The Winterberry Group's Jonathan Margulies details the current state, key trends and critical strategies required to be successful in today’s complex, cross-channel marketing environment.

1. Taking Cues from the Customer:
“Omnichannel” and the Drive for Audience Engagement
Jonathan C. Margulies
Managing Director
October 10, 2013

2. About Winterberry Group
• Corporate Strategy
• Marketing System Engineering
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3. Why?: The Origins of “Omnichannel”
What?: Defining a New Approach to
Customer Engagement
How?: Building a Roadmap for Enterprise
Success

4. In 1972, Young & Rubicam Introduced
“The Whole Egg”
“I rarely saw how
this synergistic
methodology
created
something bigger
than any of its
unilateral parts”
—Peter
Himler, Forbes.com (2012)

5. Over Time, Other Movements Would
Emerge, Such as “Integrated
Communications”…
“Little has been
said, however, abo
ut its theoretical
robustness... It’s a
management
fashion”
—Joep Cornelissen and
Andrew Lock,
Journal of Advertising
Research (2000)

6. … And, Perhaps Most
Prominently, “Multichannel Marketing”
“The greatest
distinction I’ve
found is that
which lies
between the
various degrees
of bull$&!@ that
cover this entire
topic”
—Wiljo
Krechting, Ecompunk.com
(2013)

7. But Three Evolving Dynamics Have Changed
Marketer Thinking
The fragmentation of media—making
it harder for marketers to engage
valuable audiences
The growth of “customer-centric” marketing—
driven by consumers who manage
information, consideration and purchasing on
their own terms
The challenge of retrofitting legacy
marketing infrastructures to
manage interactions driven by data
and technology (rather than by
media channel)

8. Not Surprisingly, Interest in New Approaches
is Surging
83% of panelists said their
company would likely invest in
“omnichannel” approaches in
the near future
92% agree there is “real value”
to be gained from pursuing an
omnichannel approach to
customer engagement

9. Why?: The Origins of “Omnichannel”
What?: Defining a New Approach to
Customer Engagement
How?: Building a Roadmap for Enterprise
Success

10. “Omnichannel” Originated in The Retail
World—To Address a Range of Challenges
Customer
Experience
Merchandising
Management
P&L
Optimization

11. At Its Core, “Omnichannel” is a Strategy to
Empower Mutual Value

12. But What Really Makes It Different?
Driven by
enterprise
business
objectives—not
tactical marketing
requirements
Made possible
only by recent
developments in
data, technology
and media
Aimed at driving
informed
customer
engagement, not
“lift,” “response,”
“awareness” or
even “ROI”

13. More Than Anything Else, It’s About Driving
Profitable Interactions with the Brand
Which of the following do you believe are the likely benefits of
adopting an “omnichannel” customer engagement strategy?
Heightened
Brand
Awareness
Improved
Customer
Response Rates
Revenue Growth
70%
75%
80%
85%
Percentage of panelists who agree
90%
95%

14. But It’s Not Just About Media—It’s About
Transforming Infrastructure
Holistic Marketing
The “New 4Ps”
Process
of Marketing Operations
Management
Platforms
Processes
Partners
Recruit, retain and
appropriately
compensate the
right talent
Technologies and
tools that
support
customer
insight, decisioni
ng and execution
Workflows
designed to
promote the
optimal
customer
dialogue
The network of
third parties
entrusted to
support
capacity, innovati
on and
continuous
improvement
Effective People
Management
People

15. Why?: The Origins of “Omnichannel”
What?: Defining a New Approach to
Customer Engagement
How?: Building a Roadmap for Enterprise
Success

16. Customer Analytics and Multiplatform
Attribution
Why?
Understanding the
customer is
fundamental to the
development of
products, brand
messages and offers
that promote a
meaningful dialogue
Create a unified data structure leveraging multiple
inputs—online and offline, CRM and prospect, PII
and anonymous—to fuel a robust customer view
Maintain an ongoing data sourcing capability
Deploy best-in-class integration, visualization and
segmentation tools (such as a DMP)
Develop and/or source multiplatform attribution
models and supporting technologies

17. Rich Content—Optimized for Context and
Strategic Intent
Why?
Engagement begins
with user experiences
that drive real value. As
consumers “take
control of the
dialogue,” marketers
must expand the
breadth, quality and
relevance of their
targeted content
Leverage content repositories, libraries and
personalization engines geared to orchestrate the
dynamic management and sharing of digital
resources
Automate the execution of targeted content
wherever possible—being mindful that the
demand to create variable content that’s credible
at an individual level may require deeper human
interaction than may seem necessary
Leverage emerging media formats (such as
“native advertising”) to reinforce the holistic
value of a user experience that seamlessly blends
editorial and paid content

18. Operational Infrastructure Geared to the
Needs of Customer Engagement
Why?
An organization’s ability
to keep pace with rapid
change will depend on
its internal readiness—
and many enterprise
organizations remain
structured around
outdated legacy
systems
Assemble a cross-disciplinary steering committee
and design a realistic, phased implementation plan
with “quick wins” to reinforce senior-level buy-in
Assess existing resources—including data, creative
assets, media commitments & technology tools—to
understand gaps and crystallize needs
Outline channel-agnostic use cases that support
the organization’s customer engagement goals
Investigate internal and partner-provided options
for addressing those objectives—with the goal of
building a modular solution “stack” which includes
technology and service-driven solutions

19. Cross-Platform, Audience-Driven Media
Products
Why?
The ability to target and
engage specific
audience segments can
drive better
engagement (and
lifetime customer
value). For media
companies, this shift
refocuses attention to
its most lucrative
asset—its audience
Expand the audience-driven media
paradigm beyond its current narrow
scope to encompass a range of
addressable media including TV, digital
video, mobile, direct mail, etc.

20. Integration of Deeply Engaging—Yet
Effectively “Disconnected”—Media Channels
Why?
To deliver customer
engagement that’s
agnostic of channel
requires the
development of a
channel portfolio
responsive to customer
demand
Regularly assess media mix to identify
opportunities to leverage emerging
channels—as well as those that offer
interactive engagement—but might be
managed disparately now
Apply the same infrastructure—grounded in
insight, powered by continuous data analysis
and furthered by automated and/or rulesdriven execution—to new and experimental
media
Cast aside legacy distinctions between the
value of “digital” and “traditional” media—
with the goal of leveraging a combination of
tools to foster a robust level of engagement

21. Elevation of the “Omnichannel Strategist” As
A Senior Role
Why?
To achieve omnichannel
success, the practice
must be backed by the
right resources and
influencers within an
organization (and led by
someone who is not
distracted by other
responsibilities)
Determine interdisciplinary stakeholders whose
contributions would best support the expansion
of an omnichannel strategy for the enterprise—
and task one among them to lead the effort
Identify a series of clear performance objectives
for the senior strategist to pursue, with the goal
of elevating the role to “C-suite” equivalent
Assign broad organizational oversight to the
strategist and her team, including responsibility
for customer strategy and insights, channel
coordination, data management, marketing
technology and other functions

22. Why Omnichannel? And What’s Next?
Drives content aligned with
expectations of a personalized,
“social media society”
Sets the stage for the next
transformation—to an automated
“programmatic” capability
Capitalizes on the power of
insight, enabling deeper
understanding of the customer and
her needs
Elevates marketing (and related
functions) to a higher level of
insight, influence and importance

23. For Further Reading…
Download at:
www.winterberrygroup.com/ourinsights

24. Thanks!
Jonathan C. Margulies
Managing Director
jmargulies@winterberrygroup.com
@jcmargulies
www.winterberrygroup.com
@WinterberryGrp