FORRward: A Weekly Read For Tech And Marketing Execs
AI, Privacy, And Transparency Dominate The Marketing Discussion At CES 2020
Rather than trolling the floor of the more than 4,400 exhibits at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) looking for the technology of the future, Jay Pattisall tried something different: listening to the conversations of marketers and agency executives for hot issues. Artificial intelligence permeated every corner of marketing discussion at CES, with marketers and agencies debating the role of machine learning (ML) in the creative process and campaign outputs. The tension is rife in this topic as marketers see AI and ML as efficient advantages while agencies fear losing jobs to machines. Privacy and identity continue to be significant themes as advertisers debate how much knowledge of consumers’ personal data is too much. California’s CCPA legislation loomed large as both marketers and agencies balance compliance and the fear of violations with flexibility and the fear of restraints. Lastly, transparency and compensation guarantees in large media agency deals are reaching a flash point as agency executives warn that buying business may help with short-term gains but ultimately damages the industry and challenges trust.
Money Mart Launched A Financial Services Innovation Aligned To The Needs And Desires Of Millennials
Money Mart Financial Services, a North American provider of alternative financial solutions to underbanked and credit-challenged consumers, has implemented its mobile check cashing service to fully host checking accounts on mobile devices. This solution is enabling over 1 million customers in the US and Canada to cash checks and make deposits directly from their mobile devices. This move will help expand its market reach substantially, as Money Mart’s prior means of client engagement was across 700 retail locations. As many of you know, Millennials and many other consumers don’t want to have to deal with their financials via physical checks and retail visits — and are very mobile-centric. This innovation was built in partnership with Alogent, an emerging tech and cloud-based fintech firm that has helped over 2,400 other finance organizations build out new, versatile, scalable, customer experience (CX)-focused innovations and platform services. This mobile check cashing service is based on Alogent’s mobile deposit service and is hosted in Alogent Cloud to empower clients across North America. The mobile deposit service helps financial institutions remove the need to install and run applications in their own infrastructure without raising concerns about security or scalability. These kinds of CX-focused disruptive innovations are the types your firms should be prioritizing to ensure future market leadership: tech-driven innovations.
And The Winner Is (Insert Your Company Here): How Netflix Models Your Company’s Future
Oscar nominations are out. Streaming service Netflix boasts 20-plus nominations across categories. These nods mean more than bragging rights. They signal Netflix’s value to customers and prospects — and Netflix will need every bit of help it can get. Netflix continues to promise an add-free (i.e., revenue-limiting) experience to ever-more-demanding customers. It’s facing a now-crowded market sure to be led by behemoth Disney, for which streaming services are likely just a loss leader in service to its multi-tentacled business model. Our research shows that Netflix is in a great starting position. Its superior user experience means more subscribers will find new content to keep them with Netflix — important as users suffer subscription fatigue and higher service abandonment. Netflix’s best chance is to use its first-mover advantages of more/better customer data to inform new content and experiences. As such, it becomes the poster child for the modern enterprise that must weave data mastery with experience excellence and marketing agility to stay in the race. No industry will be immune from this call for customer-obsessed operating. Check out our latest research summary on Agile marketing, applicable for all industries, and start dreaming of your own acceptance speech.
Accenture Strikes Again — The Giant Plans To Spend $1.6 Billion In 2020 Buying Growth
Accenture made its first purchase of the year, acquiring German SAP CX consultancy Maihiro. Accenture spent $1.2B in the last fiscal year acquiring companies such as Droga5 with unique competencies or Apis Group in Australia in a specialized industry and market. This year, CEO Julie Sweet announced that the company — now more than 500,000 people strong — plans to spend $1.6B acquiring companies. The growth, reach, and momentum that Accenture creates by acquiring new skills and customers in new markets has made it a juggernaut. Only Deloitte has shown an equivalent eagerness to spend to grow its digital and transformation services. What does this mean for you? Well, you can probably get it all from Accenture. But to spend wisely and get the most value, you must also structure the contract to align Accenture’s motivation to your benefit. Embrace outcome-based pricing models wherever possible.