Interview

Chris Combemale Chris Combemale is the CEO of the Data & Marketing Association, the UK’s leading trade association for today’s progressive data-driven marketers. They are Europe’s largest network of data-driven marketers.

Chris is an experienced international marketer with 40 years of experience in advertising and one-to-one marketing across Europe, the USA, and Asia/Pacific, including senior roles at client, agency, and marketing technology companies.

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How has the UK managed such a strong and stable development in Martech?

UK is the third largest ecommerce country in the world after China and the US, with about a third of all retail sales online and about 60% of that on mobile devices. The adoption of ecommerce builds on a UK heritage in data driven marketing and distance selling pre-digital, which has always featured advanced adoption of CRM solutions amongst other martech. As a result, UK companies continue to invest in martec to continue to develop their ecommerce and customer engagement solutions.

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How has Brexit affected the Martech landscape in the UK, if at all?

The UK is one of the global leaders in AI development and adoption, with a well-established heritage of innovation. With a strong focus from the government on AI adoption through the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology the UK aims to put data and technology at the heart of its economy and its public services As AI is integrated into martech at a rapid pace, the UK’s greater focus on innovation compared to the EU should ensure that it continues to be a great place for martech investment.

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What specific challenges do you see UK companies facing in Martech area?

Companies struggle to genuinely understand what they need in their martech stack. Sifting through the plethora of tech offerings and sales driven distribution models often means companies buy more technology than they have capacity to implement effectively. Other challenges remain, especially around data governance, data hygiene and legacy systems. 

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How do you see future Martech investment in the UK compared to a few years ago?

Invetsment in martech will continue, especially as martech providers integrate AI into their offering, especially for marketing automation and message personalisation.

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