June 17, 2014

Seventy-Eight Percent of Marketing Executives Expect Digital Technologies to Drive a Transformation of Corporate Marketing Over the Next Five Years, Accenture Survey Finds



To drive this digital transformation, marketing executives must play a bigger role In C-suite collaboration and technology and channel integration


NEW YORK; June 17, 2014 – Seventy-eight percent of marketing executives believe corporate marketing will undergo a fundamental transformation over the next five years due to the use of analytics, digital and mobile technologies, according to a new global survey by Accenture (NYSE:ACN). However, a similar number of respondents (79 percent) believe their company will not be a fully operationalized digital business in the same amount of time.

Accenture Interactive’s new report, CMOs: Time for Digital Transformation or Risk Being Left on the Sidelines, notes that marketing executives are chasing the digital vision as more than one third of the executives surveyed expect digital spending to account for more than 75 percent of their marketing budgets within five years, and 41 percent believe their spending on digital marketing will increase by more than five percent next year alone. This is a key finding from the new report based on survey responses of nearly 600 executives in 11 countries conducted between November 2013 and January 2014.

“As marketing executives are increasingly embracing digital they can be catalysts to help their company take advantage of the wider digital opportunity and protect against broader digital threats,” said Brian Whipple, senior managing director, Accenture Interactive. “Marketing executives are well positioned to assume this role because the opportunities, as well as the potential and real threats, are all about the customer, the brand, the interface with the customer and how the customer is empowered. To be part of their enterprise’s digital transformation, marketing executives should extend their vision of marketing beyond traditional boundaries.”

Only 62 percent of survey respondents, however, believe their company currently provides a good customer experience. To turn this situation around, the report says that companies will have to improve their ability to build long-lasting customer relationships, design and deliver branded customer experiences, and make use of multiple channels, including an increased leverage of digital channels.

The report recommends several broad concepts that businesses should consider as they work toward achieving that goal:

The report also recommends that marketing executives focus more on leading and transforming the marketing role – as digital transforms the enterprise – by creating multi-channel, personalized experiences for each customer across the brand incrementally, continuously reviewing the data and shifting tactics and technologies as needed. As part of the process, the report suggests that marketing executives should do more to integrate marketing channels with real-time analytics, invest in agile technologies and cloud-based services, and reorient the marketing model so that new talent with all the necessary skills in analytics, mobile and digital put digital marketing to its most effective use in boosting the customer experience.

Among the additional survey findings:

To learn more about Accenture Interactive’s new report and explore the findings through an interactive data visualization workbook, please visit: CMOs: Time for Digital Transformation or Risk Being Left on the Sidelines.

Methodology
The 2014 CMO Insights survey is the fourth in a series of studies sponsored by Accenture and aimed at understanding the opinions, challenges and points of views of senior marketing executives from around the world. The results are based on online surveys across 11 countries and 12 industries with 581 senior executives in marketing surveyed. Most companies (91percent) included in the survey have at least US$1 billion in annual revenues. The remaining nine percent have annual revenues of at least US$500 million. The survey was done online in November 2013 through January 2014.

About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 289,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$28.6 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2013. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

About Accenture Interactive
Accenture Interactive helps the world’s leading brands delight their customers and drive superior marketing performance across the full multichannel customer experience. As part of Accenture Digital, Accenture Interactive works with over 23,000 Accenture professionals dedicated to serving marketing and digital clients to offer integrated, industrialized and industry-driven digital transformation and marketing services. Follow @AccentureSocial or visit accenture.com/interactive
Editor Notes

Geography Analysis Global:

Geography Count Percentage
USA 157 27%
Canada 51 8.7%
Australia 51 8.7%
Japan 50 8.6%
China 46 7.9%
Brazil 43 7.4%
France 42 7.2%
UK 36 6.2%
Germany 36 6.2%
Singapore 36 6.2%
Italy 33 5.7%
Total 581 100%


Functional Title Analysis Global:

Functional Title Percentage
Chief Marketing Officer or other senior marketing executive 44%
Other Vice President/Director of Marketing 32%
Head of Brand 11%
Head of Communications 7%
Head of Digital 6%
Total 100%


Business Model Analysis Global:

Type Percentage
Business to Consumer Company 38%
Business to Business Consumer Company 32%
Business to Business Company 30%
Total 100%


Industry Analysis Global:

Industry Count Percentage of Value
Banking 94 16.2%
Consumer Goods & Services 80 13.8%
Life Sciences-Pharma and BioTech 51 8.8%
Retail 51 8.8%
Insurance-Property & Casualty 49 8.4%
Electronics and High Tech 48 8.3%
Telecom 46 7.8%
Insurance-Life 38 6.5%
Media & Entertainment 38 6.5%
Transportation & Travel 37 6.4%
Automotive 34 5.9%
Life Sciences-Medical Products 15 2.6%
Total 581 100%


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Contacts:

Cam Granstra
Accenture
+ 312 693 5992
cameria.l.granstra@accenture.com

Kathryn Zbikowski
Accenture
+ 917 452 0127
kathryn.zbikowski@accenture.com
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