Information technology and the marketing world are strategically converging in many enterprises today, so it is no surprise that the role of a marketing chief information officer would emerge as well.

It’s instructive to simply follow the money. A Gartner Inc. survey of U.S. and U.K. executives published late last year found that chief marketing officers now spend more of their budgets on technology than on people.

“In the marketing and technology space, the lines are blurring,” said Bradley Jenkins (pictured), marketing chief information officer and vice president, global marketing technology, at MetLife Inc. “We can be the bridge-makers between the two functions.”

Jenkins spoke with John Furrier (@furrier) and Jeff Frick (@JeffFrick), co-hosts of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the Adobe Summit in Las Vegas. They discussed the developing role of marketing CIOs for managing technology in concert with business need and advice for organizations seeking to create similar roles (see the full interview with transcript here). (* Disclosure below.)

New tech tools for marketing

The rise of the chief marketing technologist coincides with the growth of new tech tools to propel brand-awareness campaigns. Artificial-intelligence and machine-learning tools have become budget line items as necessary ingredients for marketing departments.

This also presents a challenge to make sure that an added layer of complexity gets desired results. “How do we tie it all together but do it in a way that is capturing insights across all our channels in a more creative, quicker manner?” Jenkins asked. “We get in and try to solve business problems as fast as possible.”

With his still somewhat unique role, Jenkins is often asked for advice by others seeking to create similar positions in their organizations.

“Learn the business,” Jenkins said. “You have to speak the same language, and the biggest challenge is translating. We have to be a navigator across solution options.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of Adobe Summit 2019. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for Adobe Summit 2019. Neither Adobe Inc., the sponsor for theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE