Last week, Adobe announced a set of research findings at their annual summit. The key stat: 40% of over 1,000 marketers surveyed want to reinvent their role as a marketer, but only 14% of them know how to do it.
The Digital Roadblock report points out where marketers need the most help: data, analytics, and mobile. Adobe provides a robust set of tools to help not only the 40% who want reinvention, but also the 60% who just don't know it yet. I'll speak more about these in research to be published in the upcoming months.
When it comes to reinvention, tools alone aren't going to get the job done. Almost eight years ago, I outlined four key areas in which the marketing organization needed to be reinvented:
- Redesign of P&Ls and metrics
- Culture shift away from marketing communications
- Investment in customer relationship infrastructure
- Rethinking agency relationships
Very little, if any, fundamental progress has been made in those areas in most marketing organizations. While marketers have adapted to emerging technologies like social media, the fundamental structure hasn't changed. Progress has been made but too many marketers are still stuck in the department whose job is to "make the logo bigger."
Reinventing marketing requires a concerted effort to redesign culture, structure, and technology. Adobe made a great case at Summit for how its marketing cloud can help, but it can't get the job done alone.