MarketingTech 2020 review: Covid-19, CMO strategy, and compassion

How tough was 2020 for marketers amid a global pandemic? In many ways, it depended on your industry. But navigating Covid-19 was a struggle for all.

It was okay to not be okay at times, with the knowledge that 2021 will - all being well - improve, and the knowledge of the marketing best practices which emerged over 2020. As Scott Brinker put it to this publication in December: "This is stressful, but you're not alone. Everyone's in the same boat, so that makes it a little bit...

4 January 2021 | Best Practice

How marketers can streamline requests and improve productivity in 2021

Marketing teams responding to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and worldwide social tensions have witnessed their workloads, budgets, and priorities being put under scrutiny during this time of upheaval. With events either being cancelled, put on hold, or switching to a virtual environment, social media and digital campaigns along with increased demand for targeted content, have increased. Alongside this, the workforce has also moved online and those water cooler conversations and the ability to...

23 December 2020 | Campaigns

WTF do B2B tech marketers do when the world is WFH?

Technology has really come into its own this year, with broadband straining under the enormous pressure of back-to-back Zooms (“You’re on mute…”), a massive rise in online shopping, and the digitisation of so many parts of our lives. Lenin’s famous quote, “There are decades when nothing happens; and there are weeks when decades happen” has never felt more pertinent than this year when we look at the scale of digital transformation across business and personal...

1 December 2020 | Advertising Technology

As eCommerce becomes more vital, the right content strategy is required – whatever your industry

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced marketers' hands in a variety of areas. One of the most evident is around the near-exclusivity of eCommerce - or, anything which isn't bricks and mortar.

Writing for this publication in July, Joel Davis, co-founder and CEO of Mighty Social, noted the need for change in messaging. "Take into account that during the crisis many consumers closely re-evaluated their consumption habits, what they define as essential products, as well as how to live...

17 November 2020 | Best Practice

In a year of Covid chaos, consistency and compatibility are the key watchwords for marketers

Session If you're reading this and not having a great day for whatever reason, then one surefire way to feel better is to look at 2020 prediction articles issued at the start of this year. MarketingTech's is a good example. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, never in the field of marketing predictions was so much gotten wrong by so many.

Okay, it is unfair to expect marketing executives to predict a global pandemic. In one way, of course, their forecasts were right around...

11 November 2020 | Campaigns

How do you create a compelling digital proposition for 2021 after such an uncertain 2020?

If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that things change quickly. And when things change quickly, a business needs to adapt and respond even quicker.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic over the last 6 months has seen changes that no one could have ever predicted: the global tourism industry facing the loss of 120 million jobs, the permanent closure of approximately 14,000 shops in the UK, and nearly half of people in employment in the UK working from home at some point this...

23 October 2020 | Best Practice

How good design can influence return on investment online

It’s very easy for organisations to look at design as an added expense, rather than an investment.

A company’s business plan will typically include the costs of staff, infrastructure, and products and services – but why should the creative be seen as an ‘extravagance’ or overlooked entirely?

In fact, design can be the accelerator needed to generate company leads – it can be the difference between brands retaining customers, and their key targets venturing to...

8 September 2020 | Advertising

Why digital accessibility is now essential in the pandemic era

In a matter of weeks, Covid-19 achieved what years of lobbying and education had not - convincing organisations of the importance of making sure digital assets - like websites, emails and mobile apps - are easy to use and simple to navigate.

With the sudden upswing in digital demand and the almost overnight disappearance of physical interactions - it’s become clear how someone who cannot leave their home is forced to rely on digital channels, and how frustrating it is for them...

14 August 2020 | Best Practice

Know your data – and your limits – before utilising automation to drive campaign ROI

Brands are sitting on millions of pieces of data about customers and their behaviours – and yet many marketers are still failing to effectively apply it to their digital comms.

As a result, it’s leading to an array of lost opportunities. But why is that the case when organisations are exposed to even more ways to analyse their performance, speak to audiences on a deeper level and positively impact business growth?

Perhaps organisations aren’t providing marketing...

20 July 2020 | Advertising

Happy holidays? Why festive planning is earlier than ever this year

Brands love reaching their most passionate customers. As a former retail CMO myself, I get it. When you reach early planners, you reach the CEOs of the household—an audience that buys and spends more. Reach them first, and you have a shot at being their first choice when it’s time to shop.

And yet, for as long as marketers and advertisers have been prioritising planners, they’re making some seriously incorrect assumptions about this key audience right now. I heard from a CMO...

7 July 2020 | Branding