Every CMO keeps a mental scorecard of what they know, what they need to learn right away, and what should be on their horizons.
From a data and analytics perspective, more than half (56%) of chief marketers in North America consider segmentation and targeting their #1 mature capability – a relatively traditional and established area when compared to today’s behavioral data or AI-based methods.
The GfK/CMOC study also found that an overwhelming proportion (75%) of North American CMOs see ad metrics as a key contributor to helping them achieve their KPIs – followed by content response (65%) and search engine visibility (58%).
One could argue that all three are proven (dare we say “old school”?) methods for defining marketing effectiveness – suggesting, as well, that CMOs in the region tend to focus on more traditional types of activities.
Are chief marketers in North America really less adventurous than their colleagues in Europe or Latin America? In a world where social media platforms and streaming channels stretch across continents, it may seem that everything is global these days. But many things remain local-only – from TV networks to messaging apps – and many marketers still rely on the people and things that they know. To the extent that North American CMOs are trapped in outdated systems not of their own making, they need to explore and on-board the modern techniques and technologies that will take them to the next level – or even just to parity with digitally advanced regions.
