Marketing and IT may have a history of friction, but at Aetna the chiefs of these domains have built a productive partnership. Forrester Research analysts Sharyn Leaver and David Cooperstein interviewed Aetna CIO Michael G. Mathias and CMO Robert Mead to learn how--and why--they forged the relationship.

To create a single contact point between IT and marketing and make it easier to coordinate needs, Mathias and Mead made their partnership formal via a "strategic advisor." The two organizations work side-by-side on strategic planning and together identify areas for investment and innovation, Mathias said in the interview posted at CIO magazine.

The IT staff members not only have to have the requisite technical skills for the job, but they also have to be creative, imaginative, open-minded and able to see "through the eyes or our customers," Mathias said.

The marketing folks were driven to forge a closer partnership with IT in part because health care in the United States is "fragmented and well behind the curve in terms of price transparency and consumer-friendly products and services," said CMO Robert Mead. Health care costs are rising, and insurance changes are requiring consumers to play a greater role in their own care.

What's more, health care reform is expanding the consumer base as millions of people who were previously uninsured join the marketplace. By working closely with technology pros, Aetna's marketing team can use the latest technologies to handle these changes. 

"We need to create consumer technology that is fast, seamless, integrated, relevant and flexible," Mead said. "We have significantly improved our member self-service website, launched a mobile website and health app, offer an industry-leading payment estimator, and are introducing social gaming to our members."

For more:
- see Leaver and Cooperstein's interview at CIO

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