salt digital trends 2014
DESCRIPTION
In this whitepaper Salt has gathered exclusive interviews with thought-leading Managers in the Digital Industry from RBS, comparethemarket.com, Adform, Spindrift, Jellyfish, Onscroll, Conversocial, Fairsail, Clearswift and Candid Consumer. Their comments include opinions on the future of Adtech, Cloud and Infrastructure, FinTech, Marketing and Strategy, Mobile and UX / UI.TRANSCRIPT
> AdTech> Cloud & Infrastructure> FinTech> Marketing & Strategy> Mobile> UX & UI
Digital Trends 2014
> What are some of the digital shifts you’ve seen happening in 2013?Undeniably 2013 has been the year of RTB and programmatic (I am a little biased, of course) but we’ve seen it really begin to mature this past year. There was a rush of brand briefs to the trading desks and, happily, a rush of totally awesome publishers into the fold too in the last part of the year. Pleasingly, as a consumer and advertising person, responsive page design has also had great take-up.
> What trends do you see developing in digital?For publishers I hope dynamic ad serving tech will be the order of the day, allowing programmatic to flourish as a buying methodology. Although it was the DR advertisers who really were the first to exploit RTB, impression level buying powered by data is so right for brand advertisers too but it needs the inventory to support brand campaigns. Dynamic serving, along with private market places, really helps advertisers reach audiences in premium placements, so the buy side are happy and publishers gain the potential for better yields.
I’d venture the cookie will suffer further blows and buy-side tech will help us see users across all screens, devices and media more throughout 2014.
> What are some of the biggest mistakes that companies in digital are currently making?Buying blind inventory.Serving auto play ads in unsuitable environments.Turning a blind eye to impression fraud.Seeing different screens as separate channels. Buying inventory as cheap as possible and making campaigns work by volume alone and commoditising digital in the process. Seeing programmatic as a channel, where it should be a whole ecosystem for digital media execution.
James BournerHead of Display & RTBJellyfish
> What are some of the digital shifts you’ve seen happening in 2013?RTB and programmatic buying have definitely been on the main agenda in 2013. In previous years there was lots of talk about it and little doing, but last year these became a reality in advertising, providing more efficiency and a better return on campaigns than traditional methods of buying. Especially in countries such as Denmark, the US, France and Italy we are seeing a huge rise in programmatic buying and RTB and these are becoming crucial in media planning as the use of multiple screens also rises. > What trends do you see developing in digital?Certainly a shift in terms of more connected screens, including an interesting shift in outdoor advertising. Outdoor advertising is a channel that is becoming much more dynamic, and we’re moving from buying outdoor upfront to buying based on large-scale events, e.g. sports and live music events.
Another trend I’m seeing is the rise of data exchange through TV set-top boxes. Soon we’ll be moving away from measuring a limited group of families to more realistic TV and media consumption through targeting based up on realtime TV habits. > What are some of the biggest mistakes that companies in digital are currently making?Not hiring the right people, setting the right goals or being prepared enough to handle the market in its current dyanmic form. With so many changes in the market, too few people in marketing and digital in general have the necessary skills to be prepared for the digital future. The skillsets that are needed are simply not realised. Marketers and digital professionals in general must be more ready to adapt to the online future and be more all-rounded in their skillsets.
Martin LarsenChief Marketing OfficerAdform
Digital Trends 201401
Lara SheldrakeAdTechPermanent [email protected]
Are you an AdTech professional? What if we could get you your next step up?Digital is rapidly changing and you’re in high demand. Thinking of your next challenge?
We’re looking for experience in:> DART (DFP / DFA)> Optimisation (CPA / CPM / CPC)> RTB / Programmatic trading> Video / VOD / VPAID> Mobile
Have any of these skills? We’re keen to hear from you. Get in touch:
> What are some of the digital shifts you’ve seen happening in 2013?More and more budgets being bought on a programmatic basis. Publishers and sales houses struggling to deal with the transition, specifically on how to incentive their sales staff to sell and be rewarded by programatic revenue. We also started to see a real shift into the quality of inventory that was being made available and bought programatically. The quality of the inventory improved in line with the quantity being made available..
> What trends do you see developing in digital?The most important transition in 2014 for me is viewable impressions - it will be the year that trading on this proposed new standard really begins. Certain advertisers began to make noises on this in 2013, but 2014 will be the year that trading occurs on this new metric. According to our studies approx 50% of inventory served is never seen. Of course if ads are not seen then they do not have a chance to make an impact and as such are wasted, so publishers and advertisers who can deal with this inevitable transition quickly will reap the rewards.
In addition I think you’ll see a real growth in programmatic premium, which is a natural fit for premium publisher who are currently not being serviced by exiting RTB solutions.
> What are some of the biggest mistakes that companies in digital are currently making?As with every year in the digital ad landscape, things are changing at such an alarming rate so the most important thing a company can do is invest in their staff and hire the right people. A good candidate has an up to date understanding of the industry, the key players and the mechanisms behind online display advertising. As the industry trades more on a programmatic basis anyone with experience and skills in these areas will be in hot demand.
Babac Vafaey Co-FounderOnscroll
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> What are some of the digital shifts you’ve seen happening in 2013? I’ve been seeing an increasing migration from permanent to contracting in favour of higher valued skills. With the ease of mobility in the markets (e.g. Android and DevOps), it’s becoming harder to keep hiring costs reasonable. In today’s market it is harder to find those coveted all-round developers, rather than developers for a specific technology (e.g. .NET, PHP frameworks, etc.).
> What trends do you see developing in digital? More and more interest in the Build It Once, Deploy Everywhere in Mobile. There are new technologies out there that are becoming more effective in the issues across mobile platforms, like Unify. Automated QA is still somewhat lacking - but Cucumber and Calabash are quite good.
> What are some of the biggest mistakes that companies in digital are currently making? Overhiring in offshore situations - just because costs of developers are lower offshore, does not increase throughput with more devs. Poor hiring processes not offering better filters - greatest problem is in the hiring practice and the lack of structured process in the hiring interviews.
Sanford DickertCTO / VP Engineering
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Sophie HendleyResponsive & Native DevelopmentPermanent [email protected]
Sarah KeelingNative DevelopmentContract [email protected]
Martin KettlewellResponsive DevelopmentContract [email protected]
Digital Trends 201403
> What are some of the digital shifts you’ve seen happening in 2013 in your field? A number of banks and other FSPs have launched new and innovative services which have been received well by end-users, in particular mobile services. However there are significant caps between different organisations how wide digital/mobile service portfolio they have. Many services are still isolated instead of collected under one interface and in more practical terms users need to log-in to different applications (by using different account details), leading to poor user experience. The integration work has started in many organisations and eventually customers will be greeted by easily accessible mobile services.
> What trends do you see developing in digital? I believe that usage of the mobile payments and banking will have the greatest growth over the next years. Based on the Payments Council (UK Payment Markets 2013) the growth of mobile payment transactions will more than fourfold in next 5-6 years. Simultaneously it is estimated that in 2017 there will be 1 billion people using mobile banking services.
However the actual technologies remain open and there is plenty of space for innovation. As an example there have been big expectations on NFC payments for several years but it has never reached acceptance from the end-users. Location, biometric and behaviour based authentication methods will add innovative ways to improve the customer experience e.g. a new feature, powered by Bluetooth called the “Beacon” has received significant attention in payments arena and will move the user experience from the technology to the actual payment experience. The key is to keep the focus on the customer experience instead of the technology.
> What are some of the biggest mistakes that companies in digital are currently making? Waiting. When new value adding services are launched to the market, the people who choose to use the new service and are happy with it have already chosen their provider. A matching service a few months later will not bring back customers who already have chosen their provider.
Olli SydänlammiHead of Mobile Delivery (CBD)Royal Bank of Scotland
In Financial Technology Services? You’ll want to take a look at our jobs.Looking to use your FinTech experience for a new role this year?
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Russell AinsworthFinTechPermanent [email protected]
Rachel BushFinTechContract [email protected]
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> What are some of the digital shifts you’ve seen happening in 2013?Inevitably, with ever-rising mobile adoption, introduction of 4G and estimates of over 70% penetration of Smartphones by 2017, businesses are shifting their focus to optimising their mobile channels. Understanding the complex path thats customers take in engagement, consideration and purchase cycles, and the role that mobile plays in home, on the go and in store, has been order of the day. Significant investment is being made in skills, systems, data, applications and service design to maximise the potential that current technology now provides to marketers.
> What trends do you see developing in digital?Optimising for the mobile consumer is moving beyond adopting responsive design, to a focus on optimising mobile products and services to simplify and enhance the customer experience. The transformation of search, with increased focus on the use of voice in search, is perhaps the most challenging trend but will force innovation in the development of optimised, high quality, multi-device content. SEO, content and social teams will need to work closer together in a unified strategy that places a monetary value on content. And finally, data will continue to dominate, but with a greater focus on optimising the use of actionable, realtime data in marketing and service provision. > What are some of the biggest mistakes that companies in digital are currently making?Innovation requires organisations to invest in areas that might not reap immediate shareholder value, but can deliver early insights and learnings that inform business strategy. The mistake is to think this innovation can be driven by a single individual (Head of Innovation is job title we increasingly see) or team. It has to be sponsored by the Board, and supported by business wide change programmes in all key areas – marketing, sales, logistics, operations, customer service, stores, technology, etc. Getting this right is going to be critically important to the future success of organisations, and will inevitably demand a demographic shift in the Boardroom to ensure leadership have the right skills to compete in a digital landscape where the consumer is increasingly controlling the relationship.
Deborah KeayDirector & Founder Candid Consumer
Mitchell GreenEcommerce / Strategy & ConsultingPermanent [email protected]
Are you in Marketing and Commerce?We’ve got an exciting opportunity for you.Looking around for a new role in consulting, marketing or commerce?
We’re looking for experience in:> Digital Marketing> Strategy & Consulting> eCommerce> mCommerce
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Emma DigbyTravel & Leisure MarketingPermanent [email protected]
Atif KhanStrategy & ConsultingPermanent [email protected]
Digital Trends 201405
> What are some of the digital shifts you’ve seen happening in 2013?Ownership of social media moving from marketing/communications to the contact centre. > What trends do you see developing in digital?The customer service team is going to OWN social media in 2014/2015.
72% of consumers expect brands to respond to a complaint on Twitter within an hour and 31% of all Tweets directed at brands require a response. The secret to meeting this demand is having a dedicated team of agents managing social channels within the contact centre who are trained in tone of voice to ensure consistency with outbound marketing messages. > What are some of the biggest mistakes that companies in digital are currently making?Not meeting consumer expectations on social media. Just being on social is no longer enough; consumers see social media as a key part of the customer journey. Brands need to be highly engaged with their communities - not just pushing out marketing messages, but providing in-channel resolution to customer service issues and proactively engaging with consumers to surprise and delight them. This will, in turn, reduce negative sentiment, customer attrition and ultimately increase sales.
Leslie McArdleHead of Marketing EMEA Conversocial
Gemma O’NeillDigital Marketing & AnalyticsContract [email protected]
LIzzie HardingMarketingPermanent [email protected]
Work in Marketing and Communications? We’ll help you find your next challenge.Love digital and ready to take your skillset to the next level?
We’re looking for experience in:> SEO/PCC> Social Media> CRM & Loyalty Marketing> PR & Media Relations> CRM/Email Marketing
Something for you? Get in touch:
Liam WaiteCRM & Loyalty Marketing Permanent [email protected]
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> What are some of the digital shifts you’ve seen happening in 2013?Perhaps one of the biggest shifts was caused by Snowden and the latest set of security revelations. It has raised the understanding and prioritisation of protecting information. Especially that which is critical to the organization. While the adoption of cloud based collaboration continues to grow the introduction of additional security technology to ensure only the ‘right’ information is shared has increased. Technologies such as Adaptive Redaction are making their way into the marketplace to help with this, coupled with increased use of encryption, whether it is on communication flow or ‘data at rest’.
> What trends do you see developing in digital?There is an increased need for secure collaboration, be it using cloud based services or more traditional email means. From regulatory and legislative perspectives the need to better understand how critical information is shared will increase and drive Information Governance (IG) projects. IG covers just about everything to do with information, from the people and processes who handle it, to the products and security to monitor and manage it. Solutions for different aspects of IG will come to market, helping organizations both understand their critical information as well as protect it.
> What are some of the biggest mistakes that companies in digital are currently making?Abdication of (security) responsibility. There is an assumption that the cloud is secure – and it can be, but by default it isn’t. The right questions need to be asked to ensure that the risks are mitigated. Furthermore, there is an assumption that all employees will ‘do the right thing’ with the information they have access to. Unfortunately, this is not the case, as Snowden and Manning proved. However, it is not just the malicious insider that can become the enemy within, it is also inadvertent actions which causes organizational risk and so needs to be protected against.
Guy BunkerCTO - SVP ProductClearswift
> What are some of the digital shifts you’ve seen happening in 2013?A huge increase in interest and spending in cloud solutions in the HR/HCM space. Recent analysis from Financial Firms shows that HCM is growing twice as quickly as other areas of SaaS such as CRM and Financial/ERP, for example research from Arma partners values HCM SaaS companies at 8x revenue vs 4x revenue for other SaaS areas. The minority of companies have made the switch to cloud-based HR solutions, most are starting to look at it. Consequently many technology companies in this area are growing at 100% or more. > What trends do you see developing in digital?A growing economy and increased optimism in businesses will continue the investment and focus in areas that enable and grow talent management and people assets in the business. Historically I have seen this trend before in the late ‘90s and 2004-2007 (it’s good news for recruitment firms too!). Conversely when economic growth ends, spending can stop very quickly. Also organisations are increasingly focussed on solutions that work all over the world for fast-moving employees, this is driving cloud and mobile platforms. > What are some of the biggest mistakes that companies in digital are currently making?Simply moving what happens today to a new platform, even where those processes are inconsistent and/or manually intensive. There is an opportunity to rethink, or, if I can use an old word, ‘re-engineer’ business processes as well as the technology. There are real security implications to the use of spreadsheets or other documents that can be emailed/exported, cloud solutions secure exports and restrict usage to authorised individuals.
Adam HaleExecutive ChairmanFairsail
Digital Trends 201407
> What are some of the digital shifts you’ve seen happening in 2013?Much more focus on leveraging the cloud to allow us to get stable, scalable software, while increasing our speed to market. The ability to spin up new environments in minutes, and deploy code to the public means getting value for the business faster.
> What trends do you see developing in digital?Teams are moving into much more cross functional structures. Not only are the functions within IT blurring, but the divides in effective businesses between commercial and IT are rapidly fading. This challenges many traditional approaches, such as line manage / reporting structures, the roles of the people in the team and communicating more effectively through conversations rather than documentation.
> What are some of the biggest mistakes that companies in digital are currently making?Real customer feedback is becoming easier and faster to get, yet we seem to be restricting ourselves to traditional, less predictable and longer methods of investigating the problem space. The companies come out on top are those who learn to fail very fast, testing a multitude of ideas rapidly so that the hidden gems are quickly discovered through real interactions with real customers.
Dan BassSenior Manager - Software Engineeringcomparethemarket.com
Mauro CasaliDevOpsPermanent [email protected]
Are you in Infrastructure, Tech Security, or Cloud-based solutions? We’ll help you find your next challenge in a new role.We’re looking for experience in:
> Technology / Infrastructure / Cloud> Engineering / Products> Systems & Services
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Sean KellyJava Permanent [email protected]
Andy RossSQL Permanent [email protected]
08
> What are some of the digital shifts you’ve seen happening in 2013?Companies changing their Mobile strategy from Mobile Web / App Development to Responsive Design.
> What trends do you see developing in digital?More finesse in conversion optimisation, combining customer experience management tools, analytics and mvt to achieve results.
Search relevancy over page ranking - SEO as we know it will become less important. Personalisation and more structured data will drive Google results.
> What are some of the biggest mistakes that companies in digital are currently making?Underestimating the skill and effort it takes to truly optimise your digital commerce channel. Small expert teams can get much greater results then large medium skilled ones.
Responsive design is complex to design and even harder to implement, companies did not know what they were getting into when changing strategy.
Michel TjoengClient Services DirectorSpindrift
Joe HarveyUX / UIPermanent [email protected]
Passionate about Design? We’re on the lookout for amazing Creative talent.Love digital and ready to take your skillset to the next level? We’ve got just the job for you.
We’re looking for experience in:> High level design > Conceptual thinking> Responsive design> UX / UI / IA > HCI degree
Want to hear how we can help? Get in touch:
Hugo De Burgh MoundUX / UIContract [email protected]
Darren RappCreative / Design - Web & PrintPermanent [email protected]
Digital Trends 201409
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Lara SheldrakeAdvertising Technology SpecialistPermanent [email protected]
Richard ArgentResearch ConsultantPermanent [email protected]
Adam DineenAdvertising Sales SpecialistPermanent [email protected]
Digital Trends 2014
Advertising
Emma DigbyTravel & Leisure MarketingPermanent [email protected]
Gemma O’NeillDigital Marketing & AnalyticsContract [email protected]
David Pratley-McGillMarketing & CreativeContract [email protected]
Liam WaiteCRM & LoyaltyPermanent [email protected]
Lizzie HardingMarketingPermanent [email protected]
Mitchell GreenEcommerce / Strategy & ConsultingPermanent [email protected]
Tom GreenBusiness Transformation & ChangeContract [email protected]
Atif KhanStrategy & ConsultingPermanent [email protected]
Consulting
Simon KeatesMultichannel CommercialPermanent [email protected]
Darren WilsonEcommerceContract [email protected]
Paul LeeEcommerce & RetailPermanent [email protected]
Alex ElliottMcommercePermanent [email protected]
MarketingDavid Pratley-McGillMarketing & CreativeContract [email protected]
Hugo De Burgh MoundUX / UIContract [email protected]
Darren RappCreative / Design - Web & PrintPermanent [email protected]
Creative
Joe HarveyUX / UIPermanent [email protected]
Nick GillCreative / Design - Web & PrintPermanent [email protected]
EcommerceTaeman KayaRetail & FashionPermanent [email protected]
Emma LowmanSoftware VendorsPermanent [email protected]
Duncan DoakSenior SalesPermanent [email protected]
Sales
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Serrol OsmanTechPermanent [email protected]
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Gareth ArnisonSoftware VendorsPermanent [email protected]
Fabio CalventeAgile ProjectsPermanent [email protected]
Nick MorrisonFinTechContract [email protected]
Andy RossSQL ServerPermanent [email protected]
Technical
Graeme CraigSAP / ERP & Enterprise ArchitecturePermanent [email protected]
Fidel ShellyDisruptive TechnologiesPermanent [email protected]
Joe BurrdigeData AnalyticsPermanent [email protected]
Jasper PatersonPythonPermanent [email protected]
Rachel BushFinTechContract [email protected]
Martin KettlewellResponsive DevelopmentContract [email protected]
Russell AinsworthFinTechPermanent [email protected]
Sarah KeelingNative DevelopmentContract [email protected]
Micky SolomonsSAPContract [email protected]
Michael LeighBusiness IntelligenceContract [email protected]
Mauro CasaliDevOpsPermanent [email protected]
Sean KellyJava Permanent [email protected]
Sophie HendleyResponsive & Native DevelopmentPermanent [email protected]
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