Volkswagen Group of America has created a new C-Suite position that focuses on the automaker’s digital and data strategy.

Neeru Arora has been appointed executive vice president, chief information officer (CIO) and chief digital officer (CDO) for Volkswagen Group of America and the North America Region, which includes both Volkswagen and Audi brands. 

Arora will focus on “creating a comprehensive digital and data strategy that will enable Volkswagen Group of America to develop and sustain its competitive advantage amid the automotive industry’s digital transformation,” according to the automaker. 

Her appointment comes in the wake of Volkswagen’s $7.1 billion commitment to boost product line-up, R&D, and manufacturing in North America, including a concerted investment in software and digital solutions, says Scott Keogh, president and chief executive officer, Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. 

As part of that, Volkswagen plans to bring over-the-air updates and new software features, such as Plug&Charge, for the ID.4 SUV this year. Volkswagen is also working with CARIAD SE, Volkswagen Group’s software entity, to support the formation of its North American subsidiary, with software units in Seattle and California’s Bay Area. The goal is to strengthen the company’s digital footprint in America.

Arora will join the group management committee and the board of management for Volkswagen’s North America Region to create and ensure the seamless implementation of its strategic vision.

She has spent the last four year at Volkswagen Credit as senior vice president and chief information officer where she oversaw the implementation of a new operating model and created advanced cyber and infrastructure programs.

She previously held a series of technology and business leadership roles with McKinsey & Company, UBS and the Chicago Board of Trade.

As vehicles become more integrated with the digital ecosystems, digital experiences must be seamless across multiple touch points, including in-car, mobile apps, desktop and dealerships, Arora says.

“Our connected car data will enable VW to deliver distinctive customer value and open new revenue generation opportunities,” Arora says in a statement. 

Chick-fil-A is the leader in customer satisfaction not only among QSR chains but all U.S. restaurants for the eighth consecutive year, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

The most notable change among the top 10 QSRs was that of Jimmy John’s, which hadn’t been measured previously by the ACSI, but ranks #3 behind #2, an unidentified group of “all other” quick-service restaurants.

Chick-fil-A repeated its 2021 score of 83 out of 100 among 20,143 email respondents surveyed between April of 2021 and March of this year.

Following Jimmy John’s were, in descending order, Domino’s (an ACSI score of 78 in 2022 versus 80 in 2021), KFC (78 versus 79), Chipotle (77 in both years), Panera Bread (77 versus 78), Pizza Hut (77 versus 78), Starbucks (77 versus 79) and Arby’s (76 versus 77).

At the bottom of the QSR satisfaction food chain were Taco Bell (72 in 2022 versus 74 in 2021), Popeyes (71 versus 73) and McDonald’s (68 versus 70).

Among customer experience benchmarks for QSRs “accuracy of food order” and “quality of mobile app” are the highest-ranked—with a score of 83 each this year, virtually identical to 2021.

QSRs ranked lowest for “speed of check-out or delivery” (80), “variety of food on menu (not including beverages)” at 79 and variety of beverages on menu (77).

ASCI dubbed the debut of Illinois-based Jimmy John’s high up in its satisfaction rankings as “freaky fast”—a nod to the chain’s delivery policy.

It’s not clear why Jimmy John’s had not been included in previous ACSI surveys.

In the past year, the chain debuted the character of Tony Bolognavich—“the king of cold cuts”—portrayed by actor Brad Garrett while substantially boosting its spending on advertising media.

According to data from Kantar—which tracks everything except paid search and social media, and includes network radio only through March of 2021—Jimmy John’s spent $47.3 million last year, representing a 44% increase over 2020.

In the first quarter of this year the chain spent $13.7 million, down from $19.7 million in the prior-year period.

Despite the buzz around TikTok, mobile marketers still focus on other channels and platforms to acquire users.

TikTok is rising in use, but less so for mobile user acquisition (UA) managers who seem to spend more marketing budgets with demand-side platforms (DSPs), ad and affiliate networks, and Apple search ads, according to data from Zoomd, a mobile marketing platform, and Adjust, a mobile marketing analytics platform acquired by AppLovin in 2021.

When mobile UA managers were asked to cite their primary mobile media source that benefited most when acquiring users in 2021 after Apple ATT privacy changes went into effect, Google and Facebook came in first, followed by DSPs, ad and affiliate networks, and Apple Search Ads.

When the UA managers were asked in the last Q4 holiday campaigns in 2021 to cite the mobile media source that performed best, TikTok beat advertising and affiliate networks. This result is in line with the 184% revenue growth eMarketer estimates for TikTok in the U.S. in 2022. 

The data released Thursday suggests 72% will be increasing their user acquisition (UA) budget in 2022, specifically for iOS, but it’s not clear by how much. Some 60% of respondents said they would increase their UA budgets for Apple’s mobile devices.  

Two major challenges when it comes to gaining the most insights from iOS campaigns, 33% cited the difficulty in finding the Lifetime Value (LTV) with limited SKAN insight, 25% said lacking the time to research and understand iOS changes and best practices.

When asked how they’re gauge success in their iOS campaigns, 40% said they use one data model focused on either purchase, ad revenue or engagement. Some 21% said they use custom curriculum vitae (CV) models, which provides a summary of experiences, to track multiple revenue types or events at the same time or data from probabilistic matching.

Interestingly, the number of user acquisition managers running campaigns on connected television (CTV) is expected to nearly triple in 2022 from 13% last year to 30% this year, with Apple TV as the leading platform.

With challenges brought on by economic changes such as gas and food prices, as well as the war in Ukraine, it has become more important for mobile marketers to see how budgets are allocated. The data suggests marketers are increasing budgets, but it is unclear by how much, not just moving it around like a shell game, with 60% of survey respondents admitting they will run UA ads on more platforms.

Video leads in the ad format type to acquire users, followed by display ads 

Another growing trend in UA is the use of influencers or creators, with 69% of respondents saying that they are running campaigns with influencers. UA managers also were asked how they monetize apps.

Some 66% of the apps used in-app purchases, 36% used in-app advertising and 31% used subscriptions, while 11% were pay-to-download in a multiple answer question.

Gmail, the biggest email service provider worldwide, has rolled out design changes that will provide a single location for multiple uses. 

Google announced the update in a post on Tuesday. A portion of Gmail users will see the new experience by default, although they can revert to classic Gmail in the settings menu. But they will not have to opt in for the new look.  

A Gmail design update had been announced earlier this year. These features apparently are new ones. 

Email marketers will have to determine whether the changes have any impact. 

The updates depend on the user’s Google Workspace edition. Consumers with Gmail only will simply see their inbox with a new look.

Previously, Google Chat, Spaces and Meet had not been disabled for Gmail-only users, prompting criticism, Androi reports.  

Those with Gmail, Chat and Meet can specify which apps they want to see in their new view.  

In addition, the new navigation now offers Material You, a new look for the user’s Google apps. 

The rollout was to start on Wednesday, with an extended period, potentially longer than 15 days, for visibility. 

Here are some attention-getting stats: Across the U.S., U.K. and Germany, 92% of voice assistant users are using the technology to search the web, and 40% do so regularly.

Even more notable, more than half of U.S. voice users are now using the technology to shop.

Those are findings from the 2022 edition of the Voice Consumer Index from Vixen Labs, a European agency that helps brands and companies use voice tech. Vixen had independent research firm Delineate survey 2,000 people 18 and older each in the U.S., U.K. and Germany (6,000 total) in May 2022. The samples were representative of each country’s population.

“Voice assistants and the assistance they provide have been in our lives in one way or another for more than a decade now,” notes the report. “We are turning to them without thinking about it, just to get things done. We see growth across all devices, platforms, and use cases, fueled by increased consumer awareness and an understanding of what their voice assistants can do for them. As the world unlocks [from pandemic lockdowns], people are turning more than ever to conversational technology to navigate their hybrid lives and businesses. We see more acceptance, a rising trust, and a decrease in fears around privacy and security.”

Frequency of voice use is up in all three markets studied, but particularly in the U.S. and U.K. In all three markets, at least a third of the population now uses at least one of the three dominant voice assistant devices:

While Americans primarily use Alexa on at-home smart speakers, Siri and Google Assistant reign on mobile (chart at top of page).

Shopping-wise, 25-to-34-year-olds are most likely to use voice to make purchases-- 67% of that age group within the U.S. report doing so. But older age groups aren’t far behind. In the U.S., 38% of even those 65 and older report using voice for purchasing.

Further, interest in using voice for shopping is beginning to expand beyond low-price point items into new categories, according to the report.

Previously, consumer goods and entertainment made up most voice purchases. Now, users searching and shopping across a broader range of products and categories than ever before, including fashion, fitness and finance.

In addition, voice users are asking about increasingly important and personal topics — even healthcare matters like finding treatment options for a condition or checking drug dosages.

Post-purchase, users are looking to brands and businesses to support them with customer service tasks such as parcel tracking, account management, and troubleshooting product issues.

“Now is the time to start helping customers across the whole consumer journey with voice technology,” from search/research to purchase to customer service, sums up the report. “It’s no longer a nice-to-have, but is expected.”

One key for brands looking to optimize for voice search: Focus on long-tail phrases instead of keywords.

“As consumers have become more comfortable using voice search, their queries have become more conversational,” explains the report. “That means winning position zero means answering questions, not just incorporating keywords into your content.”

With plans for expanding its footprint across the U.S. and Canada, Berlin-based marketing agency DCMN has appointed David Figueroa as Head of U.S. operations. 

Previously Figueroa was managing member and principal growth strategist at C5 Growth Marketing consulting. 

DCMN focuses on digital brands and startups. The firm has worked with hundreds of companies including Roku, Blinkist (a German book summarizing subscription service), mobile game developer Wooga and e-bike marketer VanMoof. 

In the U.S. the agency has worked with Hello Fresh and Wayfair among others. 

DCMN established a U.S. presence in 2015 with a New York office, where Figueroa will be based. He’ll work with an existing team of directors including Stephanie Stawniczy, Brianna Horiuchi and Joshua Fulfs. 

Established in 2010 by co-founders Andreas Dengler and Matthias Riedl, the agency also has offices in the U.K., the Netherlands, France and India.