Designed for senior-level marketers, this CMA guide examines the three key areas that marketing must hone to achieve successful outcomes: leading with data-based insights; digital marketing; and communication skills.

1. SUCCESS FACTORS
IN TODAY’S MARKETING ENVIRONMENT
Preview of a CMA Guide

2. THE ISSUE – A NEW MARKETING
ENVIRONMENT
• Prepared by CMA’s Branding & Strategic Planning Council, our
guide discusses the key areas of focus that will steer successful
outcomes for marketing in an environment marked by change.
• We examine the kinds of capabilities and skills needed to support
this new marketing orientation and the influence these will have in
shaping a organization’s brand-driven culture.

3. CONTENTS
• Marketing through the lens of Art & Science
• 3 essential elements marketing must hone:
 Leading with data based insights - “Science”
 Drive digital marketing - “Science & Art”
 Demonstrate critical communication skills – “Art”

4. LEADING WITH DATA-BASED INSIGHT
The consumer has become increasingly empowered and the volume of data
available is at an all-time high. What this means for marketing:
• New competencies required: architecturing data, applying science, and
influencing action.
• Evolution of analytical modeling: practitioners must progress from
traditional descriptive analyses, to predicting outcomes, to prescriptive
models that encompass the entire value chain.
• Know how to lead with data-based insights: ask yourselves what is the
problem you want to solve, which analytic model is best suited to your
organization; service bureau vs. decentralized model; how quickly does
data need to work for you, do you need to invest in new technologies?

5. DRIVE DIGITAL MARKETING
The opportunity for marketers is to leverage digital to deepen customer
relationships and drive customer and brand value.
• Progress from a fragmented customer experience across channels to a
seamless and multi/omni-channel approach:
 Align digital focus with your business and brand strategy
 Link all customer touch-points
 Collaborate across the organization
 Execute and measure effectively
 Develop internal digital capabilities – understand the skill sets that
will support digital strategy and execution

6. CRITICAL COMMUNICATIONS SKILLS
Understand that emotion, not data, connects people and engages
your audience:
• Leverage the power of storytelling: understand how to build
effective stories, deliver the stories and bring your brand attributes
to life through stories.
• Understand how to manage brand in two-way communication
channels: ensure you have brand alignment with how you will show
up across the ‘new’ communication mediums, know how to listen
and engage with audiences, put in place a strategy for addressing
what you hear.

7. THE AUTHORS
Cheri Chevalier, Chief Marketing Officer, Microsoft Canada,
David Coulson, eCommerce Solutions, Pitney Bowes,
Andrew Zimakas, Chief Marketing Officer, ING DIRECT,
Jo Ann Ely, Former Manager, Brand System
IBM Canada,

8. DOWNLOAD CMA GUIDE
http://www.the-cma.org/resource/guides/success-factors-intodays-marketing-environment
(Available to members of Canadian Marketing Association)