According to Australian media news site mUmBRELLA, Sangster said at a recent marketing conference that marketers were struggling more than ever with the explosion of customer data, and that they had “gone backwards” in their understanding of the complexities of data. “We asked CMOs how they are coping with the data explosion and they have actually gone backwards,” she said. “Five years ago about 72% of CMOs said they were overwhelmed with data and five years later we are at 82%”. She added that she felt education courses were too slow in adapting to the rapid changes in the industry.

Sangster warned that companies were being too complacent over new data privacy laws, particularly in relation to issues of transparency.

“Part of the challenge is the big skills gap we have in Australia around data analytics and true data driven marketing. The pool of people is quite small that we can draw from and we are all pinching people from each other’s company,” Sangster said.

“Part of the problem is that education courses are not keeping up. They say they need three years to change a curriculum but three years at the rapid change we are seeing is not going to keep up. It’s a problem.”

The ADMA has recently formed an alliance with the Institute of Analytics Professionals of Australia (IAPA), with a view to bridging the gap between marketing and data analytics.