Unilever CMO Keith Weed says there is now a whole generation of senior management that don’t understand digital
Many senior marketers are teaching digital natives on digital though don’t necessarily understand it themselves, or as Keith Weed says, they are “reading from a book or just using management skills”, which isn’t enough.
Weed said that there are marketers in their 30’s and 40’s that belong to a “lost generation”. They don’t necessarily have children old enough to get them interested in digital and they aren’t from a digital native era themselves.
He said that wherever you are in an organisation you need to “throw yourself into what is going on, live in the space and really understand what is going on in the world.”
Weed said that if marketers are not prepared to do this or don’t aspire to be a great digital marketer as opposed to simply a marketer, then “now is a good time to get another career, as it is only going to get more difficult.”
Watch the video to find out more on what Weed believes marketers must learn from digital and how the marketing industry compares to American football.
Keith Weed is supporting the WFA’s Project Reconnect, which champions what’s good about marketing and showcases its impact. The Project intends to improve perceptions of our industry. Follow the cause at: @WFAReconnect and @WFAmarketers
