💾 A Whole New Digital World

In Today's Issue

• Digital Transitions in B2B Marketing

• 2:54 of Pure Value (even if you don't like numbers)

• Data Driven Marketing Investments

• Learn AI in 5 mins/day

• Is Social the Solution?

• Classy Cars and Movie Stars

Traditional B2B Strategies Are Becoming Obsolete in a World Brimming with Data

The future of B2B sales and marketing is digital-first after the status quo got wiped off the map by the global pandemic.

That disruption forced sellers and marketers to embrace digital change just as generative artificial intelligence was getting ready for prime time. What started as a reactive approach to a short-term situation has turned into a long-term shift in buyer behaviors, forcing marketers and sellers to rethink everything they thought they knew.

Can AI help marketing teams target the right customer at the right time with the most effective messaging?

The folks over at Wired think so. They argue that marketing leaders need to adapt to stay ahead of the curve – because channel-specific content is the key to success moving forward.

Of course, sweeping changes to marketing will have an impact on b2b sales as well. Gartner went on the record early with their prediction that by 2025, sales leaders would need to build adaptive systems that optimize digital interactions to stay relevant and drive revenue.

If all the predictions, projections, and prognostication have you feeling a little bit overwhelmed, there’s one thing you need to remember. You don’t have to figure it out on your own! That’s what this newsletter is here for. You can count on us to stay on top of the latest developments in marketing and deliver to your inbox every week!

On Wednesday, I hosted a webinar that lasted 2 hours and 54 minutes. It was intense. We laughed. We held back tears. I confessed some of my sins as a business owner. And at the end, we made the offer of the year (and it’s only January). Two academies for the price of one.

The webinar was so entertaining that over 100 people stayed on past the first hour to ask questions and interact with my co-host, Chris Mercer, and me. The Q&A part lasted longer than a soccer match decided by penalty kicks. It was that valuable!

If you’ve ever felt that you’re not a “numbers” person, not “technical enough” to be a data-driven marketer, this webinar will put those concerns to rest once and for all. I assure you it’s worth watching the replay this weekend. Plus, we’re only leaving it up until Monday morning.

Watch the Webinar Replay Here

🗣️ What marketers can expect as Google rolls out conversational AI in search ads

Google is rolling out a previously announced conversational experience powered by its Gemini AI model in Google Ads. The conversational experience enables advertisers to generate relevant ad content from a website URL, including creative and keywords. 

The impact of generative AI on Google and the advertising market is expected to be significant. An estimated 84% of queries on Google Search will be boosted by generative AI, eventually impacting more than $40 billion per year in ad revenue.

💸 Data-driven marketing investments to top $36B in 2024, report finds

“Investment in data-driven channels will flourish in 2024, with spending on data, data services and data infrastructure predicted to top $36 billion — representing a 13.9% increase from last year,” said Bruce Biegel, Winterberry Group’s senior managing partner, in a statement attached to the report. “We believe the market is poised to reclaim much of the growth momentum that’s been lacking for much of the last year.” 

Amid the death of the cookie, marketers will run experiments with alternatives like first-party identity solutions, resulting in a boom for the data-driven marketing segment. The growth rate is more than double what was seen in 2023, a period weighed down by macro pressures.

🏭 How the 4th and 5th Industrial Revolutions Are Reshaping Marketing

As we witness the convergence of the 4th Industrial Revolution (characterized by digitalization and automation) and the emerging 5th (driven by human-centric technologies and environmental sustainability), a transformative wave is set to redefine marketing. What do marketers need to do?

Marketers must embrace AI not just for efficiency but also for its anticipatory capabilities in understanding consumer trends. The advanced analytics and AI capabilities emerging from these revolutions enable marketers to understand consumer behaviors and preferences more deeply. This leads to more personalized marketing strategies, where campaigns and products can be tailored to individual needs and preferences.

Learn AI in 5 min a day.

How do you stay up-to-date with the insane pace of AI? Join The Rundown – the world’s fastest-growing AI newsletter with over 500,000+ readers learning how to become more productive using AI every morning.

1. Our team spends all day researching and talking with industry experts.

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A guide to social commerce and the evolving path to purchase

B2B markets aren’t the only ones grappling with sweeping change. The impact of social media and SMS messaging on consumers’ buying habits has made social commerce one of the hottest topics in 2024.

The numbers support this shift in thinking. Last month, Insider Intelligence released a report showing that US adults spend over 11% of their total daily media time and almost 18% of their digital media time on social platforms. Meaghan Yuen took a closer look at what that means for social commerce.

Since social commerce gives marketers the ability to advertise and sell in the same space, it can streamline the buying journey. But, the rules of the game could take some getting used to for marketeers who’ve gotten used to traditional ecommerce.

Meaghan’s analysis is a great place to start. It’s packed with data on individual platforms, buyer demographics, trends, and challenges. Combine that with Sara Lebow’s close look at text message marketing, and the picture becomes even clearer. Success in the future will depend on your ability to get the right message in front of the right customer at the right time.

• Matthew Macfadyen and Roger Federer Define Class for Mercedes-Benz in Impeccably Crafted Ad - IBB Online

• You can always star in your own movie (Alaska Airlines) - SNL Skit on Twitter

• Can my entire site be re-indexed at my request? - Google Search Console YouTube

• How To Optimize AI Lead Generation with Einar Vollset - MicroConf on YouTube

We have one more open slot for January!

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