CMO Perspectives (5th Jan, 2016)

It wouldn’t be 2016 and a new year without New Year predictions and resolutions. So too the industry is buzzing with the trends from last year that will affect CMOs and Customer Experience for 2016 and predictions of what you will need to focus on for the coming year. This week we feature Mark Fidelman [Forbes.com] on The 5 Most Undercovered Trends for 2016; Garrett Sloan [Digiday.com] will fill you in on The Next Hot Digital Playgrouds and Brands To Explore In 2016; Kimberley A. White [Forbes.com] turns to CEOs, CMOs, And Executive Recruiters Make Predictions For Marketing Leaders in 2016; Gayle Kesten [CMO.com] shares insights from marketing leaders predicting, Will 2016 Be The Year Of Creativity?; And finally, We have a great infographic from Irfan Ahmad [socialmediatoday] on The State of Content: Rules of Engagement for 2016. Enjoy!

The 5 Most Undercovered Marketing Trends For 2016 [Forbes.com]
This piece is more of a ‘what did we do or not do in 2015,’ and with insights like, "Amazon is by far the largest online shopping destination in the world but has the least marketing support in most organizations," this post by Mark Fidelman on Forbes.com is well worth the read. Asking, "What did marketers ignore last year?" CMOs, bloggers, and influencers highlight marketing trends that didn’t get nearly enough attention heading into 2016.

The next hot digital playgrounds for brands to explore in 2016 [Digiday.com]
Don't be fooled into thinking Instagram, Snapchat and Pinterest are the only sites you need to care about. As Garrett Sloan says, "If you’re a brand looking for Web cred, you can’t go wrong with money, memes and messaging. That’s why marketers will be looking at a few apps and sites that remain under the mainstream radar, places like Imgur, Kik and Venmo." His enlightening piece will fill you in on what these high traffic digital domains can do for you and what other digital trends and brands you will need to know in order to stay ahead in 2016.

CEOs, CMOs, And Executive Recruiters Make Predictions For Marketing Leaders in 2016 [Forbes.com]
Kimberley A. Whitler turns to some of the leading experts, including CEOs, CMOs, and executive recruiter to give you this very concise breakdown of what they think the top predictions for marketing leaders will be heading into 2016. Of course we are going to pick this one to highlight in CMO Perspectives when it features great insights like this one, "Prediction #4: Marketing Leaders who Excel at Meeting Customers on the Go Will Win, From Juliet Daum, Executive Director, Communication & Marketing, University of Virginia Darden School of Business." Check it out.

Marketing Leaders Predict: Will 2016 Be The Year Of Creativity? [CMO.com}
“Creativity and fearlessness in marketing are making a comeback. Combined, they could be a true differentiator in the coming year.” That is why Gayle Kesten, Managing Editor of CMO.com posed the following question to the many experts who helped shape their content, from CMOs and other high-level marketers featured in their exclusive interviews, to contributors of thought-provoking "From the Field" blog posts, and insightful sources for CMO.com's topical feature articles. "How will you bring more creativity and daring to your marketing in 2016?"

The infographic is based on survey conducted by Adobe and Edelman of more than 12,000 online adults, to find out their views on digital content:

• On average, 83% of global users report they multi-screen, using 2+ devices
• 54% listed overall good design, such as appealing layout and visual content, as important
• 90% of consumers say they would switch devices or stop viewing altogether when encountering content which fails to meet their expectations.
   

We hope you enjoyed this week’s CMO Perspectives, be sure to respond in the comments or tweet us @NICE_CX or follow us on LinkedIn.