Who will win the MarTech arms race? | #MME16 by R. Danes | Apr 27, 2016 “Transformation” is an overused word in most industries. Companies looking to promote some new bells and whistle can’t wait to tell you they’re “transforming” the industry. The changes taking place in marketing technology (or is it technological marketing?) are the real deal though, according to Bruce Rogers, chief insights officer at Forbes Media, LLC. Rogers said in an interview with John Furrier (@furrier) and Peter Burris (@plburris), cohosts of theCUBE, from the SiliconANGLE Media team, that everything about the way marketers are connecting with customers is being disrupted. He added that advertisers and marketers are under increasing pressure because technology is making their performance measurable like never before. He also said that Big Data and tools for interacting with customers and personalizing their experience are raising companies’ expectations of what marketers can do for them. The shift is so dramatic that a whole new kind of company is threatening to supplant marketing firms. “We’ve seen the rise of the strategic advisory firms — all of whom have major advertising agency divisions,” he said. He said these agencies’ technological capacities give them an edge over traditional marketers, and they’re buying up creative advertising talent to boot. “So if you can marry creative and strategic analysis and perspective, plus the technology implementations experience — now that’s a whole new world.” His verdict: “So far they’re winning the race.” Marketing firms try to keep up Rogers talked about marketers now needing to learn about data and other technological tools. “Those are not skill sets that you would normally have associated with leadership five years ago,” he said. The worry among marketers wading into technological waters is” “Are they locking themselves into some solution that’s outdated in two years?” Rogers asked.