The path to data-driven marketing
The «European Marketing Agenda 2021» forecasts trends and outlines a common thread for the coming year
Full illustration in the study.
Image: Courtesy of the publisher.
It was compiled based on an annual survey of nearly 4,800 European marketing and sales executives, in collaboration with the members of the European Marketing Confederation (EMC).
… and then came COVID-19
Digital transformation presents marketing organizations and decision-makers with challenges whose impact is rarely limited to individual business units but typically affects the entire corporate strategy, corporate culture, organizational structure, and operational processes. Thus, on the one hand, it is not surprising that digital projects—which were originally conceived as standalone initiatives—quickly lead to the realization that cross-functional changes are necessary and sometimes even require operational restructuring.
In the midst of the digital transformation, we find ourselves caught between the dogma that «digital is the new normal» and a legion of startups just waiting to cannibalize traditional business models. And then COVID-19 took over… It’s not without a certain irony that the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had the world in its grip since early 2020, is driving the digital transformation of the economy in general and of marketing in particular. Whether due to the pandemic or not, companies are not only realigning their existing digital projects and activities but are also launching new initiatives to drive digitalization forward and revitalize corporate structures. The COVID-19 pandemic forced us to cancel the 2020 editions of our established Marketing Days in European countries. This showed us just how important these annual highlights on the industry calendar are for companies and their employees.
The survey meets eight criteria
- The presentation and discussion of current, forward-looking concepts;
- The emphasis on tangible, real-world experiences (rather than theoretical strategies);
- Providing platforms for interaction, discussion, high-quality knowledge transfer, and networking (instead of PowerPoint presentations);
- Providing reports on real-world experiences and lessons learned by those responsible for decision-making and implementation
- Emphasis on conceptual contributions from companies that have gained in-depth experience with the strategies and processes presented (i.e., not a program full of superficial sales pitches);
- The presentation of narrative threads ranging from strategy to implementation;
- Contributions from companies of all sizes and from all industry sectors
- Emphasis on cross-functional collaboration at the interfaces with offline activities, IT/digital business, product development and management, pricing, innovation management, channel management, organizational structure, and leadership.
The study can be ordered from Swiss Marketing: [email protected]
