Highlights from Widen's 2018 Connectivity Report: Decoding connectivity for today’s marketers and creatives. Get the full report at https://www.widen.com/the-2018-connectivity-report.

1. Decoding connectivity for today’s marketers and creatives
May 2018

2. Go.widen.com/connectivity18

3. One-on-one
phone interviews
32 Online survey
questionnaires
506
538Marketing, creative,
+ tech professionals

4. Analytics
Content personalization
Digital transformation
Artificial intelligence
Customer experience
Marketing connectivity

5. Top performers are embracing
connectivity in its truest sense
by balancing the power of
technology with the familiarity
of the human touch.

6. 2018 RESEARCH FINDINGS

7. Integrations are critical to
the future success of modern
marketing organizations.
1.

8. PROJECT MANAGEMENT
● Marketing automation
● Email marketing
● Customer relationship management
● Social media management
● Digital asset management
● Content management
● File sharing
● Creative collaboration
● Project management
● E-commerce
FILE SHARING
CRM
EMAIL MARKETING
41%
35%
33%

9. of respondents we surveyed are integrating
at least two of those digital tools.
75%

10. Digital transformation timing
41%
GOING THROUGH A
TRANSFORMATION
39%
HAVE GONE THROUGH
A TRANSFORMATION
10%
NOT FOCUSED ON
TRANSFORMATION
9%
PREPARING FOR
TRANSFORMATION

11. Digital transformation timing
41%
GOING THROUGH A
TRANSFORMATION
39%
HAVE GONE THROUGH
A TRANSFORMATION
10%
NOT FOCUSED ON
TRANSFORMATION
9%
PREPARING FOR
TRANSFORMATION

12. of respondents say that technologies supporting
business operations is the most important
requirement for a digital transformation.
68%

13. PEOPLE PROCESSES TECHNOLOGIES
Using and integrating the right tools is essential to
operational efficiency and business success.

14. Data is only one piece of the
analytics puzzle. Talking to your
audience completes the picture.
2.

15. 70%
WEBSITE ANALYTICS
56%
EMAIL MARKETING
ANALYTICS
44%CONTENT ANALYTICS
The data professionals are tracking the most

16. Factors you can’t measure with data analytics
Honesty/
Authenticity
Human
nature
Brand
resonance
Sentiment

17. We do predictive and look-a-like modeling,
but we still haven’t pinpointed why
someone supports us for the first time.
It’s a personally-motivated decision and
marketing analytics aren’t great for
identifying that.” - Senior Specialist, Direct Marketing Content and Project Management,
Alzheimer’s Association
“

18. 23%
DATA SCIENTIST
22%
GROWTH MARKETER
15%
EXPERIENTIAL MANAGER
Emerging roles for future teams

19. The biggest challenge people face with their data
TELLING THE
RIGHT STORY

20. If you can continue to improve Insights and
if there’s some way to put in alerts –
something that we could program on our
side so we can be notified if something’s
happened.” - Sandra DiBiasi, Varian
“

21. Personalization goes
deeper than inserting a name
and saying “you” or “your.”
3.

22. If I walk into a bar or restaurant I love, and
they’re playing Bruce Springsteen, I’m like,
‘I bet they know I’m here.’ A personalized
experience feels like it was tailor-made for
you but it doesn’t have to be so overt.”
- Mike Altier, Creative Director at Alight Solutions
“

23. YOU GET ME(Special, important, not one of the masses)

24. respondents are focused on in 2018 is
personalizing the customer experience.
#1 trend

25. say personalization at scale is possible...
93%

26. … don’t know how to achieve it in their work.
58%

27. AI tools have the greatest
potential when people drive the
strategy and machines execute it.
4.

28. of respondents didn’t know how to
define artificial intelligence. Machine learning
was more familiar.
over 50%

29. People NOT using AI tools in their work
86%

30. People using 1 of 6 AI tools in their personal lives
Source: 2017 North Eastern University/Gallup Report
85%

31. Navigation
apps
Video and
music streaming
services
The six most used AI technologies
Smartphone
digital assistants
Ride-sharing
apps
Home personal
assistants
Smarthome
devices (self-learning
thermostats and lighting)
Source: 2017 North Eastern University/Gallup Report

32. Voice-enabled devices like Alexa, Siri, and
Google Home are currently transactional, but as
voice-technology services improve the
interactions will become more conversational,
dynamic, and fact-rich.

33. say AI will make a big impact on the marketing
and creative industry in the next 3 years.
100%

34. A global brand means
localizing what you stand for.
5.

35. Localizing the brand message by region
or country.
#1 concern

36. Being responsive across time zones.
#1 challenge

37. There needs to be a regional marketing
lead who can review the materials we’ve
got and say, ‘yes, this will engage our local
audiences and aligns with our brand.’”
- Ellen Maly, Pegasystems
“

38. Customer experience is core to a
successful content strategy.
6.

39. Memorable
Easy
Relevant
Enjoyable
Personalized
Comprehensive
Best word to describe a good customer experience:

40. say their organization has a content strategy,
but few people know who owns it.
55%

41. 48%
WEBSITES
36%
DIGITAL ADS
34%VIDEOS
Top 3 types of content most effective in helping
meet 2017 marketing goals

42. Go.widen.com/connectivity18

43. Thank you.
Any questions?
marketing@widen.com