MarTech Masters: In Conversation With series will feature video interviews with some of the brightest minds in MarTech, who will be sharing their insights, discussing trends, and addressing challenges within the MarTech landscape.

What’s your advice to Australian MarTech professionals who want to be the best in the business over the next few years?

Darrell: My advice to Australian Martech professionals is going to be to learn and network with your fellow marketers and actually really pay attention to some of the best brands that are doing digital at the moment and engaging customers on new channels. And that’s one of the great reasons to get together for networking and conferences.I think that there are tremendous resources out there, classes, courses, books and articles, but some of the best learning – you get from your peers. So make sure you stay networking and make sure you keep learning about what’s the latest out there.

How do you see AI playing out in MarTech over the next 12 months?

Darrell: Over the next twelve months, I will say that it would probably start to represent about 25% of the tech stack, meaning that the 25% of the applications will involve some sort of AI, whether it be generative AI or predictive learning or any types of sort of artificial intelligence powered marketing technology. Now 24 months out, 36 months out, I do see that percentage and proportion increasing in velocity, I would say by next year would be 50%, and then the year after, 80% to 90% of the tech stack will be AI powered, in my opinion.

What’s the main reason all the wonderful professionals in Australia should come to the Hunter Valley to see you at the MarTech Symposium?

Darrell: I think to see me, but also to see others. I know Scott Brinker is coming, who is a mentor and a friend, and I think it’s just so great to see from other perspectives and people that kind of have this bird’s eye view around what’s going on in the MarTech landscape. And just to hear frameworks on how you can put these puzzle pieces together and start to drive real impact for your business. So I would say come to see my session and many of the other great sessions that are scheduled.

The platforms and the tech….is it worth all the hype?? Or is it really about the people and process?

Darrell: So there’s two ways to look at this. One is behind the technology, it will always be people in process. So that’s one way to think about it.But the other way is, I think that people underestimate how much tech can change our lives. Even now, being able to talk virtually, being able to communicate instantaneously overseas, I think people take that for granted. And what’s happening right now, especially with AI and the new channels that are sort of proliferating the scene, is quite amazing. Things that we can do to personalise and engage customers where they are in ways that we’ve never been able to before. So I can’t really say if it’s all tech or all people in process. I think it’s both. And it will be both continuing into the future.

To what extent and what ways do you think times of uncertainty is going to impact the evolution of MarTech?

Darrell: I think that when there’s times of incredible uncertainty, it’s the businesses and the brands that are most agile and most able to quickly pivot and either pull back or exploit opportunities when they come up.I think times of uncertainty means multiple things. On one hand, it could mean trying to consolidate your Martech stack, trying to do more with less, and trying to reach more customers even though we have less budget. But on the other hand, it could be how do you take advantage of new channels, like new networks, like Threads or other things that come up? And if you don’t have a strong foundation of operational excellence and an understanding of the technology, you’re not going to be able to do it. So while I do think that the next five years will look very different, I think that the companies that have been staying lean and agile and quick are going to be the ones that win.

Looking into the future, what are you most excited about in the next five years?

Darrell: I think the three large sort of landscape shifts are going to be AI, of course, the low-code, no code, movement and incredible personalisation for customers. All of those things, I think, change the game for marketers and force us to think in very different ways. Because if we’re not spending all of the time that we usually spend on the tasks that are common to marketing, such as being in the data, creating, messaging, creating, positioning, and coming up with creative advertisement if we can start to pull away from those things because we have different types of tools and technologies that do it for us. What does that mean for marketers? I think that that next era for us is going to be incredibly creative, strategic and very innovative. And I think that now that companies before there’s just tremendous talk about data and big data and getting your data in order. If the future is the data game is table stakes, meaning that it’s very easy to now get into a very data driven place where you’re reacting and executing on insights that you know will have an impact on customers. Where does that leave us? And I think it’s the people that think outside of the box and really think about what’s next for the consumer that are going to win.

How do you think the interplay between privacy and ethics and regulations is going to evolve in terms of its interplay with MarTech?

Darrell: Well, you know what? I think that what we’re seeing is as the younger generations start to have more purchasing power and also become decision makers for businesses, we start to see a shift to preferences where consumers prefer that their online experience and ad experience is personalised. Now, that’s not to say that people are going to be very loose or very not careful with their data. I think that’ll always be important.But I think that the brands that can demonstrate that we’re taking care of your data and creating experiences that you want, I think that’s a great way to build trust with the consumer and to have them build that sort of relationship with the consumer that I think is going to be key.I will say, though, that brands that don’t take care of customer data and experience breaches or any other typeof security risks with data, I think that those brands are going to take a really big hit. Absolutely.I think we’ve seen some of those play out in Australia very recently, and people are living with the consequences.

What do you think people in the industry are most keen to understand in 2023?

Darrell: I think that marketers want to understand Martech ROI and that is a tough one. You’re spending money. It could be overhead on some platforms.How do we calculate how much we can invest in Martech, I think is a big one.Traditionally, it’s been, what, 40%, 30% of your overall marketing budget, right?But that’s more of an arbitrary split.And one of the things that I’m really excited about is taking a look at what does the technology enable you to do that you weren’t able to do before?That either saves you time, helps you reach more customers, or gives you insights that you wouldn’t have known before.Take that and divide by the cost of the tool and we’ll start to see.So I’m keen to do that in my own work.And I know that many other Martech marketers are doing the same, trying to calculate and understand ROIto better make invest their marketing budget amazing.Yes, very much so.I know that that’s something that the entirety of the audience are going to be really keen to hear explored.

How would you describe yourself in three words?

Darrell: Always curious. I’m a very curious person. I love to understand why things are the way they are, how things work. I’m also an operations junkie. I love to see step by step. I love efficiency and I love to find ways to just drive operational excellence. I also like to think of myself as visionary, but not in the large grand scheme of things.I think of visionary as, hey, is there a future where things are better than they are now? And for me, that is okay. Marketers are not able to do agood job of connecting to consumers. Why? What does the future look like? Marketers creating messages that speak to customers, where they are and what they want to talk about and what’s of value to them in a way that isn’t a pain to do.I think that that is a future that I would love to see us get to, and I will continually push to make that so.

What are you most looking forward to about the MarTech symposium?

Darrell: I think while I love sharing my ideas, sharing what I think is going to happen,I love hearing from other people too.So you’ll see me in the audience taking notes on other people’s sessions. And also I look forward to meeting many other marketers doing the same thing.

Which afternoon activity will you be going to at the symposium?

Darrell: All of the above. I will say I have done like a paint and sip before and that’s one of my favourite things to do. My painting gets progressively worse as the night goes on, but it is so fun. So I will pick that one.

Marketing Tech Symposium, 12-13 September 2023, will bring together 150+ of the most influential MarTech leaders from ANZ’s leading organisations to discuss the next generation of MarTech, collaborate, share ideas, and stay on top of the industry’s latest game changers.