Omnichannel strategy and mobile marketing were the hot topics at the recent 2015 Leadership in Digital Marketing at the Argyle Executive Forum in New York. This event brought together the brightest marketing professionals in the field to discuss the industry’s most pressing matters. With subjects ranging from the role of the CMO to in-depth discussions related to real-time, people-based marketing and a single customer view, Signal was right at home.
Many brands, including Signal’s clients, are focused on cross-channel data collection and identity. Kathy Menis, Signal’s SVP of Marketing, shared her expertise on this topic as a panelist in a discussion on the value of a clear view of the consumer.
Menis was joined by a panel of digital marketing and publishing executives including Gary Davis, VP of Global Field & Consumer Marketing at Intel; Stephen Jalkut, Head of Marketing at Tokio Marine U.S.; and Chantal Restivo-Alessi, Chief Digital Officer at HarperCollins.
Digital marketing was built around browsers, Menis explained, so ad tech has been centered around cookies and tags. But the browser is just one piece of the customer journey, so collecting, connecting, and activating data across channels that do not use cookies—such as mobile apps, CRM, email, advertising, and point of sale—is a huge priority for today’s marketers. To make their marketing truly cross-channel, companies need to look for a solution that works in mobile and offline worlds. This solution cannot rely on cookie-based identifiers, which have the added drawback that they can expire or be deleted. Many brands are eager to implement technology, like the Signal platform, that can collect and merge data from each of these channels into a single, persistent, cross-channel identity that can be activated in real time.
Menis shared the story of a major CPG company that is collecting and merging all of its first-party data into an identity graph, powered by the Signal platform. The identity graph is a store of customer identifiers that makes always-on recognition and activation possible. This provides the foundation for people-based marketing, where brands can recognize and engage with their customers at every touchpoint in real time and all the time.
Likewise, a major national retail brand is collecting and connecting its first-party data through the Signal platform to personalize the entire customer journey based on cross-channel identities and customer behaviors. For example, the mobile app experience is personalized based on website, email, or display activity, and the web experience is personalized based on point of sale transaction data. Personalizing experiences at each step in the cross-channel journey is crucial to people-based marketing and ensures that every customer interaction is relevant.
As executives at the Argyle Forum recounted time and again, reaching customers across channels is a major undertaking. It requires a real dedication to owning your data, knowing your customers, and reaching them in real time. But when all the pieces come together, it’s magic.
Originally published October 16, 2015