BOSTON, MA--(Marketwired - Jul 20, 2016) -

• U.S. marketers' single greatest challenge is creating and quantifying marketing ROI across channels
• 78% of U.S. marketers feel that understanding marketing technologies have become critically important to their success
• Nearly half of U.S. marketers intend to leverage customer insights software over the next 12 months -- a 10% increase from today

According to a new report, 78% of U.S. marketers identify understanding marketing technologies as a skill that is becoming increasingly important for senior marketers. Along with marketing technology expertise, 65% of U.S. marketers identify being data literate and understanding digital media (72%) as mission-critical skills in today's digital-first world.

This data is from a new global report released today by DataXu, a leading programmatic marketing and analytics platform, which surveyed more than 500 senior marketers at major U.S. and European brands to better understand how marketing technologies are transforming marketing departments' roles and responsibilities.

The report makes it clear that the widespread adoption of a variety of marketing technologies by U.S. and global marketers is accompanied by both positives and pitfalls:

• 41% of global marketers and 37% of U.S. marketers surveyed believe the single biggest marketing challenge facing their organization is creating the most efficient marketing mix possible across channels to drive results.
• 23% of global marketers surveyed say their teams are stretched too thin due to managing too many marketing technology platforms/vendors simultaneously; some marketers work with 10 or more vendors and/or platforms across the martech and adtech landscape.
• One-third of global marketers cite poor visibility into metrics on whether or not their marketing is working, and difficulty proving that one marketing channel works better than another channel, as the largest current threats to their team's success.

"What's clear from this study is that globally, marketers are charged with the success of their businesses more than ever before," said Ed Montes, Chief Revenue Officer, DataXu. "The promise of marketing and advertising technology has created an expectation of improved marketing effectiveness, but to deliver on that promise requires education and partnership around cross-channel optimization and customer analytics."

DataXu's new report also highlights planned increases in marketing technology investments over the next 12 months. 46% of U.S. marketers intend to leverage customer insight analytics in 2017, up from 36% today, while the number of U.S. marketers implementing programmatic marketing in 2017 is slated to increase by 10%.

"As marketers combat a fragmented consumer view, the use of analytical software becomes the crucial next step in achieving a 360-degree view of the customer," adds Montes. "Marketers note a lack of visibility into the effectiveness of their marketing mix as a serious challenge, and there's only room for improvement in attributing success across a marketing plan."

DataXu's report, "Modernizing The Mix: Transforming Marketing Through Technology and Analytics," can be downloaded here.

Methodology
This research was carried out by market research specialists Morar on behalf of programmatic marketing and analytics platform DataXu in collaboration with Withpr. An online survey of 29 questions was completed by a total of 532 senior marketers; 50 were based in each of three Continental Europe countries (Germany, Italy, Spain); 52 were based in France, and 174 in the U.S. and 156 in the UK. The survey defines senior marketers as decision makers who manage annual marketing budgets of approximately USD $750,000 or more. This research was carried out in May 2016.

About DataXu
DataXu's mission is to make marketing better using data science. The world's top brands and agencies use DataXu to better understand and engage customers across all devices and media formats. Our solution provides marketers with unparalleled Media Activation, Marketing Analytics and Data Management capabilities. With sixteen offices in eleven countries, DataXu's full-stack solution is powering the digital transformation of the world's most valuable brands.