Unilever Anoints A CMO; Benioff Talks Up Salesforce CDP

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CMO++

Unilever has promoted Conny Braams to Chief Digital and Marketing Officer, replacing legendary CMO Keith Weed. Formerly EVP of Unilever Middle Europe, Braams is taking on the position during a time of rapid change in the marketing org. Unilever CEO Alan Jope, a marketer who took over the top job at the beginning of the year, said in a statement that Braams is tasked with turning Unilever into a “future-fit, fully digitized organization at the leading edge of consumer marketing.” Earlier this year, Jope said he was looking to replace Weed with a “CMO++,” CNBC reports. At many of the world’s top brands, the CMO job is changing or outright disappearing, but in most cases it’s because the incoming (and upcoming) marketers have more responsibility in the business and control their own P&Ls. (i.e. They don’t have to constantly plead for or justify budgets with the CEO or CFO, as long as they can demonstrate sales.) More.

Me And My CDP

Co-CEO Marc Benioff talked up Salesforce’s new customer data platform, Customer 360, on the company’s earnings call this week. Salesforce first introduced its CDP in June. “Every company needs an intelligent 360-degree view of their customer,” Benioff told investors. “This is what our customers have been asking for.” All the large marketing clouds have recently rolled out their version of a CDP. Oracle’s got one, Adobe’s got one – even Microsoft and SAP have tossed their hats in the ring. Related: Read AdExchanger’s Q&A with new Salesforce Marketing Cloud CEO Adam Blitzer.

InstaSports

Instagram is helping athletes sell merchandise on its platform. In November, Serena Williams’ clothing line released a new sequin jacket that could only be purchased through Instagram’s checkout feature, which closes purchases without users leaving the app. In the week after the exclusive product launch on Instagram, the photo-sharing app drove 50% of all sales for the whole fashion brand, The Wall Street Journal reports. Sports teams are getting in on the trend too: the Los Angeles Clippers use Instagram as a primary merchandising platform, with shoppable posts that drive back to an online store. Instagram wants in on the action of mobile commerce, which drove 35.6% of online sales in the past month, according to Adobe. And it sees athletes and sports teams as their own category of fashion influencers that can help it capture more purchase activity. “Shopping as a feature is a main priority for Instagram Sports,” said Dev Sethi, head of sports for Instagram. More.

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