Image Credit: BlueKai

According to John Koetsier’s recent VentureBeat article, the big data explosion has made Chief Marketing Technology Officers (CMTOs) hot commodities. Sophisticated analysis of large amounts of data has provided unprecedented access to market and customer data around the world and in real-time. As a result, Chief Marketing Officers that once relied on subjective and people focused research, must also consider multi-channel marketing across social media outlets, relevant media display and how to harness emerging marketing technologies. BlueKai’s recent infographic, “The New Role of the CMTO,” suggests: “The merging of the CMO and the CTO will create new efficiencies in organizations while giving the new role more ownership and influence than either of the old ones had individually.” BlueKai researchers cite Gartner’s prediction that by 2017 CMOs will invest more time in IT than CTOs.

Marketing budgets are increasing to cover technologies that analyze market trends. A survey of marketing professionals showed that several organizations plan to fully adopt technology for customer relationship management, digital marketing, database marketing and marketing automation. Seventy-one percent of CMOs have total responsibility for choosing and managing marketing technology providers. These new trends require a certain tech savvy not previously required of CMOs, but now makeup the skillset of CMTOs.

Big data is transforming what professionals do and how they define themselves. If the growing influence of CMTOs is seen in their buying decisions, it looks like this title will become increasingly commonplace. Marketing departments buy 30% of marketing related technologies and services, which influences nearly 50% of technology purchases.