LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwired - Mar 18, 2015) - The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Google Digital Academy have launched a new partnership. Together, the companies will work to drive an industry-wide initiative, the Talent Revolution, to significantly enhance digital marketing skills for leading companies.

A strong group of leading advertisers is already participating in the Talent Revolution: Tesco, Unilever, P&G, Vodafone, the UK's Government Communication Service, and Cancer Research UK, are among more than 30 organizations that have assisted BCG with the initial phase of the initiative. A consortium of partners is also supporting it, including the Knowledge Engineers (advising as the education partner), the IAB (representing the digital-advertising industry), ISBA (the voice of British advertisers), the IPA (representing UK agencies), the Marketing Society (a leading network of senior marketers), and the Marketing Academy (a leadership program for top marketers).

As a first step, BCG and Google Digital Academy will run an annual survey of digital-marketing capabilities across industries. Every company that participates with eight or more marketers will get its own digital-skills "health check" in the form of a benchmark report, showing the company's performance against its industry's average. The intelligence from the survey will also inform a new Digital-Skills Index and an annual report that will provide insight into cross-industry digital capabilities. The survey will be run annually, so the industry can see how digital skills are evolving.

Using the information gathered from the benchmarking, the Google Digital Academy and BCG partnership will identify key gaps in digital marketing skills. This will inform a learning curriculum to help leading companies build their digital marketing skills and keep pace with the rapid changes that are occurring. Google Digital Academy and BCG are driving this first-of-its-kind coordinated industry effort with a firm goal in mind: to help companies make their digital marketing efforts dramatically more effective and efficient.

Shuvo Saha, Director of Google Digital Academy
"Marketers themselves recognize that there is a gap in digital skills: 82 per cent of those surveyed recently told us they think so. The Talent Revolution initiative is bringing together the best industry advisors and representatives to address this gap and make sure that marketers become the driving force behind future business success."

Dominic Field, Partner at The Boston Consulting Group
"One of the big problems that advertisers face is that they do not know what they don't know when it comes to digital marketing. The annual Talent Revolution survey will help them identify where there are gaps in their digital capabilities. The Academy will help them raise their games to make more efficient and effective investment decisions."

BCG and Google Digital Academy Need You
BCG and Google Digital Academy are asking for just 15 minutes of your time if you are in the UK or Germany and in the marketing department in one of the following target industries: retailers, consumer goods, consumer electronics, telecommunications, media & entertainment, transport, travel & tourism, automotive, financial services, and public sector & education.

Anyone within a CMO's reporting hierarchy is eligible to complete the survey.

As this is the inaugural survey, it will be conducted only in the UK and Germany but may be rolled out into more countries in 2016.

The survey will continue through April 19, 2015. More details on how your organization can take part in the survey and how the information you provide will be used can be found here: http://googledigitalacademy.com/talentrevolution/index.html

The Talent Revolution forms part of Google's Growth Engine initiative to inspire 1 million Europeans and train them in digital skills by 2016. Digital skills are an essential element of any marketer's tool kit and the Talent Revolution will help to fill the skills gap in the industry.

For media inquiries, please contact Claire Hopkins at +44 790 351 3043 or hopkins.claire@bcg.com.

About The Boston Consulting Group
The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is a global management consulting firm and the world's leading advisor on business strategy. We partner with clients from the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors in all regions to identify their highest-value opportunities, address their most critical challenges, and transform their enterprises. Our customized approach combines deep insight into the dynamics of companies and markets with close collaboration at all levels of the client organization. This ensures that our clients achieve sustainable competitive advantage, build more capable organizations, and secure lasting results. Founded in 1963, BCG is a private company with 81 offices in 45 countries. For more information, please visit bcg.com.

About Google Digital Academy
The Google Digital Academy is dedicated to building digital capabilities in the marketing industry. We help Google's agency and client partners build the skills and capabilities they need to stay ahead in the rapidly changing digital world. We work independently or together with education partners to run a range of courses, from beginner to advanced, one-day long to six months, part time and full time. The Google Digital Academy currently runs in the UK and Germany, and some of our courses, such as "Squared" also run in the U.S. and Asia.