Google to launch Digital Marketing Transformation programme in SA
The Digital Maturity Benchmark – a tool developed collaboratively by Google and The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) – will now benefit professionals in the South African market, following a decision by Google’s Digital Academy to launch its Digital Marketing Transformation programme in the country.
The Google Digital Academy operates in a number of countries across the globe, working to equip students, young professionals and enterprises with the digital skills that the modern market demands. The academy will now launch its digital transformation programme in South Africa, where such skills are increasingly necessary.
The programme advises participants about current digital trends, and looks to provide support with developing the ideal digital marketing strategy. This advice and training is administered through a variety of formats, including workshops, face-to-face labs and e-learning facilities.
At the initial stages of the programme, participants are given the opportunity to gauge their digital progress in relation to the rest of the market using the Digital Maturity Benchmark, developed by Google and BCG. The benchmark was created to ensure that investments in digital marketing come to fruition.
Recent research from BCG found that despite the best intentions, only 2% of businesses across the globe creatively use technology to enhance their marketing processes. The benchmark looks to rectify this scenario, by facilitating the generation of a customised and interactive assessment of a firm’s current digital maturity. The tool also provides recommendations.
In South Africa, a sustained period of sluggish economic growth has led many experts to position technological innovation as the only ticket to progress in the near future. There is also an urgent need to develop digital skills amongst the youth in the country, given that unemployment in South Africa is steadily increasing. Google’s Digital Academy will look to tackle both these issues.
Commenting on the tool, Managing Director of BCG South Africa Jan Gildemeister said, “To respond to consumer expectations and competition, brands must make hard changes to realise the full potential of data-driven marketing.”
“Increasing digital marketing maturity is a journey that’s best achieved when technical and organisational capabilities go hand in hand to help brands iteratively take their next steps. Transformation is a necessity, and can be aided by applying advanced technologies in conjunction with smart human assistance,” he added.
