Implications of Being Digital

What do we have to do to be 'digital'?

Some quotes and comments that reflect the changing face of marketing:

"You can't think or strategize to perfection." BCG

"What do people hate about doing business with us, and can we use digital to fix it?” Forbes

"if you have 100,000 employees and you’ve got only 14 that actually know this stuff ..., you’re not going to get sustainable change."  McKinsey

The above represent some serious challenges to most organizational cultures.   We will simultaneously have to learn that a) facts replace opinions, b) marketing isn't fluff, and c) analysis is everybody's job.  Guessing won't be good enough.

Based on the above articles, a company can be considered digital if in 2013 it...

1. Boasts deep in-house digital skills (or at least leadership)
2. Marries brand and technology
3. Understands how consumers choose and use technology 

For the marketing ecosystem (agencies, marketing services, technology vendors) that support such clients change is coming.   No longer will we have separate and distinct roles - we are going to have to play nice with others because the solutions will be framed from the consumer's point of view and they don't care about us.

And we'll need to bring something of value to the table.  Be it a curious mind, a blend of business and digital acumen or analytic chops.