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Where's Digital Marketing Heading? 4 Leaders Weigh In

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There’s no time for rest when it comes to digital marketing. The ever-changing state of this field requires speedy innovation to stay in step with the needs of both businesses and consumers. Take the Publicis-Omnicon merger, or the development of broadcasting devices capable of marketing through window vibrations. So much innovation means it’s important to be future-focused if you want your business to thrive.

At my Web design and marketing agency Ciplex, we’ve always got our eye on the future of this sector. But digital marketing isn’t homogenous, so I reached out to four different leaders from all angles of the industry to gain insight into what the future of digital marketing holds.

So, where’s digital marketing headed? Here’s the insight they shared with me:

1. Malcolm Cowley, CEO of Performance Horizon Group

This forward-thinking CEO believes the future of digital marketing -- and advertising in general -- is destined to become more accurately measurable and performance-based. It won’t be uncommon to see enterprises applying performance models to growing channels like mobile and video. By combining human insights with machine learning and real-time predictive analytics, tomorrow’s digital marketing will provide an easy way to answer more marketing questions.

Cowley started Performance Horizon Group after recognizing a fundamental shift in the needs of enterprises running performance marketing campaigns. Working to future-proof digital marketing efforts, their product ExactView allows enterprises to operate a performance marketing hub that can scale to their needs as various forms of advertising move increasingly to performance models.

2. Monika Kochhar, CEO of Smartgift

A leader in the ecommerce sector, Kochhar foresees omni-channel engagement as a major development shaping digital marketing. For retailers, this means providing solutions that allow customers to move seamlessly between online and in-store environments while also implementing innovative technologies that bring the in-store experience online.

Smartgift was launched to address acute e-commerce inefficiencies that afflict retailers, like those associated with gifting. From a digital marketing perspective, Smartgift’s checkout process also opens up an opportunity for the retailer to cross-sell and up-sell the gift recipient before the item is shipped. As we move into the future, online shopping needs to mirror what’s felt in-store to ensure an overall great brand experience.

3. Ramesh Haridas, CEO of Parakweet

This leader believes that the power of trust will be elevated as we look into the future. Consumer responses to marketing messages have undergone a dramatic change over the years. There’s a need to create a niche for helping consumers to discover products based on a combination of their interests and the recommendations organically generated by people they trust.

Parakweet was birthed to address the challenge and marketing opportunity of extracting useful information about consumer products from the social Web. Its consumer platform BookVibe helps people discover books based on their affinities and sentiments shared through updates by others on their social networks. Tapping into the trust generated through micro-reviews and real-time buzz is definitely something all brands will find essential to the future success of business.

4. Neil Mody, CEO of nRelate

It’s hard to argue against content as king. This CEO believes the idea of content as a marketing tool will reach new heights down the road. Publishers and digital marketers have caught on to the benefits of using content recommendation as a targeted marketing opportunity, and the space will continue to become more of an advertising network.

Mody says that in the future, we’re likely to see publishers deciding what types of ads and related content fit their editorial perspective and audience. Readers will have more control over what types of content and ads they wish to see after reading a blog post or news article. As larger media companies begin to leverage content recommendation as an opportunity to sell advertising, the need for control will become more important than ever. nRelate helps answer the question most consumers of online content have: what should I read next?

Today’s digital marketing certainly won’t look like tomorrow’s. These companies are clearly geared for the future -- are you?

Where do you think digital marketing is heading?