Investis Digital (iDX) – a global digital company focused on performance-driven, data-driven solutions – has released the findings of a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on the financial and environmental waste caused by companies’ investments in technology and software, and duplicative digital advertising and content strategies.
The problem: Managing MarTech
Only 17% of companies indicated that their different technology components work together extremely well, with the average company surveyed using up to six different systems. After surveying over 250 IT and Marketing leaders at companies with 500+ employees, iDX identified three core reasons for this inefficiency:
1) Marketing tech stacks are becoming increasingly complicated;
2) The complexity creates inherent inefficiencies; and
3) Disconnected platforms are resulting in disjointed efforts and wasteful duplication.
The consequences extend beyond financial waste, with yearly digital waste being equivalent to the global CO2 emissions from the aviation industry.
“In the continuous attempt to evolve digital strategies, businesses are pouring significant amounts of money and overhead into MarTech, AdTech, content and people. But they lack the correct governance and overarching connected content framework to join everything together, creating significant waste throughout the ecosystem, as well as mixed end results,” said Myles Peacock, global CEO, Investis Digital (iDX).
“The issue will only get more serious without solid foundations being established, particularly as the industry experiences a meaningful uptake of AI. Forecasts suggest that businesses will spend an astounding $4.7 trillion on marketing by 2025, with one-quarter of that spend going to MarTech specifically. Marketing and communications only work when they’re seen by the audiences that need to see them, and then acted upon. The rest is pollution,” Peacock said.
The solution: ConnectedContent
To address this pressing issue, iDX proposes taking a tech and human approach, applying structured governance to a company’s marketing ecosystem. Best practice in this space necessitates combining MarTech and AdTech platforms to ensure all tools are being used to their maximum efficiency. When implemented well:
- 59% of those surveyed experienced an increase in company revenue.
- 55% experienced improvements in customer experience.
- 48% experienced a more efficient use of time.
“ConnectedContent has the potential to utilise existing investments more effectively while driving the industry towards a more sustainable future,” Peacock said. “By harmonising complex platforms and processes to make teams more efficient, creating and measuring content more effectively, and streamlining marketing technology for an overall more profitable outcome, we can collectively and proactively reduce waste, improve ROI across the entire ecosystem, and enhance the end customer experience. As an industry, we are overdue when it comes to transforming the way organisations think about digital communications.”
iDX employs this proprietary approach, known as ConnectedContent, with more than 1,600 global corporations, merging communication and digital performance. This tailored approach enables businesses to better engage stakeholders, customers and consumers, ultimately forging deeper connections and driving growth.
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