MarTech is the umbrella term for all the software and tools that help marketers achieve their goals. The MarTech landscape has exploded in recent years, with the number of MarTech solutions now exceeding 7,000. This growth is being driven by the increasing complexity of marketing, the rise of digital channels, and the need for marketers to be able to measure the effectiveness of their campaigns. As the MarTech landscape continues to evolve, a group of visionary women are leading the revolution, driving innovation and making a significant impact. Kerry Dawes is among these influential leaders positioned as the MarTech Director at Digitas UK.
Imagine a scenario where businesses are seeking to leverage the power of connection to fuel their growth and make a positive impact. In this scenario, Digitas UK emerges as a dynamic force, harnessing the potential of connections to transform the way clients’ businesses thrive. With a relentless focus on creating meaningful connections, Digitas UK brings together diverse people, ideas and expertise in innovative and exciting ways.
At the helm of Digitas UK’s MarTech division, Kerry Dawes spearheads the charge toward driving these impactful connections. With a wealth of experience and a keen understanding of the MarTech landscape, Kerry is a driving force behind Digitas UK’s success in helping clients achieve their goals.
Kerry’s leadership prowess lies in her ability to navigate the complexities of the MarTech industry while delivering tangible results for clients. Through her strategic vision, she identifies opportunities for leveraging technology to create transformative marketing campaigns, optimize customer engagement and maximize digital media impact. Her expertise extends beyond theoretical concepts, as she brings practical solutions to the table that have a direct and measurable impact on the client’s bottom line.
Under Kerry’s guidance, Digitas UK has earned recognition as a leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Global Marketing Agencies. This accolade speaks volumes about her ability to deliver innovative solutions and generate meaningful results for clients. Collaborating with some of the world’s leading brands, Kerry ensures that Digitas UK remains at the forefront of MarTech advancements, continuously pushing the boundaries and delivering cutting-edge strategies.
Beyond her professional achievements, Kerry embodies the values of connection, collaboration and positive impact. She fosters an environment where ideas flourish, diversity is celebrated and teamwork is nurtured. Her ability to connect with clients, understand their unique needs and translate those needs into actionable strategies sets her apart as a trusted partner.
We uncovered strategic insights and discovered how her expertise is helping businesses thrive in the dynamic world of MarTech through an interview.
Let’s delve into the intercepts of the interview!
Brief our audience about your journey as a Marketing leader to your current position at your company. What challenges have you had to overcome to reach where you are today?
My career has taken a less than the direct route; I’ve worked with different organizations, from tech providers and sales, through to client-side building and growing teams. The one constant has been about extracting value from data and applying it to marketing activities.
Early on in my career, I worked in a business that provided data and we were constantly asking ‘So what?’. This built my curiosity to continuously question and challenge data and strategies. This has meant I have found myself looking at the bigger picture and the future ambition, but remaining obsessively pragmatic about the practical applications and ideas to bring value and impact to marketing.
My work sits in the grey area between IT and marketing which brings its own challenges. Questioning the status quo also tends to ruffle feathers and then there is being one of the few women in a male-dominated industry and the challenges that come with that.
Enlighten us on how you have been impacting the sector through your expertise in the market.
I am surrounded by a range of diverse thinkers at Digitas UK. Creatives, strategists, media practitioners, and much more. Through my work discussing connected martech and orchestration of connected journeys, I have helped bring the technology conversation further upstream.
When strategies and designs are being created, I work with these teams to ensure they are possible. I also help our clients navigate the 11,000+ technologies to break down what they need, in order to deliver against their ambitions.
Undeniably, technology is playing a significant role in almost every sector. How are you leveraging technological advancements to make your solutions resourceful?
Whenever generating new ideas for clients, I work with my colleagues to help uncover what’s possible.
- What does the client have in their toolkit that helps them deliver their marketing strategies?
- What do they need to connect to enable them to bring to life their ambitions?
- Are they set up to measure success against their target audiences?
All of these questions help us identify what’s possible and what isn’t. That way we are building impactful recommendations.
Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run and what are your future goals for your career?
I am passionate that we as an industry (MarTech) start to face into the issues that we constantly talk about but aren’t resolving. There are more technologies out there than ever before, but businesses still struggle to deliver connected experiences.
I want to champion the industry to look inwards and recognize that it’s not just a technology problem but one of connection. From data engineering, integrations and connectors, business and team changes and adoption through to changing how marketing and IT work together.
What would be your advice to budding leaders who aspire to venture into the marketing industry?
If you’re asking yourself why in your head, be confident enough to say it out loud. We only get better by challenging, considering and questioning the norm, especially with the rate of change and innovation we are seeing in the world today.
