Although the digital transformation was already slowly turning businesses around, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many organizations had to immediately transition to operating digitally. While this is a crisis for some, it’s also an opportunity for many.

“When we look at how marketing will progress and the leadership that we can provide in this digital era, we’re going to see a lot more opportunity to get much more personalized, we’re going to see chatbot,” said Maria Winans (pictured), chief marketing officer of North America Marketing at IBM Corp. “We’re going to look at opportunities to infuse AI in the experience, to augment it, to personalize it, [and] dynamic content delivery … recommendation engines, and really continue to automate the marketing process and marketing experience all the way through to make it as compelling and as personalized as we can — a huge opportunity for every marketer in the world and a huge opportunity that we’ve embraced in IBM.”

Winans spoke with Jeff Frick (@JeffFrick), host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the IBM Think Digital Event Experience. They discussed digital engagement, marketing transformation, and how IBM turned it Think event digital. (* Disclosure below.)

[Editor’s note: The following has been condensed for clarity.]

Frick: A conference [like IBM Think] is defined by the bounds of that physical location for three days and how much can you guys get in there. Where now, suddenly, you don’t have those binds anymore, and it really opens up a much broader opportunity for you to communicate your keynote messages, product information, training in a very, very different and liberating way.

Winans: I think what’s happening here is an opportunity to really rethink in so many ways how we do marketing and what we talk about when we say digital engagement. You know, we did a recent CMO survey, which we call our “C-Suite Survey,” and we interviewed over 2,000 CMOs. And one of the big conclusions that came out of it was that digital engagement is the future. What it really lands on is the fact that digital engagement is the fair trade-off of information and the exchange of value. So when you really think about that, for us as marketers, digital engagement and value exchange comes in many forms. How we show up on our own platform … how we show up during an event, whether it’s Webinars or third parties.

Even more importantly, the way that sellers are going to engage virtually. Think about virtual selling and Webex meetings, which is really how they’re having to communicate with clients today, and then how we engage socially, and that’s really through all the social channels in the work that we do with the influencers. So we’re going to learn a lot … we’re going to test, we’re going to iterate, but this whole new normal has given us an opportunity as marketers to really connect the digital and the physical in new ways.

And we have to really consider all the multiple facets and elements when we’re thinking about digital marketing. And that is a tremendous opportunity, because in digital engagement there are many elements, and it’s going to be super important for all the marketers to really kind of step back and think about … how do we stay essential?

Frick: I think the cream really rises to the top in challenging times. We’ve been in it for a number of weeks now. As you kind of think back on adjusting your own leadership style … I wonder if you can share what you are trying to do differently, what are some best practices? 

Winans: So for me as I think about my own leadership style, number one is you put the people first. Especially during these times, act with compassion and empathy. Focus on the team’s help, focus on wellness, focus on making sure that you keep everybody motivated. 

I think the second is productivity. We have to keep the business going. We have to make sure that the work-from-home environment is safe and productive. Everybody’s work environment is different. Everybody has their own challenges and opportunities, and we have to acknowledge that.

And I think the third is around staying connected. We have various tools, and we’re very fortunate in IBM, and especially in marketing, that we’ve really embraced the new as far as the way that we communicate using Slack.

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

Photo: SiliconANGLE