eMarketer recently released a really interesting report on smart homes, entitled “The End of Interruptive Marketing as We Know It.” Our CEO Michael Caccavale isn’t new to the smart home game (here’s a throwback to a fun piece in AdAge) so we sat down to look at the report and talk shop about what’s coming next. In this three-part series, we’ll talk about the emergence of smart homes, the challenges and opportunities for marketers, and which industries stand to gain the most from this new frontier.

It’s no secret that technology continues to outpace even the nimblest marketing plans. So how do we outsmart smart homes and stay relevant to consumers? I sat with our CEO Michael Caccavale to discuss.

The ways in which consumers are acquiring goods and services are ever-expanding. We are in the driver’s seat when it comes to competition among brands, both in price and value. And beyond that, we are more in control of the customer experience than we’ve ever been. How are brands responding to that? I recently had a chat with our CEO Michael Caccavale about direct-to-consumer (D2C) marketing and what it means to marketers.

Often, consumer behavior – especially in the ever-changing digital landscape – can feel like a moving target. And as we’re head-first into the new year, it’s always enlightening to sit down with our CEO and talk shop about what’s happening, what’s ahead, and what we as marketers should – and shouldn’t – be responding to. 

We work in a time where the influx of customer data has gone from a garden hose to a full-on floodgate. And while wrangling that information is not without its challenges, it’s also an opportunity for companies to make data-driven decisions across departments and throughout the organization. In order to better understand the true value of these opportunities – and the pitfalls organizations face – I sat down with our CEO Michael Caccavale to discuss.

For marketers, leveraging their data management platform (DMP) is the key to mapping, measuring, and ensuring each marketing dollar is well-placed. According to eMarketer, “DMPs help marketers find the inventory they seek by creating custom audience segments.” And once you know your target audience, you know where to spend. Great if you have a DMP. What if you don’t? I sat down with our CEO Michael Caccavale to discuss.

As marketers – and as consumers – connecting the dots between previous and future behavior is the key to appreciating a good offer when we see one. And today, that’s not as simple as recommending a fun pair of boots after I bought designer jeans. With our offices, mobile devices, and homes all connected and talking to each other, being on time and on message is increasingly complicated. I recently sat down with our CEO Michael Caccavale to talk about the challenges and opportunities that marketers can uncover when we look at the smart home market.

We used to live in a world where if you wanted something the same day, you’d go to the store to get it. With same-day delivery, fast shipping, and things like drone delivery on the horizon, the days of having to leave your house to pick up something are numbered. But while logistics teams are busy developing ways to meet these demands, marketers still have some fundamental problems to solve at the top of the funnel.

Coming off of the holiday season, retailers have an opportunity to look back at what worked – and what didn’t – and refine their plans for the new year. And while the holiday retail spike can provide a lot of insight, it’s important to look at the broader view to understand the entire year. Our CEO Michael Caccavale and I took a look at eMarketer’s consumer behavior roundup and discussed some fundamental considerations that marketers simply cannot overlook any time of the year.

We’ve long known that social media is a deep data mine. It’s a space where (digitally speaking) communities gather, where people give of their personal information, and where companies can deepen their relationships with consumers through relevant content. That Facebook, our once favorite cat video- and baby photo-filled distraction from work, has become the central focus of election tampering signals a significant shift in our perception of social media as purely “social.” It is, in fact, a very powerful tool. Our CEO Michael Caccavale and I recently discussed this in more depth.