• by Michael Kaushansky , August 15, 2012

On average, most CMOs hold that job for less than two years. Ever wonder why?  A major contributing factor is the lack of fact-based decision-making.  Organizations of all sizes, all around the world, are coming to realize that without data at the core of their operational decisions, they are left at the hands of intuitive decision-making. Without data, decisions are made based on staff’s personal experiences and are often subject to “in-the-moment” thinking or anecdotal evidence.  While the intuitive approach to decision-making has worked moderately well in the past, without the reliance on data to make smarter, faster and reliable decisions, it is poised to fail going forward.

Research by Gartner projects that by 2017 CMOs will own more tools and have more budget to manage data than CIOs across the board.  The new CMOs will be held to higher standards of delivering revenue and demonstrate ROI for every dollar they invest in creative and media executions. 

That’s why I’m stating now, definitively: Data will save the CMO. 

Why?

Today, a single marketing campaign generates more data than a NASA flight to the moon, and if CMOs ignore that data, a savvy competitor will swoop in, collect that data for themselves, and leave CMOs standing with their pants down.  This has happened across the board!  In the world of automotive marketing, conquesting on the most prized/effective competitive keywords is the norm (Mercedes wins).  In the world of consumer packing goods, a savvy yogurt advertiser may target prospects based on witnessing individual calcium seeking behavior online. This behavior is a result of data collected by a non-data savvy competitor.

This is why everyone should be rushing to build up their analytics bench with what I like to call “datasexuals”: stewards of data who eat, breathe, drink, and LIVE data.  Having access to data and leveraging analytic resources for converting data to information should be used to optimize every marketing and advertising decision. 

Particularly within the world of marketing and advertising, I see several significant changes in the near future for the way we plan and buy media and the way we develop creative.  Today most digital advertising is delivered in real time and based on very granular exhibited consumer behavior; though this is still silo by media format, decisions about display advertising are made separate from those concerning online video, social, etc.  Creative is still static and designed in the creative director’s abstract world.  The future looks a lot different. I see data driving real-time decisions across all media channels.  We will see creative being a lot more dynamic and personalized to a specific occasion or based on a certain behavior. 

What three elements do CMOs need NOW to ensure both campaign effectiveness and their own job security?

1.   Comprehensive data collection and a logical and structured data access format – data that’s easy to get and analyze.

2.   Robust and flexible analytical software that spans cool data visualization and “over-my-head” statistical analysis.

3.   Datasexuals!  People trained and eager to analyze the heck out of data.

In today’s world, the first two are easy to come by; however, having the right talent to convert all that data to usual knowledge for a company is scarce.  In a follow-up post, I’ll share with you some tips on how to attract, identify, and retain the top datasexuals out there. Some may already be within your organization. 

In conclusion, data should be the oxygen of any marketing and advertising organization. Manipulating and exploiting data requires software (easy to get) and the right analytics talent (tough to recruit); so fortify your human resource departments and open your purse, because the next generation of data collection, software, and datasexuals will cost you -- but will be well worth it, extending your lifespan as CMO.