MARKET WATCH
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CIOs to Focus on Analytics and Insight
To Deal with Change and Competition
How are consumer product companies helping their organizations
adapt to the accelerating change and complexity that mark today’s
competitive and economic landscape? By focusing on analytics,
business intelligence and insights, says a new IBM survey of global
chief information officers
Over 90% of consumer products CIOs cite analytics and business intelligence as their top visionary plan in the next three to five years, followed by 81% who cited mobility solutions. The execs say the top two areas of focus to support organizational strategies are insight and intelligence and client intimacy.
The research identified several “CIO mandates,” based on how each organization views the role of IT. For the consumer products industry, the predominant one was the “expand” mandate.
CIOs are focused on cross-enterprise growth and continuously tune business processes and internal collaboration to gain tighter integration. Consumer products CIOs will need to help re-engineer their organizations, making them fast, more flexible and better equipped to turn data into insights.
What are their top visionary plans? Consumer products CIOs as a whole will focus on three types of visionary plans in the next three to five years: business intelligence and analytics (91%), mobility solutions (81%) and collaboration and social networking (64%).
These execs say the top three ways to turn data into intelligence over the next five years are master data management, client analytics and data warehousing.
Whether an organization requires an emphasis on delivery of essential IT services or challenges the CIO to pioneer new opportunities, the study says CIOs need to innovate. With ongoing technological shifts, the seemingly endless onslaught of data and the increasingly frenetic pace of change, making incremental improvements to operations may no longer be sufficient.
Some 3,018 CIOs in 71 countries took part in the study, with 282 of those being CIOs representing the consumer products industry. For further information or to reach an IBM industry expert, please contact iibv@us.ibm.com.
Senate Opposes Delay of Swipe Fee Reform
A U.S. Senate amendment that would have delayed the implementation of reform in how financial institutions charge retailers for the ability of consumers to use debit cards has been defeated.
Debit card swipe fees, or interchange fees, have more than tripled over the last decade, costing retailers about $50 billion a year in added costs and driving up prices for consumers by nearly $500 a year per household.
dunnhumby to Acquire Bzzagent
dunnhumby, a global leader in building brand value for consumer goods and retail companies, has reached an agreement to acquire Boston-based social marketing company BzzAgent. Following completion of the deal, BzzAgent will become a subsidiary of dunnhumby and operate as a stand-alone business.
The acquisition brings together a shopper marketing leader and a social marketing pioneer. dunnhumby analyzes shopper data that helps consumer goods companies and retailers better understand the behavior and motivation of their customers. BzzAgent helps marketers reach their customers, encouraging brand advocacy and product recommendations among them. Together, the companies will use the power of peer influence and word-of-mouth to improve customer insights and product sales for consumer goods companies and retailers.
BzzAgent enlists “agents” to generate awareness for consumer goods and services among their peers. The company’s network of 800,000 consumers helps its clients create word-of-mouth endorsements of its products. Clients include some of the world’s largest marketers, including Procter & Gamble, Unilever, L’Oreal and Michelin. BzzAgent has completed more than 2,000 programs for 500-plus companies since it was founded.
Nielsen Acquires NeuroFocus
Nielsen Holdings, a leading global provider of insights and analytics into what consumers watch and buy, has acquired NeuroFocus, a global leader in neurological testing for consumer research. With this acquisition, NeuroFocus now becomes a part of Nielsen’s Product Innovation Practice. NeuroFocus will continue to be led by Founder and Chief Executive Officer Dr. A.K. Pradeep.
Neuromarketing is the application of neuroscientific research to marketing, advertising, and entertainment content and messages. Through scientific metrics, the application enables marketers to better understand the effectiveness of advertising, branding, product development and packaging across industries, including consumer packaged goods and retail.
Clorox Ingredients on Web
What’s inside Clorox products? Through a new Ingredients Inside program, the maker of the iconic brand of household bleach is going online to disclose of preservatives, dyes and fragrances in its products, which include wipes, stain removers, and kitchen and bathroom cleaners
The Ingredients Inside program is available on the company’s corporate responsibility (CR) web site at www.CloroxCSR.com and on corporate web site at www.TheCloroxCompany.com. In addition to sharing its product ingredients with consumers, the company is offering $1 off any product from its Clorox family of products on Facebook, while supplies last.
Coin-Counting Kiosks in Safeway
Self-service coin-counting kiosks made by Coinstar will be installed in U.S. and Canadian stores operated by Safeway.
Some 1,400 kiosks will be put in the chain’s stores by the end of this year. Installations are slated for Safeway stores and its banners, including Vons, Dominick’s, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Genuardi’s, Pavilions, Carrs and Pak N’ Save.
Mobile App for NACDS Show
Attendees at the 2011 Marketplace Conference hosted by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) won’t miss anything if they download the trade group’s special mobile web-based application. The app is designed to enhance attendance at the event, June 25-28 in Boston, with planning tools such as an updated schedule, floor plan, and list of participants and sponsors.
The NACDS mobile app is compatible with most smartphone platforms including the iPhone, Droid and Blackberry devices and can be downloaded for free on the NACDS mobile website: m.NACDS.org or from NACDS’ main website at www.nacds.org.
Click on the LinkedIn logo to join the new Shopper Technology Institute Discussion Group
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