal of Interactive Marketing.

If your company or organization has a talent management strategy to identify and acquire the next generation marketing leaders, you need to consider joining Marketing EDGE (www.MktgEDGE.org) and speaking with Terri Bartlett about getting involved in one of the organizations programs as a volunteer, speaker, sponsor or Board Trustee.

As a Marketing Edge Executive Board member, please feel free to contact me to discuss sponsorship opportunities or answer any questions you may have about the mission and scope of Marketing EDGE and how you and your company can get involved.

@JeffGundersen

Filed Under: Digital Proficiency, Executive Coaching, Executive Talent

Are You Ready for mCommerce and is mCommerce Ready for YOU?

The economy is continuing to heat up.
It is so encouraging to be operating again in an ever-improving global economy. We are seeing things heating up globally and signs of growth and expansion are appearing virtually everywhere!

Mobile Commerce (“mCommerce”) is one of the Top 3 “hottest” areas of growth and a key strategic revenue driver for major retailers.
Trish Mueller, CMO of Home Depot, indicated at a recent MMA-NY 2013 conference that mCommerce is growing at a 40-50% CAGR and is expected to deliver $700 million to Home Depot sales by the year 2016. Mueller referred to Home Depot’s new marketing strategy as “inter-connected retail” and she indicated the productivity of mobile search has already exceeded PC search (in just the 2nd year of aggressive mobile marketing). Even if 75% of the purchases by consumers are still completed in-store, Home Depot is leading its mCommerce shopping services with mobile search and mobile social media strategies and tactics. Mueller indicated this epiphany came about 2 years ago when Home Depot hired a college intern who quickly told Mueller (and other Home Depot senior executives) the company’s internet and mobile marketing approaches were all wrong. Fortunately, Mueller describes Home Depot’s culture as “humble and curious,” so instead of shooting the (young intern) messenger, they quickly adapted and altered their mobile and digital marketing strategies, shaping their current mobile marketing and mCommerce efforts which are “game changing” (and category leading) for this retailer.

Providing “added-value” services is what consumers are looking for and responding to rapidly in this new age of mobility.
Mueller indicated while Home Depot stores are large, there is a limit to how many SKUs they can carry. However, with Home Depot’s new mCommerce site, consumers can access over 400,000 SKUs via mobile search – a “virtual endless aisle” – enabling mobile shoppers to find what they are looking for, order on a mobile device, and complete the sale/pick-up items in-store. Home Depot’s mobile marketing makeover has made it one of the top 10 retail mobile sites – resulting in one-third of online traffic coming from mobile in 2012! Mobile search is also another area of Home Depot’s retail innovation. Mueller described a new Home Depot program called “Red Beacon” – where consumers can “Find A Pro” by taking a video of their home improvement project, sending it to Home Depot, who bids out the project and connects the consumer with a contracting “pro” (vetted by Home Depot) who can handle this project for the consumer. How is this for providing “added-value” service the consumer is looking for? It is not surprising Home Depot’s CFO recently raised their 2013 earning forecast by 18% for the full year – the company is vastly exceeding their 2013 performance targets and mobile marketing and mCommerce are leading the way!

#1 reason major marketers are behind the curve in scaling mobile organizational and talent development
Rapidly scaling mCommerce shopping and sales results are helping marketers to quickly prove the ROI case for mobile marketing investment…which is the #1 reason major marketers are behind the curve in scaling mobile organizational and talent development. Mobile marketing is still in the early stages (first 1-2 years) for the majority of top 100 global advertisers, and accordingly, most companies are still way behind the curve in terms of hiring and training/developing the mobile talent and dedicated mobile marketing and mCommerce organizations required for sustained growth and success. Larger retailers (including Walmart and Walgreens) have acquired mobile marketing agencies to accelerate their on-boarding of the mobile marketing and technology development resources required for building and operating the mobile technology platforms required for marketing and mCommerce success. This indicates large marketers are playing “catch up” so watch for further acquisitions of mobile agencies. Other top marketers are relying on technology consultancies (Accenture Interactive) and digital agencies (Sapient, Razorfish, Digitas) to assist in creating the strategic plans and global technology platforms for long-term mobile marketing and mCommerce success. If you are not already tapping these sources, again you are finding your company/business falling behind the curve.

Where does your company and business stand in relation to mobile marketing and mCommerce? Are you ready?
Unless your company already has a successful mobile marketing and mCommerce strategy and mobile organization in place, the time to act is now.

Jeff Gundersen, CEO of Executive Connections LLC, is co-Chair of a new Mobile Marketing Talent Task Force in partnership with the MMA (Mobile Marketing Association) and DMEF (Direct Marketing Educational Foundation). Jeff is also on the Board of Trustees of DMEF which has a mission to educate, develop, grow and employ the next generation of direct, digital, and mobile marketing leaders.

We encourage all companies/businesses in the mobile eco-system (marketers, agencies, media companies, technology providers, search/recruiting firms, training companies, universities/educators) to follow-up with Jeff Gundersen, join the MMA Mobile Talent Task Force, and contact us to find out more about the mission, goals, strategies, and action plans required to succeed in this new mobile marketing era.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Mobile Marketing 2013 Forum Recap – What You Need to Know!

The MMA-NY 2013 Forum filled the Marriott Marquis Hotel in NYC for 3 days, the eye-opening information, the program/content was excellent, and both the attendees and presenters confirmed MOBILE is rapidly becoming the next NEW media channel. These are exciting times for both the advertiser and consumer alike.

What other media channel can compare with this?

Consumers are rapidly adopting mobile devices and behaviors and spending an average of 2 hours per day on smartphone devices. We are rarely separated from them, and we check our phones every 6.5 minutes (or 150 times daily).

MOBILE advertising grew by 88% in 2012

While MOBILE ad/media spending is only 1% of total media (vs. 10% share of consumer media time), MOBILE advertising grew by 88% in 2012 (from $2.4B to $4.5B). MOBILE ad spending growth to-date has been limited by marketers/agencies challenges in creating MOBILE ads designed specifically to take advantage of MOBILE devices. Chia Chen, SVP Mobile Practice Leader at Digitas indicated their client’s mobile ad spending grew by 400% (4X more rapidly) because their ads for Amex, Taco Bell, M&Ms and other clients treated smart phones as “small TVs” and incorporated richer media, and more native creative palettes. [Read more…] about Mobile Marketing 2013 Forum Recap – What You Need to Know!