The future of digital marketing, with ROI UP at iTalks

At ROI UP Group we love nothing more than sharing our experience with great personalities of digital marketing and E-Business. That’s why it is a pleasure that Prensa Ibérica has our support in its iTalks cycle, a powerful event with the who’s who of the business network of the Mediterranean corridor. It took place on November 15 and we went there with a representation of the best of our team.

The goal? To bring to the table the key trends that will shape the future of digital marketing; to inspire and learn from the best to foster innovation and growth in a world that is changing at breakneck speed.

Silvia Tomás, Director of Institutional Relations of Prensa Ibérica in Valencia, was in charge of leading the meeting. Little by little we discovered the next challenges to be faced and how technological evolution is the great engine of all companies, from the smallest to the largest multinationals.

Payment environment, key to business growth

The first talk of the afternoon addressed a crucial topic that is not always given the attention it deserves: payments. Raimundo Sala, after working for Bizum, Bankia and Paypal, is currently the senior vice president and general manager of UniversalPay. He is an authority in his field.

As he says, we spend a lot of time, resources and budget on creating a great marketing strategy that sometimes falls apart when we complicate the last link. A secure, simple and versatile payment environment is the key to rounding out the customer experience and facilitating conversion and loyalty. Take note:

• Less is more: no forms full of fields to fill in and no distractions about other products.
• Payment freedom: the customer has a favorite method and if he/she does not find it, he/she can abandon the cart. Always offer a wide range of methods.
• Total security: it goes without saying, but it is not always fulfilled. Security is crucial and certificates must be in place for the buyer’s total peace of mind.

The 7 keys to the future of digital marketing

2023 is just around the corner and it comes loaded with trends. Our colleagues, Luis Fantini (CTIO of ROI UP Group) and Antonio Juan (Director of Digital Strategy and Director of ROI UP Catalonia), unpacked everything that is to come.

The predictive models and the optimization of the performance strategy in search of greater savings and conversion were the first aspects covered. Next, we were shown how automation and its constant improvement is essential to be able to focus on what is most important: thinking. In addition, by automating low-profile tasks, we achieve greater team motivation.

A very interesting concept they developed was the consumption of content and the “Glovo effect”, which they define as the constant search for immediacy. We want it all and we want it now. Branded content, the use of influencers and being concise in the content we generate is the proposed recipe to deal with it.

Other trends that we discovered were the advance of cookie control by users, the improvement of customer relations or the future coexistence between metaverse and physical reality.

To evolve is to innovate: digitalization as a natural trend

The third talk of the afternoon, moderated by Leles López (Director of Operations ROI UP Levante) had other exceptional protagonists: Paco Valiente (CDO of HOFF), Isabel María (Director of Digital & Customer Experience IVI RMA Global) and Álex Salvador Molina (Marketing Director at Cárnicas Serrano). They represent very different sectors with digitalization and its innovations as a basic pillar to advance and grow.
The three expressed that one of the great challenges is the ability to analyze the large amount of data currently received thanks to technological innovations. Paco Valiente summarized this capacity as the true digital maturity of a company. That analysis is the basis for making decisions that lead to profitability and predicting the future. In this sense, Isabel María prefers to speak of Smart data rather than Big Data. For the meat sector represented by Álex Salvador Molina, data management is a basic issue for guiding the operation of its FMCG products in retail.

Command Centers: how to scale your company through data

Mario Catalán, CDO at ZEUS, explained how command centers are a fundamental tool for data analysis in large companies. He did so by highlighting his work for Telefónica, Idai Nature, Sesame and the restaurant franchises La Mafia se Sienta a la Mesa.

ZEUS’ claim perfectly sums up the basis of its work, “people and data change the world”. Its custom dashboards help to visualize in a single element the functioning of the most important fields or departments for companies. In this way, the analysis of day-to-day problems and decision making is supported in a very effective and well-founded way.

The team and digital transformation

How to manage the impact of digital transformation through talent was the next topic addressed. Gabriel Ferrer (director of Roi Up Levante) acted as moderator of a talk that included the participation of Elisa Espony (Chief People & Change Officer at Suavinex), Leticia Gonzálbez (CMO at Sesame HR) and Javier Sancho (director of People, Safety and Health at Panstar Group).

The pandemic was a major turning point in human resources departments. Adapting to the changes was complex and technology came to the rescue as in many other areas. As Leticia Gonzálbez of Sesame comments, “people and technology is the perfect match”. Artificial intelligence as a support for team management or the hybrid model of face-to-face and teleworking was another key issue discussed. And as a trend for 2023 there was consensus: individualization and listening to people to enhance talent.

Innovation as a competitive tool

To end this great day, we moved to Silicon Valley with Pepe Valiente, Senior Manager Consultant at IBM. This engineer by training spoke to us, among other things, about IBM Garage, IBM Consulting’s response to a changing market in constant transformation. Taking advantage of the connection with the world capital of innovation, he revealed how social, cultural and economic diversity are the essence that has driven the impressive business development in the area.

And who better to close the event than Diego Jiménez. The CEO of ROI UP Group highlighted how the people and technology that make up the Levantine entrepreneurial ecosystem are an example of innovation not only at the national level.

Here’s the link to enjoy the full talk from this 2022 i-Talks Marketing & e-Business on the future of marketing.