The Digital Marketing Podcast

Episode: A Guide to Digital Failure
Hosts: Daniel Rowles & Ciaran Rogers
Date: May 15, 2017

Episode Overview

In this engaging and insightful episode, Daniel and Ciaran mark the podcast’s seventh anniversary and celebrate one million downloads by tackling a subject every marketer dreads but must understand: failure in digital marketing. Leveraging years of experience and training, the hosts present a structured, practical guide to the key reasons digital initiatives stumble, and how to address them proactively. Using humor and real-world anecdotes, they break down a “capability framework” of ten critical factors, drawing on industry data and their own hands-on insights.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Celebrating Milestones & Anecdotes on Failure

• The episode kicks off with the hosts sharing a lighthearted backstory of their first meeting, revealing an (until now) secret mishap involving Ciaran falling into the sea—but saving an expensive camera in the process!
• Notable Moment [02:39]:

  "I'm obviously concerned about you, but what happened to the camera?"
  — Daniel
  "The camera was safe ... I saved the camera, but I'm sort of balancing precariously on the boat."
  — Ciaran

2. Introduction to Digital Failure and Transformation [03:56]

• The hosts recount their early discussions on digital transformation (as early as 2015) and introduce the core episode theme: why digital projects fail, and how to avoid typical pitfalls using a ten-point capability framework.

3. The Ten-Point Capability Framework [05:51]

Daniel methodically walks through ten factors that determine digital marketing success or failure. For each, he provides practical context:

a. Leadership Buy-In [05:51]

• Senior leadership support is foundational for digital change.
• Older, experienced leaders may not have grown up with digital; it's often up to digital advocates to tell the story in relatable terms.
  • Quote [06:32]:

    "If you've got leadership buy-in, pretty much everything else is fixable."
    — Daniel

b. Team Ability & Continuous Learning [08:45]

• Skills need to be constantly updated; organizations should foster a culture of ongoing learning.
• Ciaran offers a tip for maximizing event ROI: require team members to summarize and apply learnings post-conference.
  • Quote [10:15]:

    "You can go [to a conference], but I want to know what you've learned ... and what the key things are that you're going to change and put into action as a result of this."
    — Ciaran

c. Market Readiness [11:23]

• It's vital to understand whether your target audience is using new digital channels—never assume.
  • Quote [12:22]:

    "Things do change. And I'd give you Facebook as an example. When Facebook really exploded, it was very much a youth market thing. But actually ... it's a much older demographic that you can reach quite successfully there now."
    — Ciaran

d. Resources [13:02]

• Do you have the people, time, and money? Know where you have shortages and seek efficiencies.

e. Strategy [13:10]

• Digital strategy should be fully integrated with business and marketing strategies, not siloed.

f. Governance [13:38]

• Strong processes, policies, and clear accountability are required—especially in larger organizations.
• Includes escalation policies and clear reporting lines for digital operations.

g. Infrastructure (IT/Systems) [14:07]

• Integrated systems (like CRM, content management, and email platforms) are essential for efficiency and a “single customer view.”
• Cross-disciplinary teams (tech + marketing together) are increasingly vital.
  • Quote [14:37]:

    "There's this whole problem at the moment that marketers and techies don't really communicate... Cross-disciplinary teams become really important."
    — Daniel

h. Measurement [15:09]

• Know what you're measuring, and why. Avoid vanity metrics (e.g., likes, engagement) unless connected to genuine business impact.

i. Financial Connection [15:42]

• Can you clearly connect digital activities to financial performance? Too often, organizations struggle to link online behavior with bottom-line results.

j. Innovation [16:20]

• Does your organization have a “test and learn” culture? Are you budgeting or allocating time for experiments?
• Don’t wait for case studies—especially in conservative industries, be bold about trying new channels.

4. How to Use the Framework & Benchmarking

[16:44]

• List the 10 dimensions and score yourself (or your organization) out of 10 for each; total your score out of 100.
• Daniel reveals that, based on hundreds of facilitations, most organizations fall between 57–63.
• Lower scores highlight where to focus improvement and are more common in heavily-regulated or risk-averse sectors like finance or pharma.
  • Quote [18:20]:

    "A really low number is not the end of the world, because you can change each of these things. But the lower the numbers, the more work you're going to have to do."
    — Daniel

5. Final Reflections & Humor

• Ciaran cleverly loops the opening story back, closing with practical advice—and a joke.
  • Quote [19:20]:

    "You can't boil the ocean, Daniel, but you can, as I've learned, fall into it."
    — Ciaran

Notable Quotes

• “If you've got leadership buy-in, pretty much everything else is fixable.” — Daniel [06:32]
• “You can go [to a conference], but I want to know what you've learned ... and what the key things are that you're going to change and put into action as a result of this.” — Ciaran [10:15]
• "Cross-disciplinary teams become really important to make this stuff work." — Daniel [14:37]
• “A really low number is not the end of the world, because you can change each of these things. But the lower the numbers, the more work you're going to have to do.” — Daniel [18:20]
• “You can't boil the ocean, Daniel, but you can, as I've learned, fall into it.” — Ciaran [19:20]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Opening & Sea Anecdote: 00:00 – 03:43
• Digital Failure & Framework Introduction: 03:56 – 05:51
• Leadership Buy-In: 05:51 – 08:44
• Team/Learning Culture: 08:45 – 11:22
• Market Readiness: 11:23 – 13:02
• Resources to Governance: 13:02 – 14:07
• Infrastructure (Systems): 14:07 – 15:09
• Measurement & Financial Connection: 15:09 – 16:34
• Innovation: 16:34 – 16:44
• Using the Framework/Benchmarks: 16:44 – 18:18
• Final Reflections & Close: 19:20 – 19:39

Tone & Takeaways

• The episode maintains a friendly, candid, and practical tone throughout. Daniel and Ciaran mix humor (“You can’t boil the ocean... but you can fall into it!”) with transparency about their own experiences.
• The practical ten-point framework offers listeners a self-assessment tool they can use immediately.
• Underpinning the advice: improvement is possible, and digital failure is rarely terminal—if the right strategies are adopted.

For more resources and the framework tool, visit the episode show notes at targetinternet.com/podcast

This summary brings you the core ideas, wisdom, and wit of this landmark episode—a must-listen (or read) for digital pros looking to turn failure into future-proofing.