The Martech Weekly & Alium partner to disrupt market research

A new partnership aims to transform the marketing technology (Martech) landscape, with Melbourne-based The Martech Weekly (TMW) and New York’s Alium joining forces to provide enhanced market intelligence. This collaboration is designed to disrupt conventional market research methods and help businesses make more informed decisions about their Martech investments.

Both companies offer valuable perspectives on the challenges faced by marketers today. Marketing professionals often struggle with selecting the appropriate technology from an overwhelming array of over 14,000 solutions. Conventional advice, which can be both costly and unreliable, often leaves them ill-equipped to make informed purchases, resulting in underutilised investments in expensive tools.

“Marketers are experts in marketing, not technology,” said Juan Mendoza, CEO of TMW. “Even if they have above-average tech literacy, C-suite decision-makers are usually not entirely confident about being able to identify the appropriate solutions for their organisation’s needs.”

This uncertainty has led many companies to seek expert advice, which according to Mendoza, frequently lacks reliability. Meetings with consultants, brand loyalty to established names, and other methods have often not yielded the desired results. “Businesses were spending ever more on Martech but then failing to make much use of it,” Mendoza explained.

This is where the new partnership steps in. Alium, founded by Jonathan Sherry, focuses on buyer intelligence by interviewing experts who have hands-on experience with Martech purchases. This data offers transparent insights into the strengths, weaknesses, and performance of various technologies directly from practitioners, thus providing a robust foundation for making informed decisions.

Jonathan Sherry also highlighted the issues with traditional market research firms. “They clip the ticket at various points, taking money from both tech buyers and sellers. This leads to conflicting incentives, which degrades the quality of the analysis they provide,” Sherry noted.

Sherry, who co-founded CB Insights and has over 11 years of experience in the research industry, created Alium to address these shortcomings. Backed by established venture firms Greycroft and Primary Venture Partners, Alium aims to optimise technology purchasing through actionable, unfiltered buyer intelligence.

Meanwhile, TMW has carved out a niche for itself in the Martech news landscape, with a subscriber base in over 65 countries. The company’s weekly briefings and in-depth essays keep industry leaders abreast of the latest developments, while their annual TMW 100 awards identify and rank the most innovative marketing technologies globally.

The joint venture between TMW and Alium aims to bridge the gap in reliable, transparent market intelligence. According to Mendoza, the partnership emerged out of shared frustrations with the current state of market research. “What have CMOs who want worthwhile insight typically done?” he asked. “Maybe they pay a consultant $50,000 to take responsibility for the decision. Whatever is happening, it’s not working.”

Sherry’s email to Mendoza, prompted by an essay the latter had published, sparked the collaboration. The two found common ground in their dissatisfaction with existing market-intelligence offerings and quickly developed a business plan to address these issues.

The venture's operational framework will focus on providing practical, reliable intelligence. Alium will focus on collecting data from experts who have first-hand experience with Martech. TMW, on the other hand, will continue to inform its vast audience with relevant, timely insights, further bolstered by Alium’s unique data.

The partnership aims to launch officially on July 1, signalling a new era in Martech decision-making. For marketing professionals and corporate decision-makers, this tie-up promises to deliver unprecedented clarity in assessing which Martech tools are truly worth their investment.

Mendoza summed up the venture's goals succinctly: “We’ve settled on the slogan, ‘Transforming the Martech decision-making landscape.’” Sherry echoed this sentiment, adding, “And that’s exactly what we’re about to do.”