A new report commissioned by the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council and GfK, examines the high-velocity data marketing maturity curve, including critical capabilities today, plans for the next 12 months, and gaps between top performers (i.e., marketing leaders who are most confident in their data/analytics/insights systems to win and retain customers) and bottom performers.

Key findings for Africa-Middle East from the survey of over 300 marketing leaders globally uncover

• Only 2 in 5 marketers are very confident in their data systems to win and retain customers
• What’s holding them back? Systems that connect data silos; talent to move from data collection to action; complex digital footprint
• While 96% of marketers say direct access to customer data is critical to gaining a competitive advantage —> Only 3% of marketers say customer data is highly accessible
• Top barriers to data access: insufficient technology; data control lies elsewhere; lack of data process
• Once they have the data, gathering actionable insights is slow —> Only 1 in 4 marketers say they can move quickly from data gathering to actionable insights

According to Gonzalo Garcia Villanueva, CMO of GfK, “The CMOs need to take on the mantle of a purpose-driven evangelist — using data to help meet the desires of consumers who insist that their brands need to be as human as they are. By bringing the art of intuition and creativity to the science of data — at the speed of today’s decision-making — CMOs can and should become catalysts for healthier, more compassionate brands that deliver sustainable growth.”

Among top performers, 30% use AI pervasively in multiple systems. In some cases, AI leads the way in digital transformation. Only 4% of bottom performers say the same thing. This clearly shows that pervasive AI adoption is a sign of high-velocity data marketing maturity.

“CMOs around the world has entered a new era of high-velocity data marketing,” said Donovan Neale-May, Executive Director of the CMO Council. “Many need to get better at extracting relevant data signals across channels, generating actionable insights, making insights available in real-time, and going deeper and more granular with customer insights.”

Marketers in the Middle East and Africa are more mature than their regional counterparts in their ability to extract relevant data signals across channels — yet given the plethora of new digital channels it remains their top priority to continue to improve over the next year. While they are working on achieving real-time insights, they feel it is still out of reach in the near future. The same goes for predictive analytics, though they are making strides in this arena. Data governance, as in Europe, remains a struggle, particularly as the growth in digital and mobile has brought a surge of new customers — and more data — to the table.

Methodology

The report is based on a survey of over 300 marketing leaders globally. Additionally, in-depth interviews with executives at Capital Group, Vodafone, Hitachi, Al Safi Danone, Kyndryl, Fisher Funds, Nesnah Ventures, NCCI, Blue Buffalo, and Dolmen Group were conducted.