The main insight from Google Next was that IT and marketing still have very different functions, and the bridge needs to be navigated. For a typical brand, the organizations are separate and have different skill sets and different priorities. However – in 2024 and going forward, it has never been more critical for the two to find common ground.
AI
As AI continues to evolve (both predictive AI and generative AI), it is important for brands to understand the value of AI to directly influence their KPIs, grow their revenue, and make their operations and marketing spend more efficient.
Cloud-Powered Marketing
The opportunity to differentiate on Cloud-based AdTech for marketing is massive right now.
The spectrum of cloud for marketing maturity is wide. Some brands are using Cloud instances, CDPs, BigQuery, and digital infrastructure to test predictive AI tactics today. Others are not. Some own their data, and some don’t.
The quote of the week that embodies this thinking is: “If you don’t have a data strategy, you can’t have an AI strategy.” AI needs input. And the input, ideally, will include the best data possible, as your results will be as good as the data you put in. This then embodies the relationship between the brand and the consumer.
There are many ways to design the strategy and infrastructure to make that happen. Brands need to be intentional about selecting vendors and service partners to help. And it needs to start now. Start now, because you’re never going to finish!
Partner Ecosystem
The partner ecosystem is evolving. There aren’t many true Cloud for Marketing partners. The big SIs that are great at Cloud don’t do marketing use cases much whereas the big Agencies don’t do IT much. And here’s the thing: these facts won’t change much going forward. Steering a battleship with a toothpick is hard to do, and there isn’t much incentive to try and grow tiny practices within a giant revenue base.
So new partners are springing up that can tie together all the pieces that are needed to do marketing in this new AI era. Connecting cloud, CDP, martech, adtech, measurement, and back again.
Brands will do well to consider investing intentionally in this IT/Marketing gap, for the sake of using AI better and better as it evolves.
Get in touch with our experts to learn more about our Google Cloud services and AI at Making Science!
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