Executive Connections LLC

Connecting organizations with the future of marketing

Getting Hired in Digital Marketing

Filed Under: Ask Our Coach, Connections E-Zine, Digital Proficiency, Executive Coaching, Executive Talent, Getting Hired in Digital Marketing, New Executive Search, Recommended Articles

CONNECTIONS Ezine: Issue No. 69

In this issue:

  • In Our Opinion:  The Age of the Customer – Where Are Digital and Data Heading?
  • Blog Roundup:
    • Blog:  Who’s Hot In Digital?
  • Career Opportunities:
    • President, Retail-Outdoor Lifestyle Brands
    •  Head of Global Corporate Communications
    • Global Marketing Technology Strategist
    • Global Head of Digital Marketing
    • Global Head of Branding & Communications
  • Event Highlight:
    • 2014 Rising Star Awards Dinner
  • Article:
    • “AARP’s Life Reimagined and Kaplan Launch LearningAdvisor to Help Millions of Americans Explore Learning Opportunities to Launch Encore Careers”

In Our Opinion by Jeff Gundersen & Lola White

The Age of the Customer – Where Are Digital and Data Heading?

Where are Digital And Data Heading?
On the heels of the MMA conference last week in NYC, and Integrated Marketing Week coming up next week, we felt we should weigh in on this timely topic.

Since these are broad topics…this month we will focus on “Where is Digital Heading?” and next month we will devote a column to “Where is (Big) Data Heading?”

Digital advertising and media (including mobile) is the fastest growing segment and will surpass broadcast spending by 2018, according to a recent Price Waterhouse Coopers study. It’s clear Digital is heading to the top of the class…and the top of the advertising food chain; and accordingly, 25% of the top 100 global advertisers will have a Chief Digital Officer by 2014, as indicated by Forrester.

Who is hiring CDOs?
According to Forrester, “we have entered the ‘age of the customer’ in which the most successful enterprises will reinvent themselves to systematically understand and serve increasingly powerful customers.” This impacts B2B as well as B2C businesses.  The top three categories hiring CDOs are advertising agencies, publishers, and broadcasters, with the biggest growth seen in non-profits and state/local governments, according to the Chief Digital Officers Club.

Where should CDOs report?
Many of our clients are asking us where CDOs should report? The answer is…it depends. If their company is growing and expanding the brand which is transforming because of digital into new areas…then the CDO typically reports to the CMO (Chief Marketing Officer). This is the case in 60% of CDO hires, and is trending this way as digital marketing spending is forecasted to exceed 50% by 2016. If you play this out even further over the long run, the CMO and CDO positions in these firms will be consolidated. In a second scenario, if companies are seeing technology changing their operational structure, then the CDO typically reports to the CIO, COO or another C-level executive. From our experience to-date, healthcare, insurance and CPG tend to have CDOs reporting into the CMO (examples Abbott, Wellpoint, AIG, Travelers, Nestle, Mercer/MMC). In retail, telco, banking, travel/hospitality, CDOs report to a very senior C-level exec…CIO/COO (examples AT&T, Citibank, Ralph Lauren, Time Inc.).

Where to find the Best CDOs?
We also constantly get the question “where are the best CDOs found?” Top CDOs are coming from consulting firms, digital agencies, broadcast, and digital start-ups. For example: JPM Chase (Accenture), Time Inc. (IAB), Starbucks (Corbis/Play Network), Ralph Lauren (Ticketmaster/IAC) and Weather Channel (Search3.com).

The CDO profile is a strategic, big picture thinker; committed, results-driven; entrepreneurial, innovative; and relationship builder (inside & out). Critical skills include the ability to drive culture change across the enterprise; evangelizing, helping people see the big opportunity; effective change leader who is disruptive without destroying the base values.

We recently completed a Global Head of Social Media search for one of our clients and we are about to close a search by placing a CDO at another global client.  Please connect with us if you want to become part of the growing list of top advertisers who are gearing up to modernize marketing where CDOs are a vital component.

We want to know
As always, we value and appreciate you input.  Connect with us — we want to hear your experiences and opinions.

Lola and Jeff

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

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 HarlesOne 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.        Read more…

Career Opportunities

President, Retail-Outdoor Lifestyle Brands
Head of Global Corporate Communications
Global Marketing Technology Strategist
Global Head of Digital Marketing
Global Head of Branding & Communications

Learn more…

Event Highlight

Bring a Mentee…They Could be the Next Generation of Rising Stars

Please join us at this year’s 2014 Rising Stars Awards Dinner sponsored by MarketingEDGE to be held on Tuesday, June 3, 2014 at 583 Park Avenue, New York City.  As a Board Trustee member of MarketingEDGE, Jeff Gundersen will be attending this event.

Article

Emilio Pardo, Chief Branding Officer, has helped AARP reimagine its brand, so its fitting he was selected as President, Life Reimagined to empower AARP’s members in their career transitions at 50+. Rock on, Emilio!”

 “AARP’s Life Reimagined and Kaplan Launch LearningAdvisor to Help Millions of Americans Explore Learning Opportunities to Launch Encore Careers”

Kaplan named founding learning partner of AARP’s Life Reimagined

BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–AARP’s Life Reimagined has teamed up with Kaplan to create an important new online resource to help Americans find learning opportunities to enhance their current skills, realize their career aspirations, support life changes such as encore or second careers and build a better, more meaningful life.

Today, as part of the partnership, the two organizations unveiled LearningAdvisor, a suite of online resources and learning opportunities designed to help users address continuous learning issues that many Americans are facing as they explore and discover encore careers. The announcement was made at AARP’s Life@50+ National Event & Expo in Boston.

“Americans are living longer and juggling more competing responsibilities than ever before. That reality is especially true for trailing-edge Baby Boomers and members of Generation X approaching 50 who are often caring for their own parents as well as their own children while trying to manage, plan for and enjoy their careers and lives on their own terms,” said Emilio Pardo, AARP Executive Vice President and President of Life Reimagined. “At the same time, they’re also excited by ‘what’s next’ and see lifelong learning and ongoing education as being incredibly important and powerful as they reimagine their lives.”

Read more…

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
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: Connections E-Zine, Digital Proficiency, Executive Coaching, Executive Talent, Getting Hired in Digital Marketing, Marketing Conferences & Events, New Executive Search, Recommended Articles

CONNECTIONS Ezine: Issue No. 65

In this issue:

  • In Our Opinion:  How Can 2014 Top Last Year?
  • Career Opportunities:
    • CMO – Growth Markets
    • CMO – Start-up Mobile Advertising/M-Commerce
    • Managing Director, Social Media
  • Articles:
    • Mobile Goes Mainstream: Consumers Lead the Way– Gridley & Company LLC

In Our Opinion by Jeff Gundersen & Lola White

How Can 2014 Top Last Year?

I attended the 13th annual Gridley & Company conference in NYC last week to hear 60-75 CEOs across the Media, Ad Tech, Payments & Financial Technologies, and Marketing Services sectors talk about their company’s 2013 performance and future expectations in 2014 and beyond.

Incredible Performance of Equity Markets in 2013
Linda Gridley opened the conference by highlighting the incredible performance of equity markets in 2013…”the S&P 500 rose 29.6%, the largest annual jump in 16 years…and the Dow rose 26.5%, its largest gain in 18 years…despite macroeconomic and geopolitical headwinds.”  As stocks rose steadily higher, P/E ratios grew from 14x to17x, fueled by $349B which poured into stock-based mutual funds and exchange funds, the highest annual inflow ever recorded. It’s clear investors have moved off the sidelines and back into equity investments. Not surprisingly, Gridley indicated “internet giants eBay, Amazon, Google and Facebook were up an average of 57.6% in 2013, outperforming the equity market as a whole.”

We see CEOs doing the same thing…moving off the sidelines into action to grow their businesses by investing in marketing, new product development, and opening new markets. I had lunch with Claude Gallello, a senior global business development leader at Willis (global insurance brokerage firm) and he indicated Willis has recently completed an expansion from 115 to 130 countries globally. We are seeing other companies including Abbott, AIG, Accenture, Apple, Lenovo, Mercer, MetLife, and Prudential plc investing in acquisitions and strategic hires in Growth Markets (Brazil, China, India, Middle East) to expand their businesses in these countries and other emerging economies.

2014 Expected To Be Even Bigger in Terms of Digital and Mobile Media
Many of the keynote panelists at the Gridley conference confirmed they expect 2014 to be even bigger and more transformative in terms of digital and mobile media, marketing, and e-commerce. Tony Uzan (Advisory Director at PwC) indicated “digital advertising (including mobile) is on pace to surpass broadcast advertising by 2018” (www.pwc.com/outlook). Martin Nisenholtz (Senior Advisor – NY times) predicted Google will become the #1 market capitalization company and voice recognition technology will enable us to “liberate ourselves from the screens.” Jim Moran (General Partner at North Bridge) predicted “2014 will be the year mobile commerce hits main street…and mobile payment companies will be big winners in the equity markets in 2015-16.” Moran also indicated he “sees a day when Google will be serving us ads in our dreams.”

While the overall outlook is positive, there are some storm clouds on the horizon. Many VC experts including Alan Patricof (Managing Director, Greycroft Partners) indicated there are too many start-up companies without profitable business plans and many will not be funded in 2014 and will perish. Brian O’Kelley (CEO, AppNexus) and a leader in the AdTech space predicted 2014 would see a lot of action in the AdTech space. “Companies need to exit, be bought, or raise capital…and it will be a busy year for the investment bankers.” O’Kelley also indicated he “sees a bubble and a lot of AdTech companies will hit a wall in ’14…especially those without revenue and/or profitability.”

Also, while digital advertising in all forms is expected to grow dramatically faster than all other media, most CEOs expect to see Google and Facebook (which transitioned itself quickly to a mobile company) dominating 80+% of this media category leaving all other competitors fighting over the scraps.

New Digital Economy vs. Old Line Media and Marketing Services
While attending 10-15 of the individual CEO/company presentations at Gridley, I was struck by the contrast between new digital economy CEOs/companies and old line media and marketing services CEOs/companies. Change is happening so quickly, and the pace of change is accelerating through mobile advertising and commerce, you can almost see the writing on the wall for many old world companies and industries that are vulnerable to game-changing innovations by an Amazon, Google or Facebook.

While the equity markets are unlikely to achieve last year’s growth rates in 2014, many companies (especially leaders like Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook) are expected to ride the wave of mobile/digital explosion to continue aggressive growth. In light of these prognostications, it should be an interesting year and we expect continued action in all areas related to digital and mobile marketing, media and commerce.

As always, we welcome your comments and input, so please write in and let us know your viewpoints.

Happy New Year!
Jeff and Lola

Career Opportunities

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

Learn more.

ARTICLES:

Mobile Goes Mainstream: Consumers Lead the Way — January 2014 – Gridley & Company LLC
Comprehensive Industry Overview – – – Key Trends and Investment Opportunities
Mobile Industry Overview_1.10.14

 

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, 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