🔊 How data governance could be the key to improving customer experience

Plus, the IAB reports U.S. online ad spend has reached $57.9 billion this year. Oct 22, 2019 Good morning marketers, is customer experience a top priority in your marketing? Recent findings from a Dun & Bradstreet report indicate that[nearly 90% of B2B marketers believe their organizations should be as focused on customer experience]( (CX) as their B2C counterparts. And while 38% of B2B marketers believe they outpace their competitors when it comes to creating and delivering customer experiences, nearly a quarter of respondents feels as though they’re lagging behind. So, what’s causing this setback? More than one-third of participants cited the inability to use the data and tools they already have in place as their biggest CX challenge. For the B2B marketers committed to improving CX, it’s clear that establishing processes for data maintenance will play a key role in marketing strategies for the coming year. In other news,[U.S. online ad spending reached $57.9 billion in 2019](, according to the IAB’s Internet Advertising Revenue report for the first half of this year. The record-breaking total marks a 16.9% year-over-year increase from the first half of 2018. While mobile advertising represents a key driver for the majority of digital ad spending, the IAB report also shows growth in most digital format categories. Even as digital growth continues, the[IAB warns that upcoming data regulations (like CCPA) could have a negative impact on businesses]( in the digital marketplace – especially given the resources required to reach and maintain compliance. There’s more to read below, including a Soapbox feature on how brain-computer interfaces could impact the future of consumer behavior. Taylor Peterson,Deputy Editor Soapbox A dystopian outlook in understanding consumer behavior through mind-reading tech There’s a lot going on in the rapidly emerging field of brain-computer interface (BCI) design. Both Elon Musk (via his new venture Neuralink) and Mark Zuckerberg (via Facebook Reality Labs) are making aggressive investments in technology created specifically to allow your mind to control and interact with your devices. While on the surface, this sounds taken from a page of a techno-utopian novel, as marketers, we also need to acknowledge that this vision is fundamentally anchored in one of the most intensely influential and private of all data streams: human thoughts and feelings. We see the profound ethical challenge of balancing the potential societal good of mind-reading technology with its truly dystopian shadow. Both Facebook and Neuralink’s initial focus is on enabling individuals with profound neurological impairments to communicate and connect with other human beings. However, we can’t lose sight of the fact that the endgame here is the commercialization and monetization of highly sensitive “data.” I see the potential for BCI to allow corporations to understand the needs and aspirations of consumers at a depth we can scarcely imagine today. That said, in an industry’s rush to extract value in this, we can’t divorce ourselves from the imperative for reciprocity in the consumer-corporation relationship. – Greg Heist, Chief Innovation Officer at Gongos, Inc. Soapbox is a special feature for marketers in our community to share their observations and opinions about our industry. Read more [Soapbox features]( – and [submit your own](. Compare 14 top marketing automation platforms MarTech Today’s “B2B Marketing Automation Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide” examines the market for marketing automation software. This report includes profiles of 14 leading B2B marketing automation vendors, capabilities comparisons, pricing information, and recommended steps for evaluating and purchasing. [Learn More »]( Facebook Shorts Facebook’s latest efforts to safeguard elections Facebook is doing some crisis control this week after receiving much criticism for how it handles [political content and advertising]( on the platform — allowing candidates to run ads containing false information. The company announced a number of new updates to its Ad Library, launched the Facebook Protect program and made Pages more transparent. None of these updates reverse the company’s decision that, as the [Washington Post]( put it: “Opens a frightening new world for political communication — and for national politics.” Here’s a rundown of the company’s recent moves to keep its platform safe during elections: Updates to Ad Library offer more insight into political ads. Facebook’s Ad Library, the platform that archives all ads run on the platform during the past seven years, will now include a feature that tracks spending by U.S. presidential candidates. Facebook is also adding spend details for candidate campaigns at the state and regional level, and clarification around where the ad ran: Facebook, Instagram, Messenger or Facebook’s Audience Network. Starting next month, Facebook said it will begin testing a new database that allows researchers to download the entire ad library and pull daily snapshots to track day-to-day changes. Facebook Protect: A program to keep political accounts safe. Launched this week, [Facebook Protect]( is designed to secure Facebook and Instagram accounts belonging to candidates, elected officials, federal and state departments and agencies, and party committees in the U.S. Participants must enroll to be part of the program, and once accepted, will receive advanced security protections and monitoring for potential hacking threats. “If we discover an attack against one enrolled individual, we can review and protect other accounts that are enrolled in our program and affiliated with that same campaign,” writes Facebook on the Facebook Protect website, “Additionally, all Page admins of enrolled Pages will be required to go through Page Publishing Authorization to ensure the security of the Page, regardless of whether or not individual Page admins choose to enroll in this program.” To enroll, Page owners must already have received the blue-verified badge. Once a Page has been verified it can enroll via the form listed at the bottom of the [Facebook Protect site](. More transparency for political Pages. Facebook is adding an “[Organizations that Manage This Page](” tab to Pages to clarify what organizations are behind political Pages on the platform. The tab will list the organization’s legal name and verified city, phone number or website. For now, this information will only be included for Pages with large U.S. audiences that have already completed Facebook’s business verification process and any Pages that have been authorized to run ads about social issues, elections or politics in the U.S. “If we find a Page is concealing its ownership in order to mislead people, we will require it to successfully complete the verification process and show more information in order for the Page to stay up,” writes Facebook executives Guy Rosen, Nathaniel Gleicher and Rob Leathern on the company’s Newsroom Blog. See The BIG SMX East Preview! SMX East kicks off November 13-14 in NYC — and it’s our biggest agenda ever. Join us for over 100 search marketing presentations from industry experts and market-defining solutions providers, including two new tracks on agency operations and local search marketing for multi-location brands. Click the link below to access your exclusive preview of everything in store! [Read More »]( What We're Reading We've curated our picks from across the web so you can retire your feed reader [Verizon Media accelerates premium native supply with Apple News and Stocks]( – Verizon Media [Facebook Wants to Know the Apps You Download and Delete]( – Adweek [The 10-years war between marketing and IT is over]( – Chief Marketing Technologist [Is Facebook planning to expose its microtargeting techniques for political ads?]( – Quartz [AI And CRM: Will Customer Management Get Easier?]( – Forbes [Nielsen says it can now measure Amazon Prime Video]( – TechCrunch [New ‘Watch Parties’ feature lets streamers watch Amazon Prime with their viewers on Twitch]( – The Verge [Amazon Found to Be Selling Loads of Expired and Inedible Food]( – Gizmodo [Marketing Land] []( [Want to advertise?]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. [Unsubscribe]( [We respect your privacy.]( This email was sent by: Marketing Land - a Third Door Media, Inc. publication with headquarters at 279 Newtown Tpke. 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