“For every story of digital advancement, there come stories of digital casualties.” Ain’t that the truth. Barely a week goes by without a brand (usually in the US) making some faux pas in the digital space with a poorly thought out, badly executed digital campaign element.
The line is from the latest Adobe APAC Digital Directions Report, in partnership with the CMO Council, looking at the strategies, mandates and challenges of the APAC market, which – at 56 pages – is a long but fascinating look
into the digital space. An encouraging line from the Adobe report is that Australia is pulling out ahead of others in the region – way ahead. So used are we to hearing the old line dragged out that Australia is behind the curve, not as on to things as
the UK or the US, that it’s become the norm. But it’s not so. Not even close, it seems.
The report points out how Australia is pulling out ahead of the rest of the region across the four main pillars it explores; mindset, marketing readiness, organisational alignment and skills. And we’re way out in front – not just
edging ahead.
But. And there’s always a but. For all that, one of the things I found most telling about the report – and what it says about how CMOs and marketers are both viewing and executing in digital – is that it’s still not as strategic as it should be.
Digital is still a tactical channel and not a business driver.
While marketers have confidence and are seeing results using digital for more cost-effective consumer acquisitions – or improved customer experience, and even boosting loyalty – that confidence derails somewhat around using digital to grow sales, improve margins, or provide insights and knowledge to include business decisions.
The report plots the correlation between marketers and companies that are trying digital activity and investment to business performance and – shock horror – those that do see better results than those that don’t and are also more likely to get their budgets increased.
Again, though, Australia is ahead of the rest of the region in taking a strategic approach, but not all the way there.
One person that can’t be said about, at least, is Clive Dickens, Seven West Media’s chief digital officer. Dickens is a digital zealot and sees business through the lens of digital, rather than as a way to execute business.
His enthusiasm is infectious as you’ll find out at next week’s Media Summit where Dickens joins a stellar cast of industry bigwigs to debate the killer issues facing the industry. Don’t miss it.