CMO disruption, MarTech, metrics & the importance of small data w/ Dawn Colossi & Greg Calacouris

Do we really know how our customers feel? Should marketers focus more on small data or big data for insight? What metrics should marketers be looking at? In this episode of IBM thinkLeaders podcast, we are joined by Dawn Colossi (CMO at FocusVision) and Greg Calacouris (Senior Strategist at Wunderman Thompson). We talk to Dawn and Greg about the problem of survey data, how organizations are leveraging their CMOs, whether MarTech is now synonymous with marketing, and Amanda’s distaste for ROI. We also get into subscriptions versus selling ads, qualitative data versus quantitative data, brand strategy, and whether the best way to truly understand human behavior is to watch someone on the subway.

“[T]here's no artificial intelligence that's going to be able to talk to humans the way humans can talk to humans. And the most successful companies have found that feeling is what drives people to buy. And I don't believe there's any technology that is going to tap into human feelings to be able to let them buy. So you're still gonna need a human being behind that messaging and behind that positioning.” -Dawn Colossi, CMO at FocusVision

“Whenever I look at doing research, I always look at first-hand data, particularly what people are doing. Behavioral data on platform analytics rather than surveys. But qualitative data, talking to people is always the most important thing. And some of the most interesting things I've learned from customers is actually just cornering people on the street.” -Greg Calacouris (Senior Strategist at Wunderman Thompson)

“[The value of marketing right now feels like it's moving in the direction of community building and bringing people together in a way that engages them and makes them feel part of something because there is so much alienation in the way that we consume content.” Host Amanda Thurston, IBM iX

Connect with us + the guests:
@IBMthinkLeaders
@MandyLewToYou
@DawnColossi
@FocusVisionInfo
@gcalacouris
@WunThompson

BIOS

Dawn Colossi is a transformative marketing communications professional with 20-plus years’ experience in Marketing, Corporate Communications and Public Relations. As the CMO for FocusVision, Ms. Colossi drives marketing strategy to create WW marketing strategy to drive revenue through brand and demand.

Ms. Colossi is a thought leader in digital marketing transformation, marketing strategy and demand generation publishing numerous articles; being interviewed and featured in a wide variety of publications and a featured speaker at industry and digital events.

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Greg Calacouris is a Senior Strategist with a digital product specialization. He has over 7 years’ experience working with brands in the digital space across social media advertising, communications, and product strategy. He is passionate about understanding how technology and human habits intersect, and is a fan of sandwiches. With his specialization in product strategy, Greg analyzes user data, conducts usability testing, and creates customer journeys. He identifies design challenges for the team to solve and presents as strategic product roadmaps.