As the ever-changing world of marketing technology continues to shift and change, we pulled together some martech trend predictions that we have seen drive the way and will continue to take flight throughout the remainder of 2020. With recent events in the world, the time to align and comply with customers’ needs is more prominent than ever.
End of the Third-Party Cookie
There is a rise in the need for enterprise identity resolution. In January 2020, Google announced it will be blocking third-party cookies within two years’ time. Safari and Firefox started restricting third-party cookies with Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) in 2017, which has already impacted marketers, media owners, and publishers who use third-party cookies for tracking, targeting, and measurement. With Google Chrome currently commanding a majority of browser share globally, Google’s recent announcements are significant for the industry.
In the next twenty-four months, the phasing out of third-party cookies will make long-standing methods of digital tracking, targeting, and measurement inoperable. These practices, often achieved through traditional data management platforms (DMPs) and demand-side platforms (DSPs), include:
- Building cross-web, behavior-based targeting segments
- Implementing cross-publisher, cookie-based reach and frequency management, and multi-touch attribution
- Buying digital audience segments for retargeting
- Firing third-party cookies across thousands of websites as a basis of scaled digital identity and data collection
With the cookie’s end in sight, identity-based solutions are the answer to ensure that brands know who their customers are. Check out Merkle’s Merkury solution for more.
Future of Cloud
The future of cloud is bright. For many marketers, the migration to cloud technology is already well underway. In fact, at this point, it’s a matter of “when” not “if” companies will move to the cloud. Major players are grabbing substantial shares of the market, leading to consolidation and clear winners of who is doing things right. To be successful, marketers will need to think about how they federate their data to create great customer experiences.
Companies are turning to Merkle for help with preparing a cloud roadmap to ensure that they are effectively taking the right steps to migrate their data to the cloud within a reasonable time frame. We believe that cloud will run computing for entire organizations between marketing, supply chain, financial applications, etc.
Total Customer Experience
It’s no secret that customers’ demands are changing. For marketers, there has been a shift from campaign-based value to customer-based value, measured through the customer experience which largely ties back to consumers exercising control over their own data, the content they want to consume, and the brands with whom they choose to interact. Marketers must adjust their mentalities to willfully think about the consumer with every decision that is made.
Role of CMO Evolves
We are in the era of brand experience which spans to sales, service, and marketing. Traditionally, the CMO was responsible for creating and maintaining “the brand” and its external presence. As data, analytics, and tech has enabled more performance driven ways to create and drive performance within campaigns, the CMO has evolved into more of a P&L owner and now has a parallel path of the CEO’s role.
The role of marketing will become broader and will be viewed as a driver of overall business performance.
Want to learn more on transforming your business to provide a connected customer experience? Check out our award winning 2020 Marketing Imperatives here.
