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Marketing agencies using technology to plug talent gaps
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77% of UK organisations, including marketing agencies, say they are finding ways for technology to do jobs formerly performed by people in the face of hiring and skills issues.

That’s according to new research from Rackspace Technology, which shows two thirds (64%) of UK companies are downsizing their staff, facilitated by technology, out of a necessity, with roles in customer service the most likely to be automated, as identified by 70% of business decision makers – followed by IT operations (62%), sales and marketing (57%), business operations (56%), and HR and admin (56%).

Half of UK companies (47%) have increased their IT investment due to the current economic climate, recognising the crucial role technology will play in improving performance and plugging skills gaps.

Almost two thirds (63%) are looking for technology to drive greater efficiencies, such as through moving infrastructure to the cloud, but the motivation for increased investment also extends to talent issues, with UK companies now investing 1.5 times more money in roles performed by technology than those performed by people.

This reflects the challenging labour market, with two thirds (65%) of companies finding it difficult to fill technical vacancies and a similar proportion (62%) struggling to retain IT staff.

This commitment to technology to combat talent shortages, and the consequent trend for an increase in IT investment, is also being driven by growing confidence in return on investment among senior leaders. Three in five (58%) organisations acknowledge established ROI on technology is encouraging further financial commitments.

It is also shifting the requirements for all staff, not solely those working in IT. The vast majority (85%) of UK companies now prefer non-technical staff to have a degree of technical proficiency, regardless of whether it’s a core element of the role. 

Mahesh Desai, Chief Relationship Officer, EMEA, at Rackspace Technology, comments: “In times of economic uncertainty, committing increased spend to technology is a risk a majority of companies simply must take in the face of technical skills shortages across the board.

“Not only can technology offset the reduced workforce available but it is a well-established way of driving business efficiencies as well – though only if used effectively.

“Three quarters (73%) of UK organisations also said cloud operations would be a key investment area over the next 12-18 months and while they have correctly identified an important tool in improving their operations, they will need to optimise these investments and strategies to feel the true benefit.

“It should also be noted that technology itself is very different to technical-proficient staff. A tough labour market and therefore necessity might be driving the growing role tech is playing within companies but finding and retaining capable staff will remain crucial for businesses to thrive.”

To download the full report, click here.

Take your marketing career to the next level with these excellent online courses
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Our selection of online courses tailored specifically for the Marketing sector will enable you to both learn new skills and improve existing ones in 2023 and beyond – sign up today! These are specially-curated online courses designed to help you and your team improve expertise and learn new things. The Sales & Marketing and Management, Leadership & Business Operations online learning bundles, provide you with over 100 courses, which cover all areas of both professional and personal development:
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And many more! Find out more and purchase your course online here. For just £99 (usually £149), you can share the courses with your colleagues over a 12-month period. Additionally, there are a variety of bundles available on all spectrums;
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Book your courses today and come out of this stronger and more skilled!
PlayStation-VR

Building an Omnichannel Shopping Experience: AR/VR and the Metaverse
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By Bach Nguyen Luu, Deputy Director of Integrated Commerce Solutions/ Head of Digital Commerce & Experience, FPT Software

Omnichannel is no new concept in retail, especially after the COVID-19 outbreak. Brands can no longer rely solely on the brick-and-mortar in-store experience as consumers flock to the internet to shop. Today’s shoppers expect a unified, customised experience, with 76 percent of consumers more likely to buy from brands that personalise customer interactions across touchpoints. This means building a true omnichannel shopping experience is no longer a nice-to-have – it has turned into a strategic priority.

Offline and online co-exist

When e-commerce came to life and forever changed the retail landscape, there were questions over whether online shopping would mean the end of brick-and-mortar stores. However, the past few years have shown that it is not a question of online or offline; instead, both worlds co-exist and complement each other.

Online shopping has boomed in recent years, accelerated by the pandemic. According to UNCTAD, the average share of global internet users that purchase online went from 53 percent in 2019 to 60 percent in 2021. Some countries even experienced a sharper increase, such as the United Arab Emirates, doubling from 27 percent to 63 percent.

Despite this trend, brick-and-mortar stores remain a strategic distribution channel for retailers. Indeed, nearly half of American consumers prefer in-store over online shopping, attributed to factors such as the ability to see and feel products before they buy. What is more, the retail sector is now experiencing a reversal of what happened during the pandemic. In-store sales are growing at a higher rate than online channels. But consumers no longer want offline-only or online-only shopping; they expect a smooth, seamless and highly integrated experience of both.

Given the shift in consumer behaviour, retailers that invest in a solid omnichannel strategy enjoy a competitive advantage over pure online/offline players. On one hand, they can achieve higher revenue as omnichannel consumers shop more frequently. According to McKinsey & Company, in the apparel category, omnichannel customers shopped 70 percent more often and spent 34 percent more than pure offline shoppers.

On the other hand, retailers with a brick-and-mortar presence typically attract more customers organically than online-only players. This translates to lower investment in paid marketing and a better bottom line.

Global retail giants are already participating in the omnichannel game. Previously online-only brand Amazon has joined the brick-and-mortal playing field with Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh. Equipped with technology such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), multi-sensors and state-of-the-art CCTV cameras, these stores allow customers to shop without the hassle of checking out. In return, the company can keep track of consumers’ habits, send corresponding offers and discounts, and offer a customised shopping experience.

Augmented Reality shopping

Consumers should be the focus of any omnichannel approach, and Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR) is the vehicle for brands to become more consumer centric. According to Eclipse, 71 percent of consumers say they would shop more often if they could use AR.

AR/VR bridges the gap between in-store and online shopping. With the help of AI and machine learning, brands can now engage with consumers in a way never seen before. The pandemic has fostered a new demand in retail – the ability to see and feel a product on a digital platform. With stores closed down, the live, in-store experience had to become virtual, and AR/ VR is the perfect solution to fulfil this new demand.

Global brands are beginning to leverage the technology. Ikea is already incorporating AR/VR into its strategy. With its mobile app, the company allows customers to scan their rooms and digitally place furniture in their houses with real-time customisation, browsing through 2,000 catalogue items from the comfort of their own homes.

Metaverse for retail? 

Metaverse – a current buzzword – refers to an “integrated network of 3D virtual worlds” accessible through a VR headset. It is a fast-emerging space where people can shop, be entertained, and it blurs the lines between physical and digital life. Given its potential, the metaverse is expected to empower the next evolution in omnichannel retail, with AR/ VR being the key vehicle for that journey.

Big brands such as Ralph Lauren and Gucci are already on their path of exploring a new business model called “Direct-to-Avatar” (D2A), where they will be selling products directly to avatars – the consumer’s digital personas on the metaverse. Their products are no longer made of atoms, but of bits and pixels.

Even the runway has made its debut on the metaverse. The first ever Metaverse Fashion week was held in March, featuring luxury brands and household names. It is now possible for consumers to sit next to the runway, try and buy any outfit they like in a matter of seconds – all in the virtual world. Companies will not only be selling products on the metaverse but also offer new worlds of virtual experiences to their customers.

With the incredible success that AR/VR games like Minecraft, Fortnite and Roblox have had, the next generation of consumers will be familiar and comfortable with virtual worlds. It is only a matter of time until they will want to see their favourite brands on the metaverse. Major tech players have already invested billions of dollars into making the metaverse an indispensable part of e-commerce. Hence, a good starting point for companies looking to engage with consumers on the metaverse is to build up their resource pool involving AR/VR,5G internet, blockchain, crypto and non-fungible tokens (NFT).

It is only a matter of time until the metaverse becomes the new playground for retailers. Those brands that have planned ahead will take the lead.

Digital skills shortage impacting multiple UK sectors
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Demand for digitally skilled workers in UK vertical industries including technology, finance, ecommerce and retail, is outgrowing the level of digital skills available.

Yet, only half (51%) of British companies within these vertical industries are willing to spend more than £25,000 on recruitment and learning and development (L&D) combined, to boost skills such as cybersecurity, software architecture and data analysis.

That’s according to research from O’Reilly, conducted by Censuswide in September 2022, which surveyed 300 HR decision-makers within the technology, finance, ecommerce and retail industries (100 per industry) to identify the digital skills most in demand and potential barriers to upskilling staff.

More than a quarter (27%) of the HR decision makers surveyed say their organisation faces the biggest lack of skilled workers in cybersecurity, followed by software architecture (15%) and data analysis (14%). Despite this, only a third (33%) are willing to spend more than £10,000 on recruitment and L&D to hire cybersecurity talent. Meanwhile, the majority of organisations plan to spend no more than £10,000 on recruitment and L&D for data analysis (71%) and software architecture (68%) skills.

Instead, almost a third of organisations plan to spend up to or more than £20,000 on recruitment for AI and ML (32%) and cloud (31%). Additionally, more than a quarter of organisations will spend up to or more than £20,000 on AI and ML (29%) and cloud (28%) L&D to upskill employees. Organisations will spend the most on L&D for Gen Z (average £13,962), followed by £13,608 for Millennials and £13,495 for Gen X over the next twelve months.

Disparity in recruitment vs L&D spend

Encouragingly, the majority (83%) of vertical industries plan to spend between £25,000 – £50,000 on overall recruitment for skilled tech vacancies over the next twelve months. Yet, only 78% will spend the same amount on tech-related L&D.

The technology sector is planning to spend the most on overall recruitment (average of £33,676), compared to £31,651 on L&D. Additionally, the finance sector will spend an average of £33,075 on recruitment compared to £31,400 on L&D, while the retail and ecommerce sector will spend an average of £29,275 on recruitment versus £28,801 on L&D.

The biggest barrier to upskilling current employees for more than two fifths (21%) of organisations is insufficient resources, followed by a lack of internal personnel (19%) and a lack of internal buy-in (17%). In the tech sector specifically, 21% of organisations say lack of leadership support is a key barrier to upskilling current employees. However, across all industries combined, 58% of HR decision makers feel ‘significantly’ supported by leadership when it comes to investment in tech-related L&D.

“It’s encouraging that 80% of companies within the UK’s tech, finance and retail sectors have increased investment for tech-related learning and development over the past three years. However, our data suggests that further investment is needed to recession-proof the UK’s vertical industries,” said Alexia Pedersen, VP of EMEA at O’Reilly.

“With the pound currently at a 37-year low against the dollar, now is the time for companies to deploy upskilling programmes alongside ongoing recruitment efforts. Likewise, employees should prioritise L&D to safeguard their role and make themselves an invaluable asset to their organisation. This will be key to creating a highly skilled workforce that keeps British businesses at the forefront of their industries globally.”

Under the microscope: Lessons from iconic British TV advertising
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TV is a huge part of everyday life, with iconic British soaps like Coronation Street and Eastenders still going strong today. Alongside these shows, certain British adverts have made a lasting impression on viewers. We all have memories of particular ads that just won’t leave our heads, and some have claimed space as an essential part of British culture.

These iconic British adverts can be a source of inspiration for marketers, alongside digital marketing books and social media. From BOGOF deals to drumming gorillas, here’s what we can learn from the iconic marketing campaigns that have appeared on our screens…

1) Mascots make money

118 118

Let’s start with the 118 men – no one can forget those strong moustaches and tiny red shorts. Although phone directories haven’t been commonplace in a good few years, it was hard to turn on the TV in the early 2000s without their presence.

Such was the impact of the 118 118 men, they even became a popular fancy dress outfit that you might still see out today. The two mascots featured in many different adverts, and created spoofs of other content, such as the movie ‘Rocky’ and even one Honda campaign. Despite the differences in ad themes, the two mascots were easily recognisable, and the numbers on their shirts were an unshakable link back to the brand. This effective campaigning positioned 118 118 at the top of their industry thanks to their memorable mascots.

Compare the Meerkat

You’d think Russian meerkats would make a rather strange figurehead for a comparison site. But, Compare The Market took a risk with a play on words and then continued to roll with it. Their successful campaign, Compare the Meerkat, first introduced Aleksandr Orlov, a talking meerkat with his own website – comparethemeerkat.com.

The campaign has since skyrocketed, and Aleksandr and his Meerkat coworker, Sergei, have gained somewhat of a celebrity status. They have hundreds of thousands of social media followers, and have even established detailed backstories for their lives. An insurance comparison site isn’t likely to amass lots of social media followers for its riveting content, so creating interesting mascots is a great workaround for attracting audiences.

2) We’re a nation of animal lovers

Three’s moonwalking pony

What are two things the nation loves? Animals and Fleetwood Mac. Three combined the two in a genius marketing campaign that depicted a moonwalking pony to Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Everywhere’. Their ad carried the tagline ‘Silly Stuff. It Matters.’ Clearly taking a step away from the more technical side of their services, the brand decided to appeal to public opinion with this lighthearted ad.

The video gained over 3 million views within a week of its release, and around 250,000 shares. A clever addition from Three was the hashtag #DancePonyDance, which trended on Twitter and helped circulate the video across other social media platforms. If there’s one thing we can learn from Three’s viral campaign, it’s that animals doing funny things will always get clicks and shares.

Churchill

Churchill Insurance really knew how to play up the patriotism with their bulldog mascot. Well known for his catchphrase ‘Oh yes!’, Churchill the dog still holds a place in Brits’ hearts with his famous nodding head. The Churchill craze was so widespread that lots of Brits bought their own mini nodding bulldog as a car accessory. This associated Churchill the dog with cars and everyday life, meaning Churchill Insurance was impossible to forget about. He even featured in 22 pantomimes around the UK back in 2009, proving he was more than just a brand representative. Creating a lovable animal mascot really worked in Churchill’s favour, establishing them as an iconic part of British history and culture.

3) Humour can send you viral

Moneysupermarket

When you think of memorable marketing campaigns, it’s usually the funniest ones that immediately stick out. One example is Moneysupermarket’s ‘Dave’s Epic Strut’ ad, which featured a businessman strutting down the street in hot pants and heels. Dave felt so epic after saving money on his car insurance that he sassily struts his stuff to ‘Don’t Cha’ by The Pussycat Dolls. The brand’s image isn’t lost in this ad though, as a deep voiceover says ‘You’re so Moneysupermarket’. After receiving an immediate boost in website traffic, the brand has continued to release humorous ads with the tagline ‘You’re so Moneysupermarket’.

But, there’s always a risk that comes with experimental marketing campaigns. For instance, ‘Dave’s Epic Strut’ attracted over 1,500 complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) claiming ‘overtly sexual’ content. The ASA, however, did not uphold these claims and deemed the advert not offensive. The advert gained lots of press coverage for its bold approach, which was only boosted by the outrage. Not everyone has the same sense of humour, but implementing it can certainly go far in running an effective campaign.

Cadbury’s Drumming Gorilla

Possibly one of the most ridiculous campaigns to hit the screens, Cadbury’s drumming gorilla ad is also one of the best performing. Viewers were drawn in by the randomness of the ad, and it went viral quickly.

In fact, the campaign was a massive lifesaver for Cadbury, who previously had to recall over a million chocolate bars because of a salmonella scare. Luckily for Cadbury, the campaign received an overwhelmingly positive response from the public, and even won the top prize at Cannes Lions in 2008. But on top of its viral outreach, Cadbury also benefited from a 10% sales increase. This ad was undoubtedly an example of PR done right, and put Cadbury back in the public’s good graces.

4) Empathy can do a lot

John Lewis’ bear and the hare

It’s amazing how much impact advertisements can have on the British public. Once a certain time of year rolls around, you’ll often find eager Brits anticipating the newest John Lewis ad. There’s a reason for this – the brand’s ad campaigns target nostalgia and empathy to really tug at their audience’s heartstrings.

One of their most iconic campaigns, ‘The Bear and the Hare’, was accompanied by Lily Allen’s cover of ‘Somewhere Only We Know’ and follows the friendship of a bear and a hare. A study found that 48% of people who viewed the advert felt ‘intense positive emotions’, compared to an average 29% for other UK advertisements.

Both the song and the animation were a great success, sending Lily Allen’s cover into the charts. John Lewis was on everyone’s minds, with the advert playing on Christmas TV programming, and the song constantly played on the radio. From their clever campaigning, John Lewis has become synonymous with the festive season in the UK. Their yearly ad campaigns are proof that advertisements don’t need to be flashy and obnoxious to be effective.

5) Earworms are the perfect tool

There’s no better way to stay on someone’s mind than with a catchy jingle or phrase. Some of the biggest brands in the world have memorable catchlines, and when done right, they can skyrocket in popularity.

GoCompare

Car insurance has a wide target audience – car drivers live all over the country and exist within a very broad age bracket. So, how could GoCompare design a campaign that would appeal to so many people? Their inescapable advert ‘Tenor’ featured an opera singer telling viewers to choose GoCompare for insurance comparisons.

The advert has been criticised as annoying, but its longevity and GoCompare’s success seem to outweigh the complaints. Whether you view it as light-hearted fun or an irritating nuisance, audiences across the UK have probably had the tune stuck in their head at some point. The Guardian even reported that the catchy jingle was the most-played music in adverts in the whole of 2012. Annoying or not, it was certainly effective.

SafeStyle ‘Buy One Get One Free’

Although everyone loves a good sing-song, it’s not necessarily just songs that can be catchy. Many Brits will remember SafeStyle’s TV frontman Jeff Brown, who told viewers that ‘You buy one, you get one free’.

‘Buy One Get One Free’ aka ‘BOGOF’ is a common marketing tactic used by brands to sell products. However, SafeStyle’s comedic adverts firmly planted their ads into the minds of the British public whenever they heard the phrase. Maybe it was the strong Northern accent, or the bizarreness of the ad on the whole, but this advert soon became famous (or infamous) for its phrase.

SafeStyle recently tried to move away from their previous campaigns, taking a more serious approach. But, it’s safe to say that many Brits will remember them for their iconic marketing campaign back in the day.

6) Brits love a celeb cameo

PG Tips

PG Tips ads famously featured dynamic duo Monkey and Al. Although Monkey became a popular mascot for the brand, it was Johnny Vegas’ portrayal of Al which really left a lasting impression. The comedian’s strong Lancashire pronunciation of Monkey as ‘Munkeh’ was widely quoted and associated with the brand. Although it’s not everyone’s tea bag of choice, it’s hard to think of a more iconic campaign for the quintessential British beverage.

What’s so clever about celebrity mascots for brands is that they’re going to appear in non-advertisement spaces. Johnny Vegas has appeared on a wide range of TV shows, from Celebrity Gogglebox to Benidorm. We’re well aware of Vegas’ success as a comedian, but there have also definitely been moments of: “Oh look, it’s the PG Tips guy!” One of Vegas’ most associated catchphrases is indeed ‘Munkeh’, so PG Tips did a great job in establishing their brand identity with a popular comedian.

Just Eat and Snoop Dogg

Just Eat were finding that lots of consumers found their jingle annoying, so they needed a way to make it cooler. And what better way than enlisting the help of Snoop Dogg?

Creating a rap version of the brand’s jingle, the ad undeniably made a fun watch on screens. Thanks to this move, the brand saw a 50% increase in consumers who said they were willing to order from Just Eat. Two thirds of viewers also said that Snoop Dogg’s involvement made them feel more positively about Just Eat as a business. It just goes to show how much celebrity endorsement can influence the public!

7) Viral doesn’t always mean profit

Evian babies

In the days when going viral seems to be the be all and end all of marketing, it’s important to remember that campaigns should be driving sales too. Most of us fondly remember Evian’s dancing babies campaign, and the brand even recreated the ad once more in 2019. We can’t deny that the advert was a huge viral success, and it was difficult to find someone who hadn’t seen the hilarious video. However, the same year that their ad campaign went viral, Evian’s sales dropped 25%. Seems shocking for a campaign that attracted 50 million views in a year, right?

A theory for Evian’s mishap was that they didn’t establish their brand strongly enough within the video, like we saw with Moneysupermarket or GoCompare. It’s an important lesson to learn – although a viral campaign can be exciting, it still needs to successfully push consumers to support your business.

Global email marketing software market to reach $2.5bn by 2027
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The global market for Email Marketing Software is projected to reach a revised size of $2.5 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 9.2% from $1.3 billion in  2020.

On-Premise, one of the segments analysed in the ReportLinker research, is projected to record 5.4% CAGR and reach $856.1 million by the end of the analysis period.

After an early analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the Cloud segment is readjusted to a revised 11.8% CAGR for the next 7-year period.

The Email Marketing Software market in the US is estimated at $364.5 million in 2020. China, the world’s second largest economy, is forecast to reach a projected market size of $504.3 million by 2027, trailing a CAGR of 12.2% over the analysis period.

Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at 6% and 7.7% respectively over the 2020-2027 period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 6.9% CAGR.

Immersive virtual reality tech has vast potential in marketing – but a dark side too…
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As an immersive technology, virtual reality (VR) has vast marketing potential to materialise consumers’ desires, says Dr. Chloe Preece, Associate Professor of Marketing at ESCP Business School.

However, it also has a dark side where it can be used to better conceal the current power asymmetries which capitalist systems depend upon.

Alongside colleagues from Royal Holloway and King’s College London, Dr. Preece co-authored a study on how VR is portrayed in the media.

Their findings were drawn from analysis of 146 texts collected over a two-year period, including news articles, white papers, fiction stories, and more.

The researchers discovered that most of the time, in 85% of cases, VR is portrayed in positive terms by the media.

Such views emphasise VR’s potential for improving the economy and its unique ability to place people in others’ shoes, which could contribute to tackling societal issues.

Negative views of VR portrayed it as an addictive and isolating technology, cutting people off in imaginary worlds. These portrayals also suggested VR could contribute to the exploitation of people’s personal data.

In a marketing context, successful practices convince potential customers that they will have a better future if they invest in a product or service. VR is a tool uniquely suited to this because of its ability to artificially create consumers’ idealised visions of the future.

But the researchers warn that people must be aware of how their hopes, desires, and visions of the future can be manipulated by commercial markets in this way.

To convey the potential positive and negative consequences of VR’s expanding role in the UK and other national economies, the researchers created an interactive online game to accompany their research paper.

“Creating an interactive narrative helps us emphasise how VR, as an immersive technology, can give consumers a perceived feeling of agency. The illusion of choice we offer players serves to communicate that, beneath the surface, their decisions are limited by powerful historical, political and social forces,” says Dr. Preece.

The study was published in The Journal of Marketing Management, and a link to the interactive narrative can be found here: https://canukl.github.io/vrsociotechnicalimaginaries/

Marketers use just 42% of their ‘martech stack’ capabilities
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Marketers report utilising just 42% of the breadth of capabilities available in their martech stack overall, down from 58% in 2020.

Gartner surveyed 324 marketers in May and June 2022 to determine the state of marketing technology acquisition, adoption and use.

“CMOs reported allocating a quarter of their entire marketing expense budgets to marketing technologies in 2022,” said Benjamin Bloom, VP Analyst in the Gartner Marketing practice.

“Despite turbulent budgets in previous years and current economic headwinds, tech investments are a priority for CMOs and proving their ROI is more crucial than ever,” Bloom said. “Yet the challenges associated with martech underutilization, such as new business models and disrupted customer journeys, are making it difficult for marketers to demonstrate technology’s value.”

The 16 percentage point drop in overall martech utilization in the past two years can be attributed to a significant amount of overlap among marketing technology solutions (30% of respondents), difficulty identifying and recruiting talent to drive adoption/utilization (28%), and complexity/sprawl of the marketing technology ecosystem (27%).

Martech Stacks Prepare for a Cookieless Future With New Adtech and Commerce Capabilities

One of the tools identified by survey respondents that support innovative marketing channels was social commerce, with 62% of respondents saying they have deployed, or plan to deploy, such technology (see Figure 1). Technology to support advertising execution and measurement in audio and streaming/connected TV (CTV) environments has also found a base of support, with 65% of respondents exploring or piloting associated technologies.

Figure 1. How Marketing Leaders Are Leveraging Technology to Support Emerging Activities (% of Respondents)

Source: Gartner (September 2022)

Marketers also indicated interest in commercial activity within more emerging technologies. This includes the metaverse and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), with 62% exploring or piloting technology to support metaverse advertising and 59% exploring or piloting technology to enable creation of NFTs.

“The fact that marketers are already leveraging technology to support emerging activities underscores their desire to outfox the competition and get a head start on controlling their own destinies in a world of more fallible identifiers,” said Bloom.

To maximize the value of martech investments, Gartner recommends marketing leaders:

  • Infuse marketing technology adoption and utilization goals into team performance objectives to minimize wasted investments.
  • Manage the risk of expensive integrated suite investments. Establish alternatives to preserve negotiation leverage and persistently validate the vendor’s ability to support desired martech capabilities.
  • Review the approach to supporting customer journey orchestration with technology to ensure that martech and IT collaborate through capability-focused delivery teams using an iterative approach.
  • Avoid leaving investments in tools and technologies for social commerce, podcast advertising and CTV/over-the-top (OTT) streaming advertising to agencies or service providers by default. Pursue long-term in-house capability development around these tools and include them in their martech roadmap.

68% of UK marketers are embracing hybrid working
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More than two thirds (68%) of UK marketers are embracing a hybrid approach to work to support their teams in the creation of new ideas having overcome the challenges of the past two years.

That’s according to research from digital experience platform (DXP) provider Optimizely, which concluded that creativity is critical in driving strong customer experiences.

The Marketer Experience study, based on a global survey of in-house marketing professionals, including 200 in the UK, explores attitudes and approaches to creativity. It reveals that 85% of UK marketers say as long as communication is effective, creative ideation will happen no matter where teams are.

The report also shows that physical presence is not the only factor impacting creative behaviours, with UK marketers citing the following as the top five barriers to driving creativity over the past two years:

  1. A lack of urgency (32%)
  2. Limited or lack of access to good collaboration tools (31%)
  3. Engaging remote employees during virtual meetings (31%)
  4. Leadership team putting pressure on outcomes and results (29%)
  5. Motivating employees to develop creative ideas (28%)

A hybrid working environment also supports the ways in which UK workers find their creative inspiration, with 43% drawing on interpersonal communications with peers and/or colleagues, 41% from social media such as TikTok, Instagram and Twitter, and 40% through internet research. More than one third (37%) also find inspiration from attending events, either in-person or virtual.

Download the Optimizely report; “The 2022 Marketer’s Experience: Hybrid Work Impacts Delivery of Exceptional Customer Experiences.”

Marketing analytics are only influencing 53% of decisions
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Marketing analytics are responsible for influencing just over half (53%) of marketing decisions, according to a survey by Gartner.

In May and June 2022, Gartner surveyed 377 users of marketing analytics to explore the role of marketing analytics in decision making.

“CMOs often believe that achieving marketing data integration goals will lead to greater influence and increased value of marketing analytics,” said Joseph Enever, Sr. Director Analyst in the Gartner Marketing practice. “The reality is that better data won’t increase marketing analytics’ decision influence alone. CMOs must address the real challenges — cognitive biases and the need for a data-informed culture.”

The survey found that the quantity of marketing decisions that analytics influences does matter: Organizations that report marketing analytics influence fewer than 50% of decisions are more likely to agree that they are unable to prove the value of marketing. Once marketing analytics teams cross that 50% threshold, there are likely diminishing returns to striving to increase the quantity of decisions influenced.

“By 2023, Gartner expects 60% of CMOs will slash the size of their marketing analytics department in half because of failed promised improvements,” said Enever.

Top Barriers to Marketing Analytics’ Influence: Data Quality Challenges and Cognitive Biases

Consumers of marketing analytics continue to cite evergreen data management challenges as the top reason analytics are not used when making decisions. The challenges of “data are inconsistent across sources” and “data are difficult to access” rose to the top in this year’s survey.

Marketing organizations regularly respond to these challenges by integrating more data or acquiring different technology seen as a fix-all approach to marketing data management — yet they fail to realize tangible impacts on key outcomes. For example, marketers experience diminishing marginal returns on data integration when pursuing a 360-degree view of the customer.

Barriers to the use of marketing analytics in decision making are not always caused by data integration challenges unique to marketing — rather, much of this boils down to people and/or process problems.

For instance, key cognitive biases are at the root of marketing analytics’ influence plateau. One-third of respondents reported that decision makers cherry-pick data to try to tell a story that aligns with their preconceived decision or opinion.

In addition, roughly a quarter of respondents said that decision makers do not review the information provided by the marketing analytics team (26%), reject their recommendations (24%), or rely on gut instincts to ultimately make their choice (24%).

CMOs must address these challenges by:

  • Tracking the decisions that are made based on analytics to provide a current state of view and areas to improve. Identify examples of marketing analytics work that provided actionable recommendations to a marketing campaign or program. Marketing leaders should encourage their team to look for patterns in decision-making habits and to document the types of decisions they influence.
  • Combatting cherry-picking. Set KPIs and metrics before launching a new campaign or marketing strategy, not after the data has already started to come in.
  • Encouraging senior leaders to set an example. Avoid being a HiPPO (Highest Paid Person’s Opinion) and actually allow data to inform, or change, decisions.
  • Establish analytics upskilling programs that account for differing workflows and resource constraints across the marketing organization. Build personas that detail how different employees need to use data in their roles and prioritize training sessions that best enable participants to learn the skills they need to perform their job.