Cracking the Code of Digital Transformation

Cracking the Code of Digital Transformation

Practical Strategies for Driving Digital Transformation

Our North American team recently hosted its Cracking the Code: Digital Transformation event at the WPP Toronto Campus. It was a special evening that united senior leaders from across GroupM, Google, and agency clients to explore practical and impactful ways that marketers can ignite their digital transformation journeys.

The event also served as our official welcome into the Canadian community, introducing attendees to our ability to help businesses unlock the value of data, technology, and human potential.

Making Digital Transformation a Reality

The evening’s highlight was an insightful panel discussion with industry leaders from OLG, Kimberly-Clark and Google. Our panelists explored the technological, regulatory, and social disruptions forcing marketers to transform their businesses. They also shared the strategies they’ve used to facilitate change at their own organizations, including powerful examples of how they’ve maximized the value of data and tech investments. Each speaker explained how they adapted their strategy based on the unique qualities of their organization, adjusting for characteristics such as industry, size, resources, and legacy.

The top recommendations included:

• Don’t Chase Data for the Sake of Data: In today's data-driven world it can be tempting for businesses to collect as much data as possible, without considering the true value it brings. It's important to remember that data collection and analysis should be done with a clear purpose in mind. When it comes to requesting personal information from customers, it's crucial to provide them with a value exchange. This means that customers should receive something of value in return for sharing their personal information, whether it's personalized offers, tailored experiences, or improved services.
  
  By focusing on quality over quantity, businesses can ensure that the data they collect is relevant, accurate, and meaningful, and that it truly benefits both the customers and the business. Thoughtful data collection also enables stronger media performance when data is properly applied to digital campaigns.

• Encourage Smart Risk Taking: Innovation and growth often require taking risks, but not all risks are created equal. Encouraging smart risk-taking means empowering teams to experiment, explore new ideas, and take calculated risks while maintaining a strong focus on learning and adaptation. It's crucial to foster a culture that promotes continuous improvement and embraces failure as an opportunity to learn and iterate.
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  By taking this approach, businesses can stay agile and adapt to evolving customer needs and market dynamics, facilitating their transformation and ultimately increasing their chances of success.

• Transformation is a Team Sport: Transformation is not a solo endeavor, but rather a team sport. This means working closely across internal and external partners to apply and scale knowledge while building cultures of inclusivity, collaboration, and testing. Internal teams need to work together, leveraging their unique skills and business insights, to drive transformative initiatives forward. External partners, such as technology vendors or consultants, can provide specialized knowledge that increases the likelihood of success.
  
  By leveraging the collective intelligence and expertise of internal and external partners, businesses can navigate the complexities of transformation and achieve their goals.

Summary

Digital transformation can be daunting and overwhelming, but our panel discussion proved it doesn’t have to be. Thanks to the practical solutions and helpful examples shared by our speakers and our team, the event concluded with a strong sense of positivity and enthusiasm as we all continue to navigate the rapidly shifting digital landscape. We look forward to supporting Canada’s marketers on their transformation journeys.

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