Executive Connections LLC

Connecting organizations with the future of marketing

Digital Proficiency

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: Announcements, Connections E-Zine, Digital Proficiency, Executive Coaching, Executive Talent, Marketing Conferences & Events, New Executive Search

CONNECTIONS Ezine: Issue No. 62

In this issue:

  • In Our Opinion:  Women Leading Marketing Innovation
  • New Career Opportunities:
    • Global CMO
    • CMO – Growth Markets
    • CMO – Start-up Mobile Advertising/M-Commerce
    • Managing Director, Social Media
  • Blog Roundup:
    • Blog – AdWeek NYC 2013 — “Winning The Talent Wars”
  • Articles:
    • “PPC Campaign Ratings and ROI – How Best to Incorporate Them Into Your Models” by Scott Ellis, VP Client Solutions, Adworthy
    • “Women in Innovation:  The Labor Day Triumph of Diana Nyad” — Sept. 7, 2013 — by David Dallaire, Founder/Principal – Fennec Consulting

In Our Opinion by Jeff Gundersen & Lola White

Women Leading Marketing Innovation

Having spent this entire past week at Advertising Week 2013 in NYC, meeting with various terrific women CMOs and women CEOs of agencies and media companies, we thought it timely to dedicate this month’s ezine intro to “Women Leading Innovation.”  In addition, we were inspired by the recent article written by David Dallaire (long time client and friend) on the same topic, which we have included for your reading pleasure, as well .

We continue to view the dramatic and rapid shift of Marketing, Advertising & Media to a mobile and digital world, with many opportunities for new content and on demand consumption, representing an exciting new landscape being led by many women innovators.

The New CMO Profile

The mega-trends we are seeing include continued strategic hiring, and targeted acquisitions, in the areas of Data Analytics, Digital Marketing, Social Media, and Mobile Marketing. CMO hiring has also picked up with almost one-third of the top 20 CMOs moving to new career opportunities. Interestingly, the target profile for new age CMOs has shifted from a previous concentration on Branding & Communications to the current focus on Analytics, Digital/Mobile, Technology, and Global marketing experience.

As an example, look at Liza Landsman, recently hired as the new CMO at E*Trade. Liza was Managing Director, Global Digital at Black Rock and previously EVP, Consumer Internet and Mobile at Citibank where she led online banking, e-commerce, and digital marketing. Liza was recruited by Citibank out of IBM, so she has a solid technology core prior to entering the financial services sector. Liza was not a CMO previous to being hired by E*Trade and she replaced a traditional brand/CPG marketer in Nick Utton who left E*Trade after a 9 year run.

The Next Generation of Marketing Innovators

Women CMOs (such as Liza) are leading the next generation of marketing innovation…and we can point to several other women CMOs (Helena Foulkes – CVS, Frances Allen – Denny’s, Trish Mueller – Home Depot, Beth Hirschhorn – MetLife, Martine Reardon – Macy’s, Michelle Crecca – Webster Financial) who are transforming their company’s marketing operations and shifting priorities to lead with various forms of online branding, customer engagement, social media (listening), e-commerce, and geo-targeted mobile marketing campaigns. The new definition of marketing is one-to-one personalized communications with relevant (permission-based) offers and information when customers and prospects are shopping or in geographic proximity to the brand’s retail location. Convenience and immediacy are also key drivers…as consumers are also balancing busy work and family lives…and the younger millennial generation wants everything now…without delays or an inordinate wait time.

With Advertising Week 2013 just completed (Sept. 23-27), Advertising Women of New York (AWNY) once again held several meetings and events to support their “women mentoring women” initiatives. Women seeking to get ahead and learn how to proactively manage their personal careers formed a line which went outside the building and half-way up 41st Street outside the Times Center on Tuesday waiting to get into  Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In” session moderated by Joanna Coles, Editor-In-Chief at Cosmopolitan. Women were anxious to join the discussion on how women can overcome gender biases and can work together to create a more equal playing field at the C-suite level. Whether you agree or not with Sandberg’s message, here are a few highlights from which to ponder:

  • Excuses and justifications won’t get women anywhere;
  • Believe in yourself, give it your all, and don’t doubt you can have it all (career and family);
  • Be more ambitious, what would you do if you weren’t afraid (to fail)?
  • Only one criteria mattered in picking a job…fast growth;
  • Ask yourself constantly, how could I do better? – what don’t I know? – what don’t I see?;
  • Done is better than perfect.

We connected Sandberg’s session with another insightful Case Study on women’s self-esteem – Dove’s Real Beauty Sketches Campaign which has received 163 million views on YouTube (#1 Cannes YouTube campaign). Watch the YouTube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r79Q6gAQhao) and it will confirm 95% of women globally do not feel they are beautiful and “Sketches” show the differences and how much real beauty others see in women (that they don’t see in themselves). So this is an opportunity area for women to develop as they continue to gain ground at C-levels and in the Boardroom.

Who are the women innovators you most admire for leading the current marketing and technology transformation and what is it about them that makes them so admirable to you?

As always, your thoughts and input are greatly appreciated!  Contact us.

Career Opportunities

Global CMO
CMO – Growth Markets
CMO – Mobile Advertising/M-Commerce Start-up
Managing Director, Social Media

Learn more.

Blog Roundup: Did you catch our recent posts on our blog?

BLOG:  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):    …Read more

Articles

PPC Campaign Ratings and ROI – How Best to Incorporate Them Into Your Models
by Scott Ellis, VP Client Solutions – Adworthy

When lookinScott - Head Shouldersg to answer the question of how much, where and when do we spend online, it makes sense to start with channels with readily available metrics you can measure for primary attribution.  Whether you are trying to establish an efficiency rating for your campaigns or calculating contribution margin from an online channel,  search, because it is the most purpose-driven audience is often the bellwether for most of online spend.  So which is more important in determining the budget allocation to paid search, a third party review and rating or internal ROI budgetary success?                            …Read complete article

Women in Innovation:  The Labor Day Triumph of Diana Nyad — Sept. 7, 2013
by David Dallaire, Founder/Principal – Fennec Consulting

Taking Inspiration From Those Who Already Made It Happen
The amazing achievement of Diana Nyad this week is a great reminder during our Labor Day holiday last week that inspiration comes from many places. Completing the 110 mile swim (110 miles!?!) on her fifth and final try, she is both an inspiration and model for persistence for men and women alike (see the full story of her finish here).  …Read complete article.

 

Filed Under: Announcements, Connections E-Zine, Digital Proficiency, Executive Talent, Getting Hired in Digital Marketing, New Executive Search, Personal Branding

CONNECTIONS Ezine: Issue No. 61

In this issue:

  • In Our Opinion:  Who Is Leading the Recovery?
  • New Career Opportunities:
    • CMO – Growth Markets
    • CMO – Start-up Mobile Advertising/M-Commerce
  • Blog Roundup:
    • Blog – Are You Ready for mCommerce and is mCommerce Ready for YOU?
    • Blog – DMEF Rebrands to Create a Marketing EDGE

In Our Opinion by Jeff Gundersen & Lola White

Emerging Markets & Marketing Technology Leading the Recovery

We are definitely seeing the fragile economic recovery continuing to gradually expand. What began with tepid recoveries in the retail, automotive, and housing sectors is continuing with growth in the healthcare and technology sectors. While many sectors are still flat or declining, the sustained housing recovery (aided by low mortgage interest rates) continues to build momentum.

While many analysts complain this is still a jobless recovery (WSJ.com – Mort Zuckerman: A Jobless Recovery Is a Phony Recovery – 7/15/13), corporate profits and the stock markets are at record high levels, companies have lots of cash, and global companies are investing aggressively to position themselves for long-term sustained success.

So where is this investment going? We see two areas.

Multinational companies continue to invest aggressively in building their brands and businesses in Emerging & Growth Markets. 

One of our newest executive search assignments is for a CMO – Growth Markets. This new CMO role is focused on expanding our client’s business into markets including Brazil, Mexico, China, India, Turkey, and the Middle East region. These marketing assignments are among the most interesting ones for us, and they prove how small the global marketing community really is, as we connect with CMO candidates across the globe in Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East regions.

Marketing technology investments are rapidly changing the marketing eco-system. 

CMOs are gaining huge technology budgets to build the new online platforms to implement digital, mobile, social media and m-commerce strategies and campaigns. In the future CMOs will have a larger technology budget than the CIO…and this is the new partnership (CMO & CIO) within top global advertisers. Marketing technology investments are “white hot” and we are seeing a significant number of acquisitions as all players in the marketing eco-system position themselves for sustained growth and market share. Just look at Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo!, (WSJ – Yahoo’s Mayer Hits One Year Mark – 7/15/13) who has purchased 17 technology start-ups (including Tumblr for $1.1 Billion) in her first year of turning around and repositioning Yahoo’s business. Check out the recent Forbes article by Bruce Rogers titled Strategic Consultancies Invade Marketing Agency Space. We have previously seen media/publishing companies including Hearst, Meredith, News Corp, and Time Inc. build integrated marketing agencies to compete directly with leading digital agencies including Digitas, Razorfish, and Sapient. Now the top strategic consultancies (led by Accenture Interactive) are moving into the marketing agency space through acquisitions since they see huge global opportunities to build the technology platforms (data analytics, geo-fencing/ targeting, content management, campaign management) required to deliver the next generation of digital and mobile advertising solutions.

New jobs are being created but require engineering and programming skills which are in short supply currently.

The marketing technology transformation is creating many new jobs, however, there are not enough skilled engineers and programmers to meet the rapidly growing needs of marketers, media companies, and technology providers. This “talent gap” and shortage of technically proficient marketers is getting larger based upon the rapid growth of mobile marketing and m-commerce and it represents a long-term education and training opportunity and priority. We are partnering with Marketing EDGE and the Mobile Marketing Association to launch a Mobile Marketing Talent Task Force and we invite interested companies to reach out directly to us to find out more regarding talent acquisition and development in this new digital marketing age.

IN SUMMARY

The “heat wave” we all experienced recently is not just in record hot temperatures this Summer, it is also in the pace of marketing change being driven by rapid consumer adoption of mobile and digital technologies in all forms and the resulting technology investments being made by media, marketing services and top global advertisers.

As always, we welcome your comments and input. Stay cool!

Career Opportunities

CMO – Growth Markets – NEW
CMO – Mobile Advertising/M-Commerce Start-up – NEW
Managing Director, Alliance Sales Lead
Managing Director, Social Media Offering Lead
Managing Director, Investment Banking

Learn more.

Blog Roundup: Did you catch our recent posts on our blog?

BLOG:  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!  …Read more

BLOG:  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.  …Read more

 

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: Ask Our Coach, Connections E-Zine, Digital Proficiency, Executive Coaching, Getting Hired in Digital Marketing, Marketing Conferences & Events, New Executive Search, Personal Branding

CONNECTIONS EZINE: Issue No. 60

In this issue:

  • In Our Opinion:  Are You Addressing the Mobile Marketing Talent Gap?
  • Blog Roundup:
    •  Mobile Marketing 2013 Forum Recap – What You Need to Know!
  • Career Announcements: Digital Consulting, HR Consulting, Investment Banking & Financial Services

In Our Opinion

Are You Addressing the Mobile Marketing Talent Gap?
by Jeff Gundersen & Lola White

OVERVIEW – Mobile Adoption is Scaling Rapidly
Organizations know consumers’ attention is increasingly being drawn to their mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.), but most marketers are still in the early stages of mobile marketing strategy development — and they face an uphill climb to evolve beyond basic mobile marketing strategies to building the dedicated mobile marketing organizations and recruiting/developing/training the talent required for sustained future mobile marketing growth and success.
Marketers need to assess the current and future mobile talent needs (and gaps) and develop “best practices” related to education, hiring, training, and development of the future mobile marketing talent needed for sustained success in this new connected mobile marketing age.

CENTRAL ISSUES – Mobile Talent Gap
Consumer mobile adoption is outpacing mobile marketing talent investment. The central issue facing marketers is the rapid pace of consumer mobile adoption 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 an October 2012 report from the Chief Marketing Officer Council and 46% of marketers surveyed in this study said they are evaluating the role of mobile in their organizations. One major factor slowing marketers response is proving the ROI case for increasing mobile marketing investments.

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 2012, more than one-half 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 weekly and who download and use applications and consume news and information on their smartphones.

Marketers are behind in developing mobile organizational strategies.  Most large marketers are spending $1 million to $5 million on mobile marketing today, and 60% of them expect their budgets to increase significantly in 2013. However, the CMO Council’s study findings point to marketers treating mobile as a standalone channel instead of being incorporated into an overall strategy. Additionally, 47% of CMOs said they are not satisfied because of a lack of talent or resources to roll out mobile engagements.

Additional Findings CMO Council Study
“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, website 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 or The CMO Council.

Mobile strategies are still young. More than one-third of marketers say their company has had a mobile strategy for just 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 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, or digital and mobile agencies, 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 CIOs and CMOs 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.Walmart also acquired the 13-person mobile development firm Smart Society in 2012, 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.

Where Does Your Company Stand?
Where is your company in terms of developing a mobile marketing strategy, and hiring/developing the talent required for sustained success? While this may feel like the early days of online marketing, the difference is the rate of acceleration in mobile advertising and m-commerce will be faster than any previous new media channel we have experienced. If you are behind the curve, as many companies are, it’s time to act now.

Blog Roundup: Did you catch these recent posts on our blog?

BLOG:  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. …Read more

Career Announcements

Chief Marketing Officer
Managing Director, Alliance Sales Lead
Managing Director, Social Media Offering Lead
Managing Director, Investment Banking
Senior Executive – Financial Services

Learn more.

Filed Under: Connections E-Zine, Digital Proficiency, Executive Coaching, Executive Talent, Marketing Conferences & Events, New Executive Search, Personal Branding

CONNECTIONS Ezine: Issue No. 59

In this issue:

  • In Our Opinion:  Proving the ROI Business Case For Mobile Marketing/Social Media Investment
  • Blog Roundup:
    • Join Jeff Gundersen at MMA-NY Forum 2013 in NYC on Wed, May 8
    • Become a Champion of Innovation
    • Online ID Survey Update
  • Career Announcements: Digital Consulting, Investment Banking & Financial Services

In Our Opinion

Proving the ROI Business Case For Mobile Marketing/Social Media Investment
by Jeff Gundersen & Lola White

It is clear as we are in the early stages of Q2, the economy is growing more rapidly than economists projected just a few months ago. CEO confidence is improving and companies are investing (in marketing and related technology investments) to build their businesses globally.

Consumer attention is increasingly being drawn to their mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.), however as marketing is rapidly shifting toward greater digital/social media/mobile initiatives, most companies are still in the early stages of mobile marketing and social media strategy development. One of the biggest challenges for marketers is proving the ROI business case for mobile marketing/social media investment (including staffing and marketing technology infrastructure investments). As a result, marketers are falling behind in evolving beyond basic mobile/social marketing strategies to building the dedicated mobile marketing/social media organizations and recruiting/developing the talent (in several functional areas) required for sustained future mobile marketing/social media growth and success.

MMA (Mobile Marketing Association) is contemplating creating a Mobile Talent Task Force to further the conversation (including all constituencies – marketers, agencies, media companies, technology suppliers, educators) regarding the specific current and future mobile talent needs (and gaps) in the current marketplace and to develop future industry standards and “best practices” related to education, hiring, training, and development of the future mobile marketing talent needed for enterprises to sustain success in this new, connected mobile marketing age.

A special workshop has been scheduled on Wed., May 8th at 8:30am as part of the pre-conference program at MMA-NY 2013 Forum. Brand marketers registering for this session will be eligible for a complimentary registration to the entire MMA-NY conference (May 9-10), so we invite all interested parties to check out this program.

Contributing to the current efforts by marketers to prove the business case (ROI) for mobile marketing and social media, we have attached an interesting article from BazaarVoice on “Real ROI From Social In 5 Steps.”

According to BazaarVoice, the 5 critical steps include:

  1. Be social where shoppers are buying.
  2. Enable conversations that help consumers buy.
  3. Get found with fresh consumer content
  4. Use multiple paths to show ROI
  5. Measure your social mix to optimize results

Proving the business ROI case for mobile marketing and social media investments is one of the top priorities/challenges currently facing CMOS. As a follow-up we are requesting our readers provide feedback on other current articles and studies related to proving ROI from mobile marketing and social media.

Blog Roundup: Did you catch these recent posts on our blog?

BLOG:  Join Jeff Gundersen at MMA-NY Forum 2013 in NYC on Wed, May 8
Please join Jeff Gundersen, Co-Chair, MMA Talent Task Force, in NYC on Wed, May 8 from 8:45am-9:30am at MMA-NY Forum 2013 for a COMPLIMENTARY session Jeff is moderating:

Mobile Marketing Talent Needs – Immediate & Long-Term – Strategies for Identifying and Filling Talent & Skill Gaps in Today’s Mobile Driven Marketplace

…Read more

BLOG: Become a Champion of Innovation
Spring has brought forth a spirit of new beginnings, and as we look at what’s new and what skills we can add leverage or  focus on in the next quarter, we believe the emphasis should be on how to champion innovation within your business. …Read more

Online ID Survey Update  
Congrats to our lucky Personal Brand Makeover winner! Stay tuned… for announcement in weeks to come!

Career Announcements

Chief Marketing & Communications Officer – NEW – details to come
Managing Director, Alliance Sales Lead
Managing Director, Social Media Offering Lead
Managing Director, Investment Banking
Senior Executive – Financial Services

Learn more.

Filed Under: Ask Our Coach, Branding Yourself Online, Digital Proficiency, Executive Coaching, LinkedIn, Marketing Conferences & Events, Personal Branding

Managing Change: Respond Instead of React

The world of work as we have known it is changing and evolving at an extraordinary pace. The “rules” of the past no longer apply, and new “rules” are being written and rewritten all the time.

Changes can be unsettling, whether they’re potential or actual, positive or negative. You may be gearing up for a promotion/new position, staring at a wide-open field of new prospective clients, or launching new products and services. Or you may be hunkering down in the face of outsourcing, downsizing, mergers/consolidations, takeovers, and local or global competition.

Consider the Changes Taking Place at Yahoo!

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has certainly unleashed enormous, untold passions about how, when and where people should work at Yahoo.

The recent, now infamous, change requiring Yahoo employees to work in the office instead of telecommuting from home has been likened to the shot heard round the world.

No less than a great war has ensued and Marissa Mayer has been villainized and vilified by some and verified and validated by others.

It is no secret that Yahoo has been struggling to keep pace with the likes of Apple, Facebook, and Google, all of whom have strong in-office cultures and not coincidentally, strong revenues to match.

In Our Opinion…It’s not about trusting people to work at home, it’s about Mayer’s challenge in the turnaround of Yahoo regardless of where people are working. Mayer has to build a new corporate culture of trust in the infinite possibilities of what the Yahoo organization can create together.

However, as we are hearing, this change process is creating considerable stress for Yahoo employees.

How We Respond to Change

Do you respond or react to change and do you know the difference? As soon as something nudges you out of your regular routine, or challenges your understanding of how the world works and where you fit into it, it will likely trigger a deluge of feelings including; fear, anxiety, overwhelm, excitement, distraction or denial.

How Does the Way You Respond to Change Impact Your Brand?

These feelings can manifest in your behavior.  You may, unconsciously, act out with behavior that is not a brand match for you, or your communication style alters, both at work and at home. You might feel compelled to push yourself and others to overwork, or take the opposite approach – which most do – and procrastinate, avoid the work that’s on your plate and get sidetracked with misconceptions, assumptions and gossip to changes that may or may not happen.

On a personal level, your self-care may suffer and you may reach for unhealthy substances, get less sleep, skip meals or overindulge. You might cut yourself off from friends and family, and spend more time alone or with other people who have unhealthy habits or attract people who are in the same place as you.

The Impact

Dealing with change requires flexibility, resilience and an ability to think on your feet. Unfortunately, when you’re caught up in your reaction to change, these mental abilities are affected as well. When you’re preoccupied, worried and focused on the future instead of the present, it’s much harder to concentrate and apply your brainpower to what’s in front of you.

Great leaders are admired for their serenity and confidence even in the face of uncertainty and upheaval. For many of us, though, when change is afoot, serenity is far from our reach. Instead, emotions are much closer to the surface and can flare up at the most inopportune times. Whether you lash out, cry, or pound on your desk behind closed doors, it’s incredibly uncomfortable to feel so out of control.

Consider, also, the impact on the people around you. Emotional outbursts, whether at work or at home, can irrevocably damage your effectiveness, your reputation and your relationships.

Successful Strategies for Dealing With Change

Here are five strategies to help you remain flexible and resilient in the face of change:

1. Take care of YOUr body. Eat well, sleep well and refrain from harmful habits like indulging in caffeine adrenaline behavior, excessive drinking, or other risky behavior. Work out whatever that is for you!

2. Take care of YOUr mind. Stay in the present moment. Challenge your negative thinking and keep things in perspective; when the doom and gloom sets in, ask, “How important is this, really?”

3. Take control of YOUr emotions. Find reasons to smile and laugh, even when you don’t feel like it—especially when you don’t feel like it! Funny movies, blogs or videos can help. Vent your negative feelings by exercising, banging on a drum or pounding on a pillow.

4. Treat others well. Strengthen your good relationships so you can draw on their support and work at your challenging relationships so they don’t add to your stress.  In fact, this may be a good time to remove them from your life altogether.

5. Take charge. Be proactive and prepare the best you can for the changes that might come, but then accept the reality of the moment. Think back to other challenges that you’ve come through and remind yourself that everything will work out okay this time, too.

Filed Under: Announcements, Digital Proficiency, LinkedIn, Personal Branding

Take Our Survey for a Chance to Win the EC Personal Branding Online ID Makeover Package!

by Lola White and Kirsten Vernon

As we continue to provide offerings that meet the evolving needs of our executive clients, we created this survey related to how executives manage their online reputation.

Here are the preliminary results highlights to-date:

  • 87% agree their online identity plays a part in securing new roles and/or clients
  • 57% report their biggest challenge in building their online brand is knowing the right tools to utilize
  • 85% agree they should be investing more time in managing their online reputation

Last chance…on March 22 we will close the survey.  Our goal is to have a solid sample of senior executive responses.

Incentive…we will be selecting one lucky executive as the winner of the EC Personal Branding Online Identity Makeover Package valued at $1,500. This personalized consultation includes an online brand audit, an online branding roadmap, and edits to your LinkedIn profile by Lola White and Kirsten Vernon.

Please take a few minutes of your time NOW to contribute to this survey.

Look for the published results in our March ezine!!