About Forrester
Forrester Research, Inc. is an independent research company that provides pragmatic and forward-thinking advice to global leaders in business and technology.

Mary Beth contributes to Forrester's research offerings for CMO & Marketing Leadership Professionals. She lends a global point of view on the challenges facing marketers — increasingly fragmented media, the pervasiveness of new technologies, changing consumer behavior, and the growing accountability of marketing. Her current research touches marketing innovation, orchestrating the brand experience, the role of marketing in the company, matching digital to business strategy and ubiquitous marketing. Mary Beth is based in Paris.
Before joining Forrester, Mary Beth spent more than 20 years as an international marketer, advising and coaching blue chip brands and organizations. She has worked on both the client and agency side. Mary Beth was CRM director at Dassault Systèmes, designing and championing its customer-centric business strategy. She also chalked up 10 years in the Ogilvy network, in Paris and New York. There she developed interactive and relationship marketing strategies with Air France, IBM, Nestlé, and Unilever. She began her career in direct marketing working with clients American Express and AT&T.
Mary Beth holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Drake University.
For some reason public safety has been a hot topic for me of late. I recently presented at ZTE’s Public Safety Summit in Dubai, where there was an audience of public safety officials and...
A few weeks ago, I attended the Meeting of the Minds 2012, a conference dedicated to urban planning and sustainability, or smart cities. The conference was a great balance of academics and nonprofit...

I was invited by the Moscow city government to participate in the Moscow Urban Forum, a conference designed to bring urban policy experts together to discuss opportunities for Moscow. Last...
I love the idea of the Edmonton’s Planning Academy, which offers planning courses to anyone in the city. What a great way to get citizens involved in the complex challenges of city...
“Telecommuting” and flexible work spaces are nothing new. I’ve worked from home, from public libraries, airport lounges, and even Sun Microsystem’s iWork Cafes and drop-in...
Open Data Pioneers Offer Lessons For Launching Initiatives
Data has become quite the buzzword lately, with everyone looking to mine their big data for customer insights, operational efficiencies, and business performance improvement. Governments are no...

Smart cities come in all shapes and sizes. There is not one definition of smart. Think about the terms “street smart” and “book smart.” When I think about the...
As I sit at my kitchen table enjoying the quiet of my house before my kids come home, I know that I will move to my office and shut the door once that tranquility is shattered by their arrival. Then...
Mature market telecom operators can learn from many of their fellow service providers in emerging markets. Recognizing that contexts differ – and they certainly do – there is still...
Tech vendor strategists are attracted by the "edu" opportunity — a large and fast-growing user base and increasing reliance upon technology by governments, educators, parents, and students. But...
Forrester’s Smart City Tweet Jam was a great success. On Tuesday morning/afternoon/evening, smart city followers around the globe participated in an hour of intense tweeting on smart...
Social Media, Mobility, And Open Data Transform eGovernment From Electronic To Engaged
One of the most significant changes in city governance has been the growing trend toward constituent engagement — both with individual citizens and local businesses. Even in non-democratic...

I’ve always been a map person with maps showing up in my house as floor rugs, shower curtains, clothing, dishes, jigsaw puzzles etc. So the ESRI User Conference was right up my...
[Co-authored with Rachel Brown] Recently, two top-tier American universities announced plans to launch new global satellite campuses. Yale University will partner with the National University of...
[Written with Enza Iannopollo, a Research Associate in Forrester’s London office] During last month’s Forrester Forum in Paris, Enza spoke with a client who shared some thoughts...
This past week I attended IBM’s Smarter City Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the fourth in a series of global events highlighting the opportunities for cities to improve their systems — and...
The word is that promise of sCommerce (social commerce) and fCommerce (Facebook commerce) is more speculative than proven. What about the role of social media in government and governance? Mayors,...
I've written about the World Bank's Doing Business Index in several blogs and reports. One of my favorite graphics from my "Where In The World?" report on market opportunity assessment...
The Shift To Government Cloud Is Evolutionary, Not Revolutionary
Economic, technological, and behavioral changes are driving a fundamental transformation in how governments deliver services. Asia Pacific governments will leverage cloud computing to create more...

Really, it is not. I was heartened to see that it doesn’t even make the oxymoron list, which does however include “government worker,” “congressional ethics,” and...
Tap Global Enterprise Experience and Local Expertise
In recent years, "study abroad" has taken on a whole new meaning — on brand new campuses. Many universities have established satellite campuses in host countries across the globe. These...

As we know, citizen engagement is a top priority of governments around the world. Many are launching digital outreach projects such as Adopt-A-Hydrant (pictured to the right). This is good news for...
Ready, set, go. Earlier this week IBM announced their Smart City Challenge – a competition for cities to help investigate and launch smart city initiatives. IBM will award $50...