It was the worst of times, and now hopefully the best of times as Nine says it is on track to deliver all of its data-driven commitments to its Olympic sponsors – despite having to overcome delays in standing up a CDP it began implementing in 2021. The early problems — including promised functionality that didn’t materialise — were so bad and delayed the project to such an extent the media giant went back to market with a new tender in the second half of last year.
That did the trick although to the surprise of many in the tech sector, and despite a comprehensive evaluation of alternatives from companies like Tealium and Salesforce, and composable solutions from Hightouch and others, Nine stuck with Adobe. And it’s not the only data-driven solution developed by Nine using Adobe’s technology that has initially caused it grief – Audience Match, now regarded as a revenue winner and a strategic asset, likewise ran into early problems when Nine connected into Adobe. But just like the CDP, Nine has pulled that project back on course and is now delivering wins for the company and its clients.
When implementing a new martech platform, especially something as intricate as a CDP, there’s often a strong desire to make a significant impact. This is particularly true in environments where proving ROI immediately is crucial to the C-suite.
Richard Taylor
