Experts debate the future of Digital Marketing at the Business School

Digital marketers who can embrace new technology are most likely to succeed in their careers, said experts gathered at the Business School last week.

Imperial students and students from business schools from across London had gathered to hear expert speakers from Google, Salesforce, Adobe and The Economist on the future of digital marketing.

Organised by a group of MSc Strategic Marketing students, the Digital Marketing Festival provided attendees with the chance to hear from a host of industry experts during two panel discussions, as well as ask any questions they may have about the industry.

CEO of Targetinternet.com, Daniel Rowles, moderated the first discussion, which saw panellists unanimously agree that with the proliferation of technology, those willing to succeed in the digital marketing industry must be willing to adapt and must continuously learn. David Keene, Sales Productivity, Growth Hacking and Market Strategy at Google Apps for Work, urged attendees to “be a polymath! A diverse skillset is the key to staying ahead in your digital career”.

When it came to discussing how businesses can compete in the digital world Daniel Walsh, Head of Marketing at BBC Radio 1, revealed: “We can’t just be a radio station anymore, but we can be a station of amazing content”. Using BBC Radio 1 as an example, Daniel explained how listeners are increasingly turning to mobile apps to interact with BBC Radio 1 content. Given this change in the consumer journey, Daniel argued that he and his team are required to re-think the ways in which they produce content, including producing more videos that are optimised for viewing on mobiles and tablets.

“Content creators are always considering where things are going to live,” added David Pugh-Jones, Commercial & Brand Strategy Director at The Smalls and former Director of Brand Strategy at BuzzFeed. He argued that as the dynamics of consumers change, testing and analysing should be an integral part of content creation and campaigns. Understanding the data from campaigns and learning from the results is the premise of this test and learn method. Content generators should be bold and innovative if they want to have a greater presence in the digital world, warned the panel.

Mark Beard, Senior Vice President, Digital Media and Content Strategy at The Economist, highlighted that marketers must always consider “who is the audience and what is the business problem you are trying to solve”. Asking this question when creating any piece of content is paramount to ensuring it has purpose for your audience in order for it to be successful.

At the end of the panel discussions, speakers were asked for their predictions on what the future holds for the digital marketing industry. David Keene warned that social media is dying and predicted that we will see the death of social media and apps. Mark Greenaway, Digital Media Sales Director at Adobe, presented a converse argument, saying: “The future is Mobile First! Every disruptive business play is mobile first.”

“It was great to receive an insight into the marketing industry from such experienced marketers,” said Edina Hamzic-Maguire, senior programme Manager of MSc Strategic Marketing. “It was a great achievement that our student body were able to leverage their professional and alumni connections to put together this event.”