Debate: “Digital Marketing is the most ridiculous term I’ve ever heard”

PepsiCo Exec Mr. Jakeman called digital marketing the "most ridiculous term I've ever heard”. Smart Insights' Dave Chaffey says it’s still a useful term. Smart Insights members debate who is right.

PepsiCo Exec Mr. Jakeman recently called digital marketing the "most ridiculous term I've ever heard." He added:

"There is no such thing as digital marketing. There is marketing - most of which happens to be digital."

Speaking at the recent US Association of National Advertising's annual "Masters of Marketing" conference, he urged marketers to create digital cultures, not digital departments. He went on to say that "We 'ghettoize' digital as though it's the life raft tethered to the big ocean liner. And we have to move on from that".

We think his arguments have some merits, after all, creating digital cultures rather than creating silos is something we’ve advocated for some time. Indeed Dave Chaffey's post on the latest trends in marketing, discussed similar sentiment, for example, Amanda Rendle of HSBC Commercial 'banning the term digital' in her team and  Jeff Dodds, the Chief Executive of Tele 2 Netherlands and previously CMO for Virgin Media making similar comments:

"To talk about digital as some kind of separate entity is to not understand it. Our lives ARE digital is not a thing, it is simply a more flexible, response and efficient way to do business."

But we have also disagreed with the idea that digital marketing is an inherently ridiculous term, as it still is useful, especially for organisations still in the process of embracing digital through digital transformation and developing digital skills. We think the relevance of the term depends on 'digital marketing' maturity within an organisation. To boost the contribution from digital channels you need to create a separate, but integrated plan to make the case for more investment in digital. As digital marketing becomes part of 'marketing as usual' the digital marketing team structure and skills will evolve until digital marketing skills and processes are integrated throughout the marketing organisation.

The reality is, that with the increased usage of digital media and tech by consumers, marketing teams need specialist digital skills to reach and engage them digitally. As our recent Developing Digital Skills report showed, many marketers are now spending > 50% of their time on digital marketing activities and two of the three top job roles in marketing are digital!

The showdown: Jakeman Vs Chaffey

Our CEO Dr Dave Chaffey argued in the trends post mentioned above that the term ‘digital marketing’ will still serve a purpose for several years yet:

“Thing is, Marketing using digital media and tech requires specialist skills which many 'traditional marketers' still don't have. That's why the most popular marketing jobs now are specialist digital roles.

Eventually, there will be just marketing jobs - but I foresee specialist digital marketing jobs for the next 5, 10, ?? years since their will always be 'offline media' until Print eventually disappears”

Your views - what our members had to say:

We asked our members on our LinkedIn Group what they thought about the PepsiCo Execs views on digital marketing, and we got great feedback from both sides of the argument - with 20 comments showing that the quote 'touched a nerve'. Here's a flavour of some of the views.

Truin Chapman strongly believes that digital marketing shouldn’t be a separate term, and needs to be a part of the culture of the organisation rather than a department silo. He argued:

“Times have changed and 'Marketing' is primarily digital now.. just get it!”

Debbie Thomas also chimed in that digital should not be a separate department, stating that:

“Digital has disrupted the marketing industry, but all channels still rely on each other to be effective! Digital is not a department it's a part of the strategy.”

Shaun Muscat came in on Dave’s site of the debate, that it does still make sense as term because it requires specialist knowledge. He said that:

“I agree, ultimately it's marketing, but done through an additional channel, a digital channel. A channel, as Dave Chaffey rightly remarked, that requires specialised knowledge. Throughout history we've been adding new marketing channels such as TV, radio, print etc, so I don't see how digital should be different, it's just another medium to add in our marketing toolbox.”

Martin Shone also weighed in on Dave's side of the debate, but rightly pointed out that the lines are becoming blurred:

“Coming from a digital background I'm obliged to agree with Dave C. that specialist skills are required to understand some of the nuances of digital spaces and what is possible. Many companies rely on digital agencies to guide them through the maze while others have seen internal web teams expand to fill the gaps (and let's not mention those whose online efforts are still being jealously guarded by IT...). In my experience both of these still tend largely to be a weapon in the armoury of a traditional marketer.

However, most marketing roles I see advertised now have a degree of digital knowledge required, even if it's just having an understanding of social media. I've definitely seen a blurring of the lines in my company over the last couple of years, and there is an expectation that marketers should have, or be prepared to acquire, digital skills, but, at the moment, only to close the knowledge gap.

I think it will be difficult in the short to medium term, no matter how many guides or white papers are consumed for the price of an email address, for traditional marketers to gain enough understanding of some skill sets such as UX, APIs, metrics etc, to negate the benefits of a specialist 'team'.

Or maybe I'm just annoyed that the skill set I've acquired over many years is losing some of its kudos... ;)”

Melody Tune put her cards on the table and completely disagreed with Mr. Jakeman’s comments, arguing that:

Digital Marketing is a whole different animal. A different species than traditional marketing. 17 years working as a digital marketer in corporate in which marketing teams did not understand the technology and would make decisions based on illogical findings. Sorry I disagree!

Most of our members seem to agree with the idea that digital shouldn’t be a separate department and instead needs to permeate the whole organisation. Christopher Naylor thought that:

“A culture of digital activity needs to be weaved into marketing departments rather than being a stand alone entity.

Traditional marketing techniques will not disappear but forward 'digital generation' thinkers need to help to incorporate old and new rather than drive a wedge between the two.” Whilst Recbecca Donohue made the similar point: ‘I agree with him to a degree. You can't have a stand-alone digital division in my opinion. It needs to be interwoven into all marketing activity.

Traditional can (and should) influence digital and vice versa. Learnings can be deemed from one to drive results elsewhere in the mix.”

There seems to be a general consensus that digital marketing is still a useful marketing term because traditional marketing hasn’t quite caught up, but that doesn’t mean digital should be separate organizationally and not part of the whole company's culture. That said, coining the term ‘traditional marketer' opens up a whole new can of worms. Edward Michael Rhodes had this to say about it:

“If the term "Traditional Marketer" in 2015 imply a profession that does not acknowledge and recognize the importance and significance of Digital Communications. And by extension, the skills/expertise needed to successfully analyze, plan and execute winning digital strategies - then, I would have to conclude this term, "Traditional Marketer" is the most ridiculous I have ever heard.”

Whatever type of marketer you are, we certainly think it is ridiculous if you choose to ignore digital! What are your thoughts on this debate? Let us know!

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