S5 | 394: Agile marketing and walled gardens with Oli Marlow Thomas, Chief Innovation Officer, Smartly.io

Digital StrategyTechnologyConversational AI

Jul 17

About the Episode

Marketers and advertisers for the world’s leading brands need to understand and adapt to a rapidly changing landscape, on a continual basis. Whether it is the consumer behavior known as “channel switching” between devices, platforms, etc. or the continued behavior of scrolling through numerous walled gardens such as TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat, the marketing and advertising technology industry grows increasingly fragmented.

Today we’re going to talk about “The Agile of the Omnibrand” and what it means for both brands and the marketers behind them, as well as their customers.

To help me discuss this topic, I’d like to welcome Oli Marlow Thomas, Chief Innovation Officer at Smartly.io.

About Oli Marlow-Thomas

Oli Marlow-Thomas is the Chief Innovation Officer at Smartly.io. Previously the Founder and CEO of Ad-Lib.io (acquired by Smartly.io in Q1 2022), Marlow-Thomas brings his industry expertise and vision into his role as CIO to identify, harness and bring to fruition new ideas that will continue to move Smartly.io forward in offering customers the best in multi-platform strategy with game-changing creative tools.

Resources

https://www.smartly.io website

The Agile Brand podcast website: https://www.gregkihlstrom.com/theagilebrandpodcast

Get the latest news and updates on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-brand/

For consulting on marketing technology, customer experience, and more visit GK5A: https://www.gk5a.com The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems.Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnow

The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company

Synopsis

In the episode, the speaker emphasizes the significance of measurement in the marketing toolkit and highlights the upcoming changes in measurement practices. They discuss the impact of the cookie changes on the industry and suggest that marketers will need to adapt to these changes and find new ways to measure their success. The speaker also mentions the reliance on walled gardens for rich data sets but cautions marketers about solely relying on these data sets for tracking conversions, as access to insights and decisions behind those conversions may be limited. Overall, the episode underscores the importance of measurement in marketing and the need for marketers to be prepared for the upcoming changes.

According to the episode, marketers are becoming cautious about relying on data sets from walled gardens to track conversions. Walled gardens refer to platforms like social media sites or search engines that have their own closed ecosystems and control access to user data. While these platforms house valuable data sets for tracking conversions and optimizing campaigns, marketers are concerned about the future availability of these data sets and the insights and decisions behind conversions due to industry changes, such as the upcoming cookie changes.

The episode suggests that as the industry undergoes significant changes, marketers may face challenges in accessing the data sets within walled gardens. This lack of access can hinder marketers' ability to track conversions and understand the factors contributing to them. Without insights and decisions behind conversions, marketers may struggle to effectively optimize their campaigns.

To address this concern, the episode mentions that some customers are seeking the ability to implement their own conversion capabilities and attribution infrastructure within platforms like Smartly. This allows them to have their own reliable source of truth and optimize campaign performance based on their own metrics, rather than relying solely on third-party measurement players or partners.

In summary, marketers are becoming cautious about relying on data sets from walled gardens to track conversions due to the changing industry landscape. They are concerned about losing access to insights and decisions behind conversions, which can impact their ability to optimize campaigns effectively. Some marketers are seeking solutions that allow them to implement their own conversion capabilities to ensure they have a reliable source of truth for measuring campaign performance.

In the episode, the host emphasizes the importance of agility in marketing and customer experience to succeed in a rapidly changing landscape. He highlights the need for marketers and advertisers of leading brands to understand and adapt to constantly evolving consumer behavior and the fragmented marketing and advertising technology industry.

The host specifically highlights the consumer behavior known as channel switching, where consumers use multiple devices and platforms to interact with brands and consume content. This behavior underscores the need for marketers to be agile and adapt their strategies to reach consumers across various channels.

Additionally, the host mentions the behavior of scrolling through various walled gardens such as TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat. Walled gardens refer to platforms that have their own closed ecosystems and do not easily share data with other platforms. This further adds to the complexity and fragmentation of the marketing and advertising technology industry.

To navigate this rapidly changing landscape, the host suggests adopting an agile approach. This involves the ability to quickly and effectively respond to changes in consumer behavior and the industry. It requires marketers to constantly analyze and adapt their strategies and technologies to stay ahead.

The episode also features a guest, Ali Marlo-Thomas, Chief Innovation Officer at Smartly.io, who discusses the Agile of the Omnibrand and its implications for brands and marketers. The concept of the Omnibrand refers to the need for brands to have a consistent and cohesive presence across all channels and touchpoints. Being agile in this context means being able to adapt the brand's messaging and strategy to different platforms and channels while maintaining a consistent brand identity.

Overall, the episode emphasizes the importance of agility in marketing and customer experience to succeed in a rapidly changing landscape. This requires understanding and adapting to evolving consumer behavior and the fragmented marketing and advertising technology industry. Adopting an agile approach allows marketers to effectively navigate these challenges and stay ahead in the competitive market.