1. I N S I G H T F R O M E X P E R T S :
T H E E V O L U T I O N O F T H E
M O D E R N M A R K E T E R
& C O N N E C T E D C U S T O M E R

2. We’ve watched the digital trans-
formation of marketing occur
over the last few years, noting a
rise in omni-channel consump-
tion and new innovations in mar-
keting technology.
Today’s connected customer
demands a high pace of content
and more personal messaging.
As we discovered in this year’s
Content Fitness Report, modern
marketers are realizing the
impact that consumer advocacy
has on brand awareness and
ROI, and thus are adapting
more interactive approaches to
audience targeting.
PAN continuously seeks insight
from experts in the industry. A
compilation of these influencers’
insights tells a story on the
impactofdigitalandtheevolution
of the customer experience.
I N T R O D U C T I O N
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
C H A P T E R 1
The Digital Transformation of Marketing
with Julie Ogilvie, Research Director at SiriusDecisions
C H A P T E R 2
The Evolution of the Modern Marketer
with Heather Sears, former VP of Marketing, YP
C H A P T E R 3
The Evolution of the Customer Experience
with Jake Sorofman, Research Vice President at Gartner
C H A P T E R 4
The Importance of Branding
with Matt Fates, Ascent General Partner
Insight from Experts:
The Evolution of the Modern Marketer & Connected Customer| 2

3. Today’s modern marketers realize that the opportunity to connect with their
customers is transparent and exciting. However, they also understand that they face
several challenges on the pathway to engagement with their audience. There’s no
doubt that digital is a disruptor, but how brands plan to utilize this opportunity could
present a make-or-break situation with each campaign.
H OW H AS T H E R O L E O F T H E
M A R K E T E R E VO LV E D OV E R
T H E L AST 5 -1 0 Y E A R S ?
Pretty obvious – but marketing has continued
to become more and more digital. It’s allowed
us to have greater visibility into our audiences,
a higher level of engagement with audiences
and also more capability to measure outcomes.
What interests me is how specialized
marketing roles have become – and how deep
the knowledge goes in many areas. Sometimes
this leads to communication problems among
the various marketing ‘tribes.’
There are also some areas (such as the more
traditional communication functions) that have
lagged behind the digital/tech revolution – and
now they’re under the gun to catch up and
report results in the same way.
Introduction
T H E D I G I T A L
T R A N S F O R M A T I O N
O F M A R K E T I N G
W I T H J U L I E O G I L V I E
Julie Ogilvie is the Research Director at SiriusDecisions
Insight from Experts:
The Evolution of the Modern Marketer & Connected Customer Ch. 1 - The Digital Transformation of Marketing with Julie Ogilvie | 3|

4. W H AT A R E O N E O R T WO S K I L L S E TS T H AT A R E A M U ST H AV E
F O R TO DAY ’S M O D E R N M A R K E T E R TO P E R F ECT ?
One thing that may surprise people is that with all of the new technology and digital capability, the
thing that is missing from many marketing campaigns is the most basic element: audience insights.
Understanding the audience on a deep level is still what drives effective marketing, and, conversely,
a lack thereof leads to a lot of wasted effort and money. So, the first thing I would recommend is
learning the skills associated with audience segmentation, personas and messaging. It makes a
huge difference in the results of all programs.
H OW S H O U L D M A R K E T E R S A P P R OAC H
I N F LU E N C E R R E L AT I O N S ?
Again – start with the audience. Focusing on a small set of influencers or on a “Klout” score can be
very costly or ineffective, and often does not integrate well into marketing campaigns. You need to
understand who the influencers are for your audience.
I N F L U E N C E R I D E N T I F I C A T I O N S H O U L D A L S O B E A P A R T O F P E R S O N A
R E S E A R C H – A S K B U Y E R S W H O T H E Y T R U S T A N D W H E R E T H E Y G O
F O R I N F O R M A T I O N O N B U Y I N G D E C I S I O N S . T A L K T O Y O U R P R O D U C T
M A R K E T I N G A N D S A L E S T E A M S .
DATA I S E V E RY W H E R E A N D I N S I G H TS A R E B EC O M I N G T H E
‘ H O LY G R A I L’ F O R A L L M A R K E T E R S TO L E V E R AG E . W H AT
D O YO U S E E AS S O M E O F T H E TO P 3 - 4 ST E P S M A R K E T E R S
M U ST TA K E A R O U N D T H E I R DATA TO E N S U R E S U C C E S S ?
There’s a huge schism between data and insights. I see marketers swimming in data, while having
difficulty identifying true insights that can help them make actual improvements. Start by structuring
data into meaningful categories based on what it is and what the goal is. Create boundaries around
data so that you are measuring specific audiences, specific issues or parts of the process. Then
seek to identify the measures that are most meaningful (this will take time) and represent these in
dashboards that tell a story – but aren’t cluttered up with a million different metrics.
M O R E I S N O T A L W A Y S B E T T E R .
Insight from Experts:
The Evolution of the Modern Marketer & Connected Customer Ch. 1 - The Digital Transformation of Marketing with Julie Ogilvie | 4|

5. M O B I L E , O M N I - C H A N N E L A N D T H E A LWAYS - O N C U STO M E R
A R E W R E A K I N G H AVO C O N M A R K E T E R S ’ A B I L I T Y TO B U I L D
B R A N D LOYA LT Y. A N Y E X P E R T A DV I C E TO TO M O R R OW ’S
M A R K E T E R S O N C O N N ECT I N G W I T H T H I S M U LT I -
C O N N ECT E D A U D I E N C E ?
I’ll start to sound like a broken record here – but when marketing teams are all building their
programs around a unified view of the customer (ideally a persona), execution across multiple
channels should not be a problem. Persona research should include gathering an understanding
of the audience’s preferences for content, tactics and watering holes, in addition to understanding
their challenges and initiatives. Brand, demand and sales should all be unified by a single view of
the buyer’s needs.
W H AT ’S G O I N G TO B E T H E N E X T WAV E O F O P P O R T U N I T Y
F O R M A R K E T E R S TO I M PACT C H A N G E ?
Marketing is generally focused on external audiences. But now we’re seeing a huge wave of interest
in marketing to (and through) employees. There is huge value in developing stronger employee
engagement.
READ THE FULL Q&A WITH JULIE OGILVIE,
RESEARCH DIRECTOR AT SIRIUSDECISIONS HERE
READ THE FULL Q&A WITH JULIE OGILVIE,
RESEARCH DIRECTOR AT SIRIUSDECISIONS HERE
Insight from Experts:
The Evolution of the Modern Marketer & Connected Customer Ch. 1 - The Digital Transformation of Marketing with Julie Ogilvie | 5|

6. Marketing has come a long way since the early days of what’s now known as
traditional techniques, before the Internet boom.
W H AT A R E T H E D I F F E R E N C E S I N T H E M O D E R N M A R K E T E R ’S
R O L E F R O M Y E ST E R DAY TO TO DAY ? W H AT E XC I T E S YO U
A B O U T T H E O P P O R T U N I T Y O F T H E M O D E R N M A R K E T E R ?
Today’s marketer is a turbo-charged version of
yesterday’s. We need to be faster, more agile
and more data-centric because the consumer
is moving across screens, devouring content
and even moving between physical locations
during their daily activities and purchase
journey more nimbly than ever before.
The hyper-speed of consumers’ engagement
with social, community, search and traditional
activities – especially on mobile – means
marketing happens in real time. This means
marketing activities that may have been
siloed, slow and simple in the past, need to
evolve. They also likely cannot all be planned
completely in advance: a living brand will have
real-time, contextual reactions to consumer
and environmental activities.
Introduction
T H E E V O L U T I O N
O F T H E M O D E R N
M A R K E T E R W I T H
H E A T H E R S E A R S
Heather Sears is the former VP of Marketing, National Markets at YP
Ch. 2 - The Evolution of the Modern Marketer with Heather Searse | 6| Insight from Experts:
The Evolution of the Modern Marketer & Connected Customer

7. W H AT A R E YO U R T H O U G H TS O N T H E P OW E R
A N D T H E A B I L I T Y O F TO DAY ’S C O N T E N T ?
I heard a good quote at a digital leadership event
at the Harvard Club: “Content is the path to
purpose.” This is an interesting truism on what
content can unlock. We all have very personal
goals that we are acting on or thinking about.
We want to be healthier, happier, wealthier, get
a date, etc. We are moving toward our purpose.
The purchase may be part of that, but there is a
bigger personal journey most people are on than
just to the cash register.
Content is now consumed on multiple screens,
with mobile time growing very quickly – think of
mobile like a remote control for life. So, content
is being designed to work on smaller screens and
be consumed in quicker chunks. It has become
more bite-sized with quick and flashy headlines,
infographics, stats and images that are fast to
consume. Video is more technically feasible now
across screens and is exploding.
People are creating and consuming content at a
tremendous pace.
Every day there are:
1 B I L L I O N G O O G L E S E A R C H E S
4 B I L L I O N Y O U T U B E V I D E O S
8 0 0 M I L L I O N F A C E B O O K S H A R E S
The scale of that shows the awesome potential of content to not only inform marketers but also
shape the human experience.
Ch. 2 - The Evolution of the Modern Marketer with Heather Searse | 7| Insight from Experts:
The Evolution of the Modern Marketer & Connected Customer

8. TO DAY ’S M O D E R N M A R K E T E R S M U ST A D D R E S S
T H E D I F F E R E N C E S B E T W E E N B O O M E R S , G E N X , G E N Y
A N D G E N Z . H OW D O YO U S E E M A R K E T E R S TA R G E T I N G
G E N E R AT I O N A L M A R K E T I N G ?
The helm of generational power is changing hands – millennials are surpassing boomers with
$1.7 trillion purchasing power. Generational marketing is really just another way of segmenting,
and brands should integrate this into a holistic understanding of their consumers, as “generation”
may not be the most actionable segmentation delineator for a brand. That said, certain trends that
skew younger include less concern with privacy, more comfort with sharing, greater desire for
authenticity (what is “real” behind all the flash) and openness to trying new engagement platforms
that older generations do not immediately understand!
A successful program is built on a customer-
first model of engagement. In essence,
marketers need to let the consumers lead the
relationship.
There’s no doubting that all marketing teams
need to remain steps ahead of their customers
behaviors, and aligning personalized content
to their omni-channel experience is a winning
formula.
With Gartner and other leading authorities in our industry calling for digital marketing investment
to explode over the next few years, it’s no wonder why today’s CMOs must continue to transform
their approach in order to acquire, retain and grow their customer’s passion for the brand – while
ensuring a positive experience.
READ THE FULL Q&A WITH HEATHER SEARS,
FORMER VP OF MARKETING AT YP HERE
READ THE FULL Q&A WITH HEATHER SEARS,
FORMER VP OF MARKETING AT YP HERE
86%of consumers use their
mobile devices at home
(yet another challenge
to connect/engage)
Ch. 2 - The Evolution of the Modern Marketer with Heather Searse | 8| Insight from Experts:
The Evolution of the Modern Marketer & Connected Customer

9. Businesses are in the midst of a
massive digital transformation,
thanksinlargeparttotoday’sinspired
customer. A customer’s experience
is now being judged on their loyalty,
engagement level and whether or
not they will continue to be an ambassador for your
company. This, in turn, results in new growth and
responsibilities for the Modern Marketer and a
higher set of expectations.
In this chapter, we take a closer look at the evolution
of the connected customer.
H OW H AS T H E R O L E O F T H E C M O E VO LV E D OV E R
T H E L AST S E V E R A L Y E A R S ? W I T H T H E I M P O R TA N C E
O F M A R K E T I N G O N SA L E S / R E V E N U E – W H AT ’S TO DAY ’S
M A R K E T E R FAC I N G ?
The CMO isn’t just the bullhorn for the business. In fact, CMOs who focus on promotion alone will
find themselves increasingly vulnerable when the expectation is for direct and material contribution
to profitable growth for the business. Our research consistently tells us that over 70 percent of
CMOs now own or share P&L responsibility. They’re often responsible for the design of the overall
customer experience—which, of course, extends well beyond touch points marketing owns and
controls—and making a significant contribution to product, experience and even business model
innovation. There’s a lot laid at the CMO’s feet these days.
Introduction
T H E E V O L U T I O N
O F T H E C U S T O M E R
E X P E R I E N C E W I T H
J A K E S O R O F M A N
Jake Sorofman is the Research Vice President at Gartner
Ch. 3 - The Evolution of the Customer Experience with Jake Sorofman | 9| Insight from Experts:
The Evolution of the Modern Marketer & Connected Customer

10. I ’ V E H E A R D YO U TA L K A B O U T C U STO M E R E X P E R I E N C E
AS T H E N E W M A R K E T I N G , A R E W E FAC I N G Y E T A N OT H E R
C H A N G E O F T H E R O L E / D E PA R T M E N T ?
I borrowed this from Steve Cannon, the former
CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA, who I interviewed
last year. He couldn’t be more right. I think his
point was that it’s the customer’s experience that
earns loyalty and advocacy over time—and when
there’s a disconnect between what your brand
promises and what it actually delivers, customers
will notice. In an age of hyper competition and
abundant choice, the customer experience is the
competitive battlefield. You absolutely have to get
this right.
W I T H S O M U C H E M P H AS I S P L AC E D O N C U STO M E R
E X P E R I E N C E , D O E S T H E M A R K E T E R LO S E S I G H T O F
I N N OVAT I O N ? A R E T H E Y ACT I V E LY P L AY I N G A R O L E H E R E ?
The CMO plays an important role here. In fact, innovation is one of the top areas of increased
expectation of the CMO by the CEO. The impetus is the rise of native digital disruptors that seem to
upend industries overnight. That’s an existential threat to incumbents. In many cases, in addition to
their day-to-day operational responsibilities, CMOs lead teams focused on looking around corners
and testing and learning from experimental investments in new innovations. Incidentally, this
innovation often focuses on the customer experience, but it can also relate to more products and
new business models.
W I T H T H E A B U N DA N C E O F DATA AVA I L A B L E F O R TO DAY ’S
M O D E R N M A R K E T E R S , YO U ’ V E H I G H L I G H T E D T H E “ DATA-
D R I V E N M YO P I A .” CA N YO U P R OV I D E S O M E K E Y P O I N TS
M A R K E T E R S S H O U L D B E A D D R E S S I N G A R O U N D DATA?
For as much as we talk about big data, most companies still have small data problems. They haven’t
made use of the first-party customer data they already own. Before marketers drink from the big
data fire hose, they should first get their customer data in order. Also, while data-driven insights
can be powerful, it can also blind us to bigger shifts happening around us. It can drive incremental
thinking where we end up tweaking and tuning the dials while our competitors are fundamentally
rethinking industries. Many of these insights didn’t come from data.
Ch. 3 - The Evolution of the Customer Experience with Jake Sorofman | 10| Insight from Experts:
The Evolution of the Modern Marketer & Connected Customer

11. C U STO M E R EC O N O M I C S C O N T I N U E S TO B E A S U BJ ECT
O F D I S C U S S I O N . W H AT S H O U L D C M O S B E P R E PA R E D TO
E VA LU AT E A N D F O R ECAST F O R B E T T E R E N G AG E M E N T,
U N D E R STA N D I N G A N D S U C C E S S W I T H T H E I R C U STO M E R S ?
Always have a bias toward your highest value customers. Identify the customers that contribute
disproportionately to profitable revenue and study their needs, motivations and goals. Invest in
serving them well to deepen the relationship, and then go out and find more of the same!
W H AT A R E S O M E O F T H E T R E N D S YO U S E E C O M I N G AT
C M O S I N 2 0 1 6 / 2 0 1 7 ? A R E T H E R E S P EC I F I C B L I N D S P OTS
T H E Y S H O U L D B E P R E PA R E D TO TAC K L E ?
CMOs shouldn’t forget the importance of great
creative. All the precision targeting in the
world is only as good as what you have to say.
We shouldn’t overcorrect on the science side of
the discipline.
READ THE FULL Q&A
WITH JAKE SOROFMAN RESEARCH
VICE PRESIDENT AT GARTNER
READ THE FULL Q&A
WITH JAKE SOROFMAN RESEARCH
VICE PRESIDENT AT GARTNER
Ch. 3 - The Evolution of the Customer Experience with Jake Sorofman | 11| Insight from Experts:
The Evolution of the Modern Marketer & Connected Customer

12. There is a lot to learn from
companies in the “emerging
growth” phase. They have great
ideas, solid teams in place and
strategies to reach the next level.
They’re scaling up rapidly, and
integrated marketing & PR are important tools
in their growth plans. So is venture capital.
Many of these younger companies have grabbed
some seed funding and maybe an early round
of capital, and they’re either seeking a follow-
up round or tapping those funds to execute their
break-out plans.
Given the common interests of VC and IMC, we invited Matt Fates, an Ascent general partner, to
share some thoughts about investing, building companies and the importance of branding.
Here are a few of Fates’ insights:
AS C E N T R E V I E WS M O R E T H A N 1 ,0 0 0 D E A L S A Y E A R A N D
I N V E STS I N T H R E E O R F O U R . TO R E AC H AS C E N T ’S S H O R T
L I ST, A C O M PA N Y N E E D S TO STA N D O U T F R O M T H E C R OW D.
Great companies grow fast, and they do it on relatively modest capital. At the highest level, we look
for companies that can really scale. If you’re not doubling every year, you’re not growing enough…
Our preference is to look for people who have some experience. We’re not backing people right out
of college. We want someone who has gained insight into the world and has experience solving
real problems… We also want that bigger ambition – that type of ‘I can change the world’ kind of
attitude, as well.
Introduction
T H E I M P O R T A N C E
O F B U I L D I N G
B R A N D I N G E Q U I T Y
W I T H M A T T F A T E S
Matt Fates is a General Partner at Ascent Venture Partners
Ch. 4 - The Importance of Branding with Matt Fates | 12| Insight from Experts:
The Evolution of the Modern Marketer & Connected Customer

13. A S U C C E S S F U L P R P R O G R A M WO N ’ T T I P T H E S CA L E S I N
T E R M S O F C O N V I N C I N G A VC TO I N V E ST.
It doesn’t matter so much to us. I think it matters way more to customers. If we perceive that PR is
being very effective — helping them create customer awareness and get some buzz going — that’s
great. On the investment side, brand equity plays a role, but not nearly as much as other key factors
we evaluate.
VC S VA LU E C O M PA N I E S
T H AT P U T A H E AV Y
E M P H AS I S O N T H O U G H T
L E A D E R S H I P.
Seeing companies do thought leadership –
that’s good. We like to see companies have an
active and meaningful blog. Frequency doesn’t
matter so much. (The question is:) Are you
saying things that are new and that people
aren’t reading everywhere?
H AV I N G A ST R O N G T EC H N O LO GY E VA N G E L I ST,
W H O H AS D E V E LO P E D A F O L LOW I N G , CA N B E A N
I M P O R TA N T FACTO R F O R A YO U N G C O M PA N Y LO O K I N G
TO CA R V E O U T I TS OW N I D E N T I T Y.
There are categories of technology where having a really strong CTO is more important. You want
them to get their voice out — to be seen as a thought leader and a category leader, where companies
look to and respect what they have to say. (Fates discussed how a CTO of a security company he
knows draws crowds at Vegas hacking events.) He’s a little bit of a rock star. Having someone like
that be an evangelist can be really helpful in accelerating awareness and adoption.
READ MORE INSIGHTS FROM MATT FATES, ASCENT GENERAL PARTNERREAD MORE INSIGHTS FROM MATT FATES, ASCENT GENERAL PARTNER
M O R E F R O M V E N T U R E CA P I TA L S
WHAT’S THE
NEXT BIG THING?
WHAT’S THE
NEXT BIG THING?
WHAT’S DRIVING
INTEREST IN
START-UPS NOW?
WHAT’S DRIVING
INTEREST IN
START-UPS NOW?
SEEING THROUGH
THE VC’S EYES:
A SIT DOWN WITH
RAJU RISHI OF SIGMA
PRIME VENTURES
SEEING THROUGH
THE VC’S EYES:
A SIT DOWN WITH
RAJU RISHI OF SIGMA
PRIME VENTURES
Ch. 4 - The Importance of Branding with Matt Fates | 13| Insight from Experts:
The Evolution of the Modern Marketer & Connected Customer

14. In today’s increasingly more digital world, creating an engaging relationship with your customer is
an important part of success. For marketers, we need to make sure that audience insights have
impact on everything we do. From social media posts to blog posts to long-form content such as
videos and eBooks, our content is our brand’s “path to purpose,” and personalizing messages to
our buyer personas is crucial for success.
While building content programs based on a customer-first model of engagement takes some
time with both quantitative and qualitative data and insights, your brand needs a positive customer
experience in order to remain competitive. Then turn your engaged customers into brand advocates
for ROIs your executive management team will love.
As we learned from the venture capitals, brand building leads to brand equity, which in turn leads
to the growth of your business.
I T C A N B E I N T I M I D A T I N G T O T H I N K T H A T S O M U C H
O F T H I S R E L I E S O N T H E C U S T O M E R E X P E R I E N C E ,
B U T I T I S E V E N M O R E R E A S O N T O G E T I T R I G H T .
Introduction
C O N C L U S I O N
Insight from Experts:
The Evolution of the Modern Marketer & Connected Customer| 14

15. I N T E R E S T E D I N
L E A R N I N G M O R E ?
PAN Communications
255 State St.
Boston, MA 02109
617.502.4300
www.pancommunications.com
Contact:
Mark Nardone, Executive Vice President
PAN Communications
617.502.4311
mnardone@pancomm.com
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