A Helping Hand and Then Some For the Data Driven CMO

According to a recent study conducted by the Argyle Executive Forum and sponsored by the Oracle Marketing Cloud, “Sixty-six percent of CMOs are focusing on transitioning into a data driven department and seamless omni-channel customer experiences.”

The disciplines of marketing and technology have converged, and CMOs are in need of partner agencies that possess proficiency in both data management and experience-creation to help define and lead this agenda.  In short, they need a hero.

The modern CMO is now evaluated by their ability to leverage data and technology to drive concrete business results. While advertising agencies often manage the bulk of a CMOs budget, traditionally they have been restricted to the confines of “the campaign.”

This is a disadvantage to both CMOs and agencies. For CMOs, maintaining a silo around the single entity that controls the majority of their budget limits the ability to connect the dots between customer acquisition, retention and return.

For agencies, revenue is being left on the table. Agencies sit in a unique position at the cross-roads of strategy, execution and optimization and this can be further monetized through the adoption and on-going management of technology and data platforms. Agencies must expand into this role if they want to maintain viability in today’s evolving marketing ecosystem, but most importantly, the modern CMO needs this support.

If agencies are unable to take the helm in building and executing data-driven strategies, CMOs will look elsewhere. The threat of consultancies to the agency model has been covered extensively, but it’s becoming a moot point. The distinction between agencies and consultancies is growing less and less relevant.

According to Tim Haarman, EVP and Head of Account Management at DigitasLBi, “there are no longer lanes [between agencies and consultancies]. The companies that provide the greatest experience are going to win.” Perhaps this is best illustrated by the recent acquisition of consultancy Merkle by agency powerhouse, Dentsu Aegis, this past August.

Head Start

However, the playing field is not quite level yet. To a certain extent, consultancies have had a head start as their services traditionally expanded across an organization – from CMO to CFO to CTO. The challenge for agencies is to move beyond the finite moment of the advertising campaign and into a role where they can influence end-to-end, on-going, holistic marketing.

While the automation of advertising through programmatic and machine learning commodifies the operational components of media planning, buying and ad creation, according to CEO of Alphonso TV, Ashish Chordia, “now agencies will have to bank on creativity.”  This includes more than just the creativity of campaign messaging, but also the human intelligence of how to use data and technology to influence emotion, perceptions and favorability across the entire consumer journey.

Arun Kumar, Global Head of Analytics for Publicis One, defines the agency of the future as one where “data and analytics is embedded in each team and how they make decisions, and immediate customer feedback is delivered not just to the CMO but to business, finance and product development teams.”  

Not surprising, agency transformation is being driven by Ad Technology and Data Analytics experts like Arun, who are donning their capes and reinventing the agency model from the inside. Progress is being made, but agencies cannot make save the modern CMO alone. 

Help Is On the Way

While agencies continue to juggle tight profit margins, modest staffing and overwhelming workloads, it can be difficult to take a leadership position in technology adoption and the latest in data-driven marketing strategies. But now agencies do not have to tackle this alone. 

Enter the OMC Global Agency Partnerships Team. Comprised of a team of seasoned advertising professionals, fluent in the nuances of the agency world and the resources needed to unlock agency potential, the team was established in recognition of the role agencies can play in driving data-driven marketing. 

We’re creating agency partnership models that provide technology education, training and business development support. We’re providing the exposure, tools and intelligence that agencies need to meet the challenges of the modern CMO. 

According to David Barker, SVP of Media Assets for the Oracle Marketing Cloud, agencies influence 8 out of 10 DMP decisions. We expect the impact of agencies to continue to expand as they rise to the challenges of the modern CMO and seek technology partners to support them. The next few years will undoubtedly bring new agency models centered around data-driven media and creative strategies. The Oracle Marketing Cloud Global Agency Partnership team looks forward to powering this transformation.

For more information on the motivations guiding today’s modern CMO, download The Data Driven CMO. 

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