Marketing

The customer lifecycle is almost as hot a buzzword as “big data” — but what exactly is a customer lifecycle?  Is it really a circular journey?  Is it linear?

Chief marketers who report directly to CEOs are likely to earn more than their peers, says the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council in a new “CMO Compensation Report” study. Additionally, good peer relationships provide an advantage as the most highly paid CMOs have forged close partnerships with chief financial officers and chief information officers.

Chief marketing officers (CMOs) and chief information officers (CIOs) say they are working more collaboratively than in the past to take advantage of digital opportunities, but they remain at odds on a number of issues involving how to drive integrated digital marketing solutions for their customers, according to a new study by Accenture.

As the U.S. GDP inched up 2% annually since 2010 to $15.5T in 2013, the 10 most influential Total Market (TM) states yielded the brunt of the economic expansion. These 10 TM states generated nearly 60% of the country’s net GDP growth. Fueled by a population base that is 60% Multicultural, TX & CA account for a third of the total U.S. GDP growth. NY, FL, & GA are next in line to become majority Multicultural by 2025. On average, Multicultural segments are growing 22 times faster than non-Multicultural in the top 10 TM states.

Now that over 50% of the general population is regularly using tablets and smartphones, the shift from desktop to mobile is taking center stage. While we continue to gain a clearer picture of the impact of mobile tools on shopping behavior, we also strive to understand the complex interactions that take place within the multichannel, multi-device path to purchase.

More than 40% of US marketing professionals said they increased spending on data-driven marketing in the first quarter of this year, compared with 38.4% who said the same in Q4 2013.

In its newest paper, Raising Fusionistas 2.0, Alma researchers answer the question — are Fusionistas passing on their love for both the Hispanic and American cultures and their values to a new generation of Hispanic children?

“That was fantastic. Let’s do it again — but bigger!” says the marketer in an after-action review or post-buy meeting. I cringe when I hear those words, since those are two decisions made right there. Apparently we are going to do “it” again, and doing “it” bigger will beat the results from the previous time we did “it.”

Finding ways to grow sales has never been tougher. Despite obstacles like robust competition, a fragmented media environment and growing piles of data, a handful of companies are still finding growth opportunities within their existing customer bases. In fact, by identifying a category’s ‘Super Consumers’ – those consumers that spend a lot and engage a lot, companies are tailoring their marketing and sales efforts to boost incremental sales—even when category sales are flat.

In 1993, Vernor Vinge, a retired professor of mathematics, computer scientist and award-winning science fiction author, argued that the creation of superhuman artificial intelligence would mark the point at which “the human era will be ended.” This idea, associated in popular thinking with the futurist Ray Kurzweil of 2005’s The Singularity is Near, posits a moment when computing advances to the point that computers become self-directing, direct their activities to making themselves ever more intelligent, and surpass human comprehension or understanding.

Teradata Corp. and Forbes Insights released a new research study for CMOs and other senior marketing decision makers worldwide titled, “Breaking Down Marketing Silos: The Key to Consistently Achieving Customer Satisfaction and Improving Your Bottom Line.”

CoreBrand released its second annual report on the most and least respected corporate brands – Brand Respect: The Most and Least Respected Corporate Brands.

Marketers are feeling the heat when it comes to measuring their efforts. According to a study conducted by VisionEdge Marketing and ITSMA in April 2014, 85% of marketers worldwide said the pressure to measure marketing’s business value and contribution had increased. Just 14% said the level of pressure had stayed the same, and 1% thought it had decreased.

Change is the dominant fact of life in every business today. And the ability to master and exploit change has become one of the most sought-after management skills. This is particularly true in marketing, where the very tempo of change is constantly quickening.

We at Univision found this question of language of particular importance for our partners, and joined Nielsen and Starcom Mediavest Group’s Multicultural division to find some concrete answers.  By Roberto Ruiz / Univision Communications Inc.

Some rules in soccer, as in other sports, are based on absolutes: if the ball crosses the touchline it’s out of bounds. The offside rule is different; it’s based on the relative position of players from both teams.  Culture has the same effect on language; it makes the meaning of words relative. There is no better example of this than an event that captures the attention of all Hispanics from different places: the World Cup.

If you’ve had sporadic communication with some of your South Florida-based peers and clients since June 12, you’re likely not alone.  By Adam R Jacobson

With more people saying they’re willing to pay more for products and services from socially responsible companies, how can companies communicate that they’re on the same page? The most direct option may be how you’ve been communicating with them for years—at the point of sale. Making your social commitment clearly visible on your product packaging is not only a good way to tout your product’s benefits, but it can also be the difference between a purchase and a pass for many consumers.

The 2014 FIFA World Cup is, to date, the most-streamed event ever. Obviously, the fact that technology today is a lot more “stream-friendly” than during World Cup 2010 helps a lot, with a far larger global audience living online with access to higher speeds and better devices. But we should also recognize that this high online streaming rate is not just a matter of better technology, but reflects a need that is being met.

When I hear someone say, “we want to target men for our marketing campaign” or “we want men’s publications for our PR campaign,” that raises an immediate red flag to me as a marketer and an analyst.