Marketing executives from Target, Ford, and Bel Brands on hiring for data-driven marketing
With the advent of new marketing tools and technologies, marketers must increasingly be able to quantify ROI and prove value. In fact, research indicates that CMOs are becoming the primary point person accountable for revenue growth. Accordingly, CMOs should be leveraging data throughout all their business practices.
Stevie Benjamin of Target with Jun Group CEO, Mitchell Reichgut
This emphasis on data-driven marketing reflects growing optimism in our ability to quantify efficacy. Traditionally, offline marketing has been challenging to measure regarding sales or ROI impact. Digital marketing, on the other hand, provides much more robust data that helps to shed more light on the customer journey. With an increase in the convergence of both traditional and digital, marketers may be getting closer and closer to cracking the proverbial attribution nut.
With all this data at our disposal, it would be remiss not to explore new marketing tactics via test-and-learns. Investing in new technology and marketing strategies will help companies stay ahead of the curve and contribute to a forward-thinking approach. They can also shift the direction and strategy of an organization.
In an exclusive interview series with the Association of National Advertisers, three CMOs from Target, Bel Brands, and Ford discuss how leading brands are staffing in 2018 with a data-first approach to marketing.
Francis Perrin, chief marketing officer, Bel Brands
“We’re expecting young marketers today to be the experts of digital. More and more companies don’t want to go outside, hiring consultants. We’d like this expertise to be inside the company.”
Stevie Benjamin, vice president of media strategy, Target
“It’s not, ‘What does a media department look like?’ but, ‘What is the role of someone with media expertise within the marketing world?’ That has a bit of a different angle to it. We do think about data scientists, about the role of technology, about strategists, about performance marketing. It takes multiple skillsets to really do this right, especially because of the data component that [Target] has, and because of where the world is heading.”
Lisa Schoder, head of US integrated marketing, Ford
“I think creating a learning agenda is a part of demonstrating ROI. ‘What did we learn?’ Because that’s something that we then take back and improve upon. Whenever we’re looking at something that’s maybe a little bit more unproven, it’s always through the lens of, ‘What role do we think this might play? What’s the vision of success?’ And then knowing how we are going to measure that.”
See other conversations with other top marketers in the United States and how they are leading business transformation.
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Target
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Ford Motor Company
The Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated...
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