A lot of the adtech around today, promising to solve all marketing problems, just won’t deliver on the hype, according to research by Gartrner.
Gartner analysts studied 28 technologies in its Hype Cycle for Digital Marketing and Advertising 2019 report.
And found that four technologies have the capability to transform how marketers run their technology ecosystems and eventually deliver meaningful customer experiences.
They are: Customer Data Platforms, AI for Marketing, Blockchain for Advertising, Real-time Marketing.
“Marketers today must strike the right balance between delivering meaningful customer experiences that differentiate their brands and focusing on providing real value to the business,” says Mike McGuire, a vice president analyst in Gartner’s Marketing practice.
“Event-triggered and real-time marketing will have the biggest impact on marketing activities in the next five years.
“However, before marketers can realize the benefits of these technologies, they must first become proficient in predictive analytics and delivering personalized communications.”
The four technologies for marketers with promise: Customer Data Platforms; AI for Marketing; Blockchain for Advertising; Real-time Marketing.
AI for Marketing has quickly risen to Gartner's peak of Inflated Expectations.
“The hype around this technology will not fade quickly, as AI continues to be the buzzword used to describe a host of features to augment the functions performed by marketers — from automated content tagging to real-time personalization,” says McGuire.
But AI will transform the marketing practice over the next 20 years. A Gartner 2018 survey showed that 11% of marketing technology executives reported AI as their top choice as the technology that would have the most impact on their marketing efforts in the next five years.
Blockchain for Advertising holds tremendous promise for marketers but there are issues .
“Significant challenges with scalability, performance and adoption must be overcome before blockchain can alter the status quo,” says McGuire.
“Dozens of companies have launched experimental blockchain platforms for advertising, but none have been able to demonstrate ongoing viability.”
Real-time is working. “Advances in technology are creating an environment characterized by on-demand marketing, not just always-on marketing,” says McGuire.
“Search technologies and social media make it easy to share, compare and rate experiences while they are happening. Ignoring the real-time nature of customer behavior and expectations leads to lost opportunities or, worse, development of full-scale media crises.”
A customer data platform (CDP) is a marketing system unifying a company’s customer data to enable customer modeling, and optimize the timing and targeting of messages and offers.
The hype cycle:
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.