Digital marketing skills show positive growth but sector demands outpace professional development 

Core digital skills marketers rely on have improved but that the growing demands of new and evolving technologies are contributing to a skills gap across the majority of industries. 

This is according to research published by the training body Target Internet, in association with the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM).

This year’s report analyses data from more than 10,000 marketing professionals, gathered between 2018 to 2023 and highlights key short and...

24 October 2023 | Advertising

Retailers feel there are too many channels to effectively sell through

A TV remote control.

Online shopping has never been more convenient for consumers, who have access to a plethora of channels through which to engage with their favourite brands.

However, this same variety is confounding retailers, with 47% saying there are simply too many channels for them to effectively deliver the best sales experience.

This is according to Wunderman Thompson Commerce & Technology’s “Brands don’t fail... eRetail!” report, which found nearly all (94%) retail...

19 April 2023 | Content Marketing

Why adding intrinsic incentives for eCommerce and social is key amid heightened consumer demands

Raise your hand if you have a wallet bursting with so-called “customer loyalty” cards. You likely have one for each supermarket, your favourite coffee chain, and maybe for the bookstore. With some brands upgrading to an app, you probably also have a smartphone screen full of their colourful icons. But how often do those loyalty schemes actually influence you to make a purchase? More importantly, do they keep you loyal to the brand?

The problem with most loyalty programmes is...

30 April 2021 | Best Practice

Why sustainability through technology is central to the event industry’s future

Few positives have resulted from the deadly coronavirus pandemic, but the effect on our Earth is unmistakable. Carbon dioxide emissions have decreased by 5%, and pollution is declining globally. The public’s response to this indicates that there will be a renewed energy toward sustainable initiatives. Once people can safely gather again and live events come back, it’s likely that a new level of concern for the planet will have taken hold, so experiential marketers should plan to evolve...

21 September 2020 | Best Practice

Why taking your own path for digital marketing learning is daunting – but worth it

In 2012, SEO was the major concern for any business looking to flex their digital muscle. Every pronouncement and product update from Matt Cutts, then Google head of search quality, was akin to a word from God.

But digital marketing, as any professional knows, does not stand still for long.

Tommy Griffith (left) was SEO manager at PayPal at the time, and was tasked by his superior to put together an introduction to SEO presentation for around 100 marketing employees....

11 December 2019 | Best Practice

How AR has gone from a buzzword to an effective communications tool

Augmented reality is not a new phenomenon, the concept has been bandied about for the past five years as ‘the next big thing in marketing’ with varying degrees of promise. What is now changing, that could be the difference between buzzword and buzzkill, is the advances in technology that are making AR more user friendly, accessible and realistic as a legitimate marketing and communications tool for brands.

2020 will be the proving ground for AR tech and its ability to...

5 December 2019 | Automation

Consumers are understanding the risks of social media addiction – but taking the next step is hard

Another week, and another example of how consumers are trying to fight for their privacy rights in a world of social snooping and data overload.

According to recent research from Kaspersky, which polled almost 12,000 consumers across 21 countries, one in three (32.3%) admitted they did not know how to fully protect their privacy online. More than half (56%) agreed that total privacy was not possible in the ‘modern digital world’, as the research put it.

A small...

27 June 2019 | Customer Experience

The harm of social media validation: A question of responsibility and protecting the vulnerable

Humans have an innate desire to be liked by peers and to feel a sense of belonging — and nowhere is this more prevalent than social media. The more likes, comments, and shares a post gets, the more socially validated the poster feels.

In fact, studies show that just these online reactions release dopamine in our brains, which makes us feel happy. Like gamblers at a slot machine, we anticipate a certain response when posting something online: Who will like my...

18 April 2019 | Ethical Marketing

Just how realistic a goal is augmented reality marketing?

Marketers are always looking for new and innovative practices to attract new customers and business. And in the tech world, there are few concepts more innovative than virtual and augmented reality. This blog will detail the differences between virtual reality and augmented reality, and how the latter can be used in marketing. We’ll then look at whether augmented reality is yet mature enough to be used on a broad scale by B2B marketers.

The difference between virtual and...

14 September 2018 | E-Commerce

How can gamification decrease the opportunity cost of onboarding?

Have you ever calculated the cost of an ineffective onboarding process? Or do you think that your company uses its potential to the fullest?

Let us imagine now a different situation. All newcomers are introduced to their workplace so well that they can carry out their tasks effectively right from the very beginning. Knowledge trainings produce sales representatives who offer high customer service right from the start. Employees know details about each product from the portfolio and...

23 January 2018 | Customer Experience