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Marketing software revenue to hit $264bn by 2030
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The global digital marketing software market size is expected to reach $264.15 billion by 2030, equivalent to a CAGR of 19.1% from 2022 to 2030.

Analysis by ResearchAndMarkets asserts that the market has been evolving continuously in line with the advancements in technology and the changing needs of the incumbents of various end-use industries and industry verticals, especially small and medium enterprises.

Furthermore, the unabated transition from desktops to smartphones as the rapid increase in the number of smartphone users would expose more individuals to online ads is anticipated to drive the market growth.

In particular, it cites several vendors striking strategic partnerships with end users to help them in strengthening their digital marketing activities. For instance, in February 2021, IBM partnered with Palantir.

The partnership will include IBM’s hybrid cloud data platform designed to make hybrid cloud and AI environments more accessible to organizations. The partnership will support the implementation of AI-infused applications with IBM Watson as well as assist customers or clients in accessing, analyzing, and acting on massive volumes of data.

The growing trend of remote working and collaborative approaches has shifted the focus of marketing campaigns toward social media, search engines, and media websites.

They are leveraging the rising demand for streaming services such as Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Hulu. In Italy, the number of first-time installations of Netflix was up by over 57% in March 2020.

Digital Marketing Software Market Report Highlights

  • The adoption of marketing automation software is anticipated to gain traction over the forecast period it is widely used by marketing departments to effectively market their products on multiple online channels, such as websites, email, and social media, and to automate repetitive tasks.
  • The managed services segment is anticipated to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The increasing need for cloud-based managed services and the growing dependence of organizations on IT assets to improve their business productivity are the major factors contributing to the growth of the managed services segment.
  • The cloud segment is expected to register significant growth over the forecast period as it helps businesses in improving cost structures and setting up a control center to monitor, arrange, and coordinate various components of their digital marketing campaign.
  • The SMEs segment is anticipated to register the highest CAGR over the forecast period owing to the increasing role of government authorities in the provision of capital to small & medium enterprises for embracing digitization is anticipated to propel the growth of the segment.
  • Asia Pacific is anticipated to register the highest CAGR over the forecast period, owing to the increasing popularity of social media and the rising preference for e-commerce and m-commerce, particularly in emerging economies, such as India, Indonesia, and Thailand.

50% of consumers won’t shop with brands that greenwash
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As consumer demand for environmentally friendly and green products grows, retailers could be risking lost long-term loyalty if their sustainability efforts aren’t genuine.

That’s according to research from Retail Technology Show, which surveyed over 2,000 UK shoppers in its latest ‘Retail Revolution’ report, with results showing that almost half (47%) already actively buy more from brands they perceive to be sustainable, rising to 65% of Gen Z demographics.

And demand for ‘green’ retailing among shoppers is growing; six in ten (60%) of those polled said retailers’ commitment to sustainability would become more of an important factor in their buying decisions over the next five years, rising to 67% of 18-25 year olds.  Meanwhile, a further 65% of 18-24 year-olds say they would shop more with brands who are sustainable in the future, and another 63% would be more loyal to those retailers with green values.

However, despite the growing appetite for green retail – with the green pound estimated to reached over £122bn – two thirds (62%) of consumers in another poll by Retail Insight were untrusting of retailers’ and brands’ eco pledges, believing they merely pay lip-service to sustainability initiatives.  This growing concern around ‘greenwashing’ prompted the CMA’s recent crackdown on brands, who will face fines if they don’t deliver on the environmental claims they market against.

And this consumer distrust on the sincerity of retailers’ sustainable commitments doesn’t just risk possible fines and reputational damage, according to Retail Technology Show’s research, it risks future sales and lost loyalty too.  Half (50%) of UK consumers in its poll said they would stop shopping altogether with brands they perceive to be greenwashing, rising to almost two thirds (63%) of Gen Z audiences and 59% of Millennials.

“Put simply, greenwashing just won’t wash with shoppers”, said Matt Bradley, Event Director for the Retail Technology Show.  “Consumers now expect retailers’ sustainability efforts to be deeply and genuinely rooted in the brands’ psyche, rather than it being any short-termist play.  And that means retail businesses need to carefully consider both how they can evolve their businesses operationally to be greener, and also how this is effectively communicated to shoppers in a genuine, transparent and engaging manner.”

Using less packaging was the top way UK consumers felt retailers could make their operations greener (78%), while a further 71% identified the supply chain as a focus for improvements, followed by 69% who said making bricks-and-mortar stores more eco would help retailers improve sustainability.  Almost half (48%) wanted retailers to pay an online delivery ‘green tax’ so the environmental impact of their ecommerce fulfilment operations could be offset, rising to 61% of 18-24 year-olds.

To find out more about the top trends impacting retail in 2022 and beyond, download the full Retail Revolution report for free: https://bit.ly/RTS_Retail_Revolution_Report

B2B marketers experiencing customer relationship issues
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More than half of B2B marketing budgets are devoted to building and maintaining relationships with new customers, but only a quarter of B2B marketers say their relationships are akin to a happy marriage.

That’s according to new research from Skout carried out by Sapio Research, which reveals that of the 200 sales and marketing pros interviewed, 8% reckoned they were going through a bitter divorce or separation; 7% were on the rocks; 8% were having ‘difficulties’ with their customer relationships. This is a surprise considering nearly all marketers are heavily invested in building and creating relationships at key stages of the customer lifecycle. 14% added that they were casually dating or still at the first date stage of the relationship, whilst 14% said would ‘swipe right’ if using a dating app.

The impact of a relationship that’s on the rocks is clear. 41% felt the biggest risk was dissatisfied customers, a third said it resulted in poor prospect to customer conversion, another third stated it was likely to result in falling profitability and missing revenue targets. Despite these impacts, 97% of marketers agreed that good business relationships are crucial in B2B marketing.

The early stages of the customer journey prove critical when allocating budgets. 94% of respondents say that their business is effective at forging and nurturing relationships during the ‘interaction’ and the ‘awareness’ stage. But effectiveness drops as the customer journey matures – 77% effective at the ‘advocacy’ stage – indicating that it’s harder to keep customers on side the longer they’re with you.

As part of the research, Skout identified the risks to customer relationships at each stage of journey, with the results clearly showing where B2B marketers are falling short.

When it comes to retention, marketers do not appear to understand the value of building advocate programmes. Despite a lower cost of sale and the strength of case studies in convincing new customers to buy, 33% of companies have no dedicated customer loyalty or advocate programme in place. And 28% fail to monitor engagement or feedback to spot potential advocates.

Rob Skinner, MD of Skout, says “B2B relationship marketing is making a comeback. Potentially part of a backlash against too much automation, buyers are looking for that human touch and connection. And while not every customer might be worth a fling, marketers need to profile their audiences carefully to ensure that they’re investing in long term, exclusive, mutually beneficial marriages of convenience and are not two timed.”

Budget constraints are blamed for getting in the way forging stronger relationships with customers according to half of respondents, but a further 38% blame lack of data/insights, people resource (37%) and lack of a clear strategy (37%).

So where are marketers focusing those limited budgets? In the past year, over half have used customer surveys, 39% identified where their customers are on the journey, 36% put budget to audience research and 27% into persona and audience mapping.

Brands ‘facing battle to stand out’ in mobile marketing space
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By Adri Gil Miner, CMO of Iterable

Love is always in the air during February, and consumers are turning to digital like never before. Working from home and socially distanced, consumers’ increased time spent online dating; research from App Annie found consumers spent over $3 billion on dating apps in 2020 – up 15% YoY. It’s clear that consumers want to invest in romance, but how can brands woo shoppers in a sea of similar offerings?

First, get noticed. These days, everyone has a phone in their pocket, so, as a brand, being able to always be with the customer is a huge plus for marketers. Mobile is a medium for engagement that marketers can’t afford to ignore. Of course, the power of mobile is only potential; for marketers to ensure they are getting the most value out of mobile, it’s important they focus on meeting customer expectations by building trust, delivering value, and constantly connecting experiences. New research from Iterable finds that while 33% of participants download a new app weekly, 48% use only 4-6 apps on a daily basis, leaving brands in a battle for users’ attention.

Competition and consumer app attention only escalates when it comes to dating. During the pandemic, online dating reached new heights — with Bumble reporting a 70% increase in video calls and Tinder exceeding 3 billion swipes in one day in March 2020. But that was in 2020. By now, engagement preferences have changed, rendering traditional dating app actions like “swiping” obsolete. Iterable’s research finds that consumers are split on their preferred method of engaging with a brand, with 38% preferring push notifications, 31% favouring SMS alerts and 26% preferring in-app messaging. With such an array of preferences, an omnichannel strategy that is optimised for each individual customer is vital for brands looking to engage with their customers in the manner that suits them best.

Fine-tuning and rethinking the user experience is a great way for dating apps to stand out in  a sea of similarity. But now, in an internet-based world, brands are faced with the challenge of digital sameness—the customer experience across dating apps has become pretty uniform. In a Forrester survey, consumers were asked how they feel about the experiences they have with brands. The results? 68% of customers said their customer experiences were “OK”. Brands are likely thinking “we’re doing what everyone else is doing, so that’s good right?” Living in this safe, comfortable area is problematic for brands looking to win customer hearts and minds. All it takes is one brand to go above and beyond to shift the expectations and turn satisfactory experiences into not-so-satisfactory.

Once you ensure your brand is doing what it can to stay on the cutting edge of a great—not good—customer experience, seal the deal of long  term loyalty by investing in another priority for shoppers: privacy, which is especially key to consumers when it comes to dating apps. Although consumers are generally willing to share data, with 54% happy to do so at least some of the time, privacy concerns are still at the front of consumer’s minds. 87% expressed concern over personal privacy when interacting with apps.

With app downloads hitting 230 billion in 2021, it’s vital brands understand ways to improve app engagement and stickiness to avoid getting lost amongst the competition.

Dating apps, by definition, have considerable influence when it comes to impacting customer joy and connection. To deliver memorable moments, brands need to invest in creating a seamless experience across channels; from personalised emails reminding shoppers to plan for the big day to encouraging sustained communications with connections made online, the possibilities for omnichannel optimised business is endless.

Brands cannot neglect transparency when nurturing customer experiences. Dating apps in particular rely on users being willing to entrust sensitive, personal conversations to the brand’s care. Customers that interact with brands need to have an up-front idea of how their data will be used. Winning this trust early on is crucial for keeping customers board for the long haul.

By utilising all methods of engagement and appreciating the preferences of customers, brands can give their apps the best chance of standing out from the pack and becoming mainstays in the user mobile experience.

When you’re unhappy with a relationship, you break up and move on. If the grass isn’t greener in the other relationship, you go back to your previous partner. Consumers act similarly when it comes to brands. When there is a part of the consumer journey with a brand that positively impacts their overall experience, and then they switch to a different brand that doesn’t provide the same part, the experience with the second brand is viewed less favourably—not because it’s worse than it used to be, compared to itself, but because it’s worse than the first brand’s experience. They gravitate back to the better experience.

Almost 50% of Gen Z considering marketing career
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Almost 50 percent of Gen Zs (16-24-year-olds) say they are considering careers in the marketing industry, according to new research from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM).

Over a fifth of the young people surveyed also perceive marketing as a safe career choice, signalling a surge of fresh talent is to hit the industry.

The survey of 1,000 16-24-year-olds undertaken by CIM revealed 46% we interested in marketing careers and that as a result there has been a rise in the number of students starting marketing courses.

The University of Liverpool Management School reported that demand for its BA Marketing course has been exceptionally high for the year 2021-2022. The establishment attributes this to a variety of factors including a shift in how marketingis perceived as a discipline by business leaders, which they say correlates with the rise in marketing roles being offered.

The qualitative survey also showed that many of the CIM-accredited study centres enrolled saw an increased number of self-funded marketing students while furlough schemes were in operation.

Maggie Jones, director of qualifications and partnerships at CIM said: “We’ve seen two things happening during the pandemic. The first is that young people have recognised the resilient and adaptive nature of marketing and want to pursue a career in this field.

“The second is that many marketing professionals have invested in their own development and have self-funded additional learning and qualifications while being furloughed. It’s clear that people want to thrive in marketing.”

While incumbent industry professionals may have been funding their own development, the research showed that over 70% of Gen Z newcomers to the industry expect their training to be funded by employers.

Jones added: “Students and young professionals are coming into the industry after a unique couple of years. To ensure they don’t fall behind through a lack of practical experience, Gen Z expects employers to invest in training opportunities to compensate for the loss of skills during the pandemic. This highlights the need for employers to reassess their training programmes.”

Out of the CIM accredited universities and Study Centres surveyed, they all reported that students value CIM accreditation and understand that it better prepares them for the world of work.

In response to an open question in the study, Dr Elvira Ismagilova, BSc (Hons) Marketing programme lead from The University of Bradford stated that students chose their Marketing and Management MSc as the CIM accreditation ‘reflected the high quality of the programme and post graduate employability along with access to resources and networking opportunities’.

CIM offers a range of professionally recognised marketing and digital marketingqualifications designed to develop the core skills needed to succeed within the marketing industry. Many of these courses are available through over 100 Accredited Study Centres (ASCs) across the UK and internationally.

In addition to qualifications, CIM works with UK and international universities to offer practical work experience for Gen Zs through real-life business project challenges, by delivering The Pitch competition. The competition, aimed at undergraduate students in their second or third year of university allows them to pitch their ideas to a panel of industry leaders in the marketing industry by responding to real life marketing challenge. CIM believes that not only having the right marketing skills, behaviours and technical abilities is key, but students need to gain transferable business capabilities to enhance their employability.

To find out more about CIM marketing qualifications, click here: https://www.cim.co.uk/qualifications/

Make change management your marketing superpower 
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By Genefa Murphy, CMO at Five9 

“There is nothing permanent except change.” When the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus uttered these sage words, it’s unlikely he had the world of customer experience in mind.   

However, this universal wisdom has specific resonance for businesses  around the globe who are trying to navigate the rapid consumer shifts brought about by the pandemic. Expectations have soared, and consumers are more demanding than ever before. They expect seamless, personalised interactions from brands that can quickly respond to ever-changing market conditions.   

At the same time, customers  are calling on brands to demonstrate corporate change. 

Customers want to see demonstrative action on sustainability, diversity and inclusion, and social responsibility. As consumer demands grow and evolve, businesses must reinvent internally, not just respond externally. And, as marketers, it’s not enough that we simply respond to and accept this change. We must drive it.     

We are change-makers, at our best, creating real impact based on real insight. 

This means the CMO of today is more than just a marketer. They are also a Chief Customer Officer. Today, successful marketing teams are not simply lead generation machines; they are customer experience experts relentlessly focused on uncovering and understanding new customer needs and expectations. The goal for marketers is to be the champion of the customer. We are the customer’s voice into the business. 

The worlds of marketing and customer experience are now one, and marketers must embrace our role as agents of change and be willing to bring the wider organisation with us. 

While change can be exciting, enlivening, and invigorating, it’s not always easy and can be uncomfortable, especially when we are called on to respond to such a broad spectrum of factors – not least the rollercoaster that is the ongoing Covid crisis. 

The starting point for any marketer seeking to drive customer-focused change is to begin within your organisation. Get out of your comfort zone and explore experiences in a function outside of marketing. Join sales, spend time with support teams or engineering. Take the opportunity to deepen your diversity of thought and gain different perspectives that will give you the tools and understanding to move from a ‘service’ marketing model to one that drives purpose, fostering relationships that make change happen.  

As Forrester analyst Katy Tynan recently wrote, marketers “must embrace continuous transformation on their way to becoming customer-obsessed and be ready with the resources and recognition to sustain the energy required to drive successful change.” 

Change is what we do best 

So how can marketers help lead collaborative change in a way that inspires enthusiastic buy-in? The simply titled ‘Get Stuff Done’ process, outlined by Kim Scott in her bestselling book, Radical Candor, could prove a helpful starting point. 

Essentially, this process puts communication – listening, debate, discussion, story-telling, and honest learning – at the heart of change management. As Tynan advises, “The number one obstacle to business transformation and change in most organisations is resistance. Anticipate employees not agreeing to get on board, challenge yourself to develop the best case for change, anticipate where resistance might emerge and why and then address it.” 

As marketers, this focus on anticipating resistance and understanding our ‘customer’, coupled with a focus on communication should play to our strengths. It is just one of the reasons why we are a vital asset in driving forward any change focused on the customer – and really, shouldn’t customers be at the centre of all decisions? 

Of course, for marketing leaders, there is a fine balance of moving fast and bringing people along on the journey. The fast-flowing current of external uncertainty may lead even the most resilient teams feeling tossed around by the rapids.  That’s why I am a passionate believer in the model of aligning, amplifying, and accelerating. It’s a simple model that can be applied to any marketing strategy but is especially relevant when dealing with change. Our mission as marketers is to align our colleagues and stakeholders within a customer-focused mission, amplify impact through innovation and accelerate transformation by showing demonstrable impact.   

True leaders don’t dictate. They influence, inspire, and motivate. The same characteristics are found in great marketing teams and marketers. No matter if you are starting your journey in marketing, or are stepping up to lead the marketing function, now is the perfect time to harness change to prove yourself as a leader. Not only will this lead to personal career satisfaction; it will also ensure success in your most important mission: serving your customers. 

Disclosing influencer marketing ‘a double-edged sword’
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Disclosing influencer marketing as advertising is a double-edged sword, according to a new study by researchers from several European universities.

The study, conducted by doctoral candidate Zeynep Karagür of the University of Cologne and her co-authors Jan-Michael Becker (BI Norwegian Business School), Kristina Klein (University of Bremen) and Alexander Edeling (KU Leuven), investigated the effects of disclosing influencer marketing as advertising on the social media platform Instagram.

They found that disclosing that a post is advertising has a negative effect on the influencer’s trustworthiness, because it increases the perception of advertising and monetary motivations.

However, influencers and brands also benefit from disclosing posts as advertising as consumers appreciate the transparency. Thus, the authors advise influencers to divulge some form of disclosure as the long-term reputation loss from being caught not disclosing might even be worse.

Among the disclosure types investigated, Instagram’s stardardized branded content tool is the most effective way to increase consumers’ recognition of advertising.

Using the stardardized branded content tool also makes it dispensable for consumers to rely on other cues such as the number of followers or the number of previously endorsed brands when deciding whether posts are advertising or not.

The study also found that influencers with a high number of followers (macro influencers) and a large brand portfolio are seen as less trustworthy because consumers might see them as “human ad spaces”.

The researchers say that their findings contradict the common thought that “the more sponsors you have, the more credibility you have”.

“Large brand portfolios undermine influencers’ trustworthiness through higher advertising expectation,” say Karagür. The underlying assumption is that influencers will post as many advertising as they can to increase their earnings, rather than endorse products they genuinely like.

According to the researchers the“highest level of trustworthiness is associated with micro influencers with limited brand relationships”. If managers are deciding between two influencers with a similar number of followers, looking at the number of previous product endorsements is another effective selection criterion.

The research paper was published in the International Journal of Research in Marketing.

Emily in Wonderland: Would these Emily in Paris campaigns work in the real world?
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For better or worse, Emily in Paris proved to be the answer to everyone’s pandemic escapism, capturing the attention of 58 million viewers worldwide within its first 28 days on Netflix. After the release of season two in December 2022, searches for the show were up by 100% just one day later and audiences remain addicted to the bold fashion and glamourised portrayal of the marketing world.

The show follows militant Marketing Executive Emily as she navigates her new life in Paris and her role at luxury brand marketing agency Savoir despite not speaking the French language and having no experience in the luxury sector. From spontaneous social posts to collaborative brand campaigns, Emily’s efforts blow up the internet in a matter of minutes with little to no planning, but would this ‘viral’ effect unfold in reality?

To determine if Emily’s concepts would hit the mark in the real world, Print and Design experts Solopress have delved into some of the show’s most iconic campaigns and marketing faux pas.

Key Findings:

  • Searches for the hit show were up by 100% just one day after the 22nd of December.
  • Season one captured the attention of 58 million viewers worldwide within its first 28 days on Netflix.
  • According to a 2021 HubSpot Blog poll, 58% of marketers plan to leverage Instagram Reels in 2022.
  • Video posts receive 21.2% more interactions compared to images and 18.6% more interactions compared to carousels according to Sprout Social.
  • Later findings show that reach rate can increase 11% on Instagram as the number of hashtags grows from one to 30, which for an account with 20K followers is an additional 2.2K accounts reached per post.

TV Vs Reality

From a real-world perspective many of Emily’s methods would simply not generate strong results. Whilst we see Emily attempting to take Paris by storm with rushed Instagram images and a few hashtags on her @emilyinparis account, we don’t see her utilising Instagram stories or reels for example which are hugely prevalent features of the platform. According to a 2021 HubSpot Blog poll, 58% of marketers plan to leverage Instagram Reels in 2022 – perhaps something for Emily to consider in her season 3 Instagram marketing plans.

Although Emily clearly grasps the importance of authenticity and immediacy when it comes to Instagram posting, she doesn’t apply other key social media marketing principles such as having a consistent tone of voice, using copy to tell a story or correctly utilising hashtags. A key element of any social media strategy is to be as engaged as possible with users, yet we never see Emily interacting with followers on the platform or creating meaningful discussions.

Interestingly, recent Later findings show that reach rate can increase by 11% as the number of hashtags grows from one to 30 which for an account with 20K followers is an additional 2.2K accounts reached per post. Opting for one hashtag per post, when Instagram allows up to 30 hashtags per post, the character is also reducing chances to connect with her community and build trust.

Business Objectives Matter

“To build a brand you must create meaningful social media engagement” is one of the first mantras Emily bestows upon the agency and one that she focuses on throughout the series.

There is no mention of key success metrics in Emily’s strategies, such as impressions, followership or meaningful follow-up actions for the brand such as conversions and click-through rate, which Hootsuite highlight as significant metrics when it comes to tracking campaign success. Emily seems to be solely focused on social media engagement, and appears to lack any sense of business objectives and using this engagement to meet the wider goals of the company.

We also catch a glimpse of Emily regaling a client with a campaign she worked on to promote a vaccine to treat the population of Virgin Islands. She explains that the campaign involved “saturating the web with gorgeous content” and resulted in a 30% increase in tourism for the area and that any time users searched terms such as “tropical beach vacation” and “topless beach selfies” they were directed to the campaign. In this instance, Emily lacks awareness of the fact that the campaign was not aligned with the goal of increasing vaccinations and that people searching for tropical holidays are not the target audience.

Which of the Show’s Campaigns Would Work in the Real-World?

  1. The Pierre Cadault and Rimowa Luggage Collaboration

Green flags: Creativity, a bold, loud campaign idea that has worked for her clients in the past.

Red flags: No formal strategy or sign off process, sharing product prototype with competitors, poor client knowledge/ relations.

For this campaign idea, Emily pitches a collaboration with renowned designer Pierre Cadault and luggage client Rimowa, recommending that to make “noise” for the Rimowa brand, they include a giant image of Pierre Cadault’s face on the suitcase with the intention of it looking tacky and making a statement. The following day the printed luggage is delivered to Emily’s apartment – an unrealistic turnaround time in the real world given the design time, printing and delivery involved.

Without final sign off from Pierre himself, Emily then parades this new product on her travels in St Tropez and is stopped by another high-brow designer who is immediately impressed and wants to pose with the case. Not only does Emily not stop to consider that this designer is a direct competitor, but she neglects to conduct any research on the person whatsoever before hitting post on Instagram. The post leads to outrage from Pierre Cadault as the seemingly friendly designer is his “nemesis” and the stunt was used as a sign of disrespect.

The Reality?

Glen Eckett, Head of Marketing at Solopress, comments: “While it is not impossible to turnaround a printed suitcase for next day delivery, normally a campaign like this would require more time in order to ensure the process went smoothly and the finished product was up to scratch.”

Additionally, sign off processes are always stringent in marketing, with design proofs, copy and any additional material requiring sign off from multiple departments ahead of any campaign going ahead. In this case, Emily did not receive official sign off from the client himself, whose face was appearing on the new product.  With the added issue of Emily involving a direct competitor in a campaign and damaging her relationship with one of the agency’s biggest clients, sadly this campaign is a flop in the eyes of the marketing world.

  1. Hasten’s Bed Campaign

Green flags: Creative physical installation for the brand, a strong UGC social strategy.

Red flags: No official strategy document produced or signed off, no other social platform other than Instagram utilised, incorrect hashtags and no call to action to drive further user interaction with the brand.

To promote the superior quality of Hasten’s beds, Emily proposes a physical installation that will feature the clients’ beds in the most beautiful spots in Paris from the Louvre to the Jardin du Luxembourg. The campaign idea involved “harnessing the power of social media” and asking the public to “sleep with” the brand as part of a user-generated content strategy.

In typical fashion, Emily captures a zoomed-in selfie for the campaign which does not show the product or beautiful surroundings. The post includes no caption, no call to action or geotag, which in this case would be perfect to alert users to the location of the bed to garner further traction. The post, using the hashtag #getinbedwithus, also gains 108 likes in what seems like 2 minutes.

The Reality?

When it comes to a huge physical installation campaign such as this, a huge amount of planning, preparation and sign off from local authorities would be required ahead of implementation to ensure the best results possible. Emily’s feeble Instagram efforts including sharing another single image post is also an example of her underutilising other features of the platform.

For instance, Sprout Social research shows that video posts receive 21.2% more interactions compared to images and 18.6% more interactions compared to carousels, and with all the incredible Parisian surroundings and premium product that Emily has to work with, there’s no way that a true marketing professional wouldn’t use this to their advantage with video posting, and across multiple platforms such as Facebook and Tiktok.

  1. The Pierre Cadault Dress Instagram Campaign

Green flags: Bold, out-of-the-box strategy, positions the product as “sexy” and appropriate for a younger adult market which was a key campaign objective.

Red flags: Posting directly from a client account with no copy or image sign off, no call to action and only one hashtag used.

Another spur of the moment campaign of Emily’s is the risqué Instagram post of the lavish Pierre Cadault dress on the floor of a celebrity’s hotel room. Following Emily arranging for the American Actress in question to wear one of Pierre Cadaults’ dresses to a jewellery client’s party, she spots an opportunity to capture an image of the dress on the floor beside cigarettes, shoes and wine with the caption “About last night” and the hashtag #PC2020, which gains strong engagement reaching 177,684 likes.

The Reality?

Emily’s image is unfortunately posted without client sign off directly from the client’s Instagram account, which is a huge red flag when it comes to any social media strategy, particularly when the subject matter is somewhat controversial. According to Hootsuite, calls to action are essential in driving more traffic to a website, generating sales, generating leads and improving conversion rates, which Emily fails to include in any product related content leaving nowhere for users to visit after the post. In this case, the hashtag is relevant as it pertains to the designers’ collection that features in the image which will direct relevant traffic to the post and increase its reach to those in the fashion community.

Despite Emily’s daring yet creative approach with this campaign, imagery this risqué should never be posted without client approval, to ensure that client relations are preserved and no damage can be done to the brand. For this reason, this campaign is a definite no from a professional perspective.

  1. The Champere Video Challenge

Green flags: Unique idea for a viral trend campaign, catchy slogan, strong way to encourage UGC.

Red flags: Spontaneous ideation, no prior discussions or meetings regarding campaign idea, idea is pitched to client when it is due to be executed, only uses Instagram, no risk management implemented.

Ahhh the pièce de resistance of Emily’s marketing faux pas; the “How do you pop your top?” campaign. Here, Emily attempts to start a viral video campaign for Champagne client Champere, encouraging users to share how they “pop their top” on Instagram. Once again, this campaign idea is not the subject of any discussion and there is no social strategy created, clear objectives defined or sign off process in place.

The Reality?

Once again, this campaign exemplifies Emily’s lack of planning and lack of a cohesive marketing strategy. McKinseypoints out that every business needs a full-funnel marketing strategy to succeed, which incorporates traditional brand building with performance (data-driven) marketing. By adopting a full-funnel strategy, organisations can ensure they are relevant to their customers, develop a richer and more accurate picture of their marketing’s overall effectiveness, and generate more value without having to use additional spend. With Emily’s need for immediacy and lack of strategy, there are several risks attached including the possibility of wasting time, resources and money.

Emily also chooses not to undertake any risk management prior to capturing the first video with the client, whose creative way of “popping his top” is naturally to use a sword which results in a severed thumb! In the real world any health and safety risks would be mitigated ahead of filming, especially as this is a campaign intended to go viral. Given the previous problematic history of viral challenges such as the Neck Nomination challenge and the more recent Milk Crate Challenge that encourage young people to put themselves in harm’s way, we’d think that Emily would be extra cautious on her first attempt at creating a viral challenge.

Sadly, Solopress’ findings show that many of the glamorised depictions of marketing in the series don’t live up to the work and planning that takes place in the real world. Although there are so many instances of creative thinking and unique ideas that are sure to inspire any budding marketer, it is crucial that in a real marketing setting, these types of ideas are discussed and executed using the stringent processes that most marketers live by.

Mood, monotony and motivation: The keys to brand success
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Team Lewis has launched its latest trends guide in partnership with market research firm GWI, looking into how today’s multi-moment audience is evolving and the changes the pandemic has brought about in today’s marketing multiverse.

Markets covered in the report include Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, UK and US. 

With a rise in screen time and device ownership, unrestrained social media usage and growing concerns surrounding privacy, today’s audiences have an increased desire to impact the world around them. These shifts point to three key themes covered in the report – ending monotony to avoid marketing immunity, understanding how mood can impact an audience, and tapping into key motivators to foster more meaningful connections.  

Key findings include: 

Screen time 

o        Screen time continues to grow in most countries, with the exception of Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and the US   

o        Hong Kongers & Malaysians prefer to spend more time on their mobile devices compared to PCs, laptops and tablets

Device ownership 

o        Globally, audiences own at least three devices   

o        Malaysians on average own fewer than three devices but spend the most time on the internet globally. The US, UK, Germany and Italy are above the global average when it comes to device ownership.

Social Media usage 

o        APAC countries use an average of four platforms daily  

o        Western Europe has the lowest usage, with fewer than three platforms daily

Attitudes towards privacy 

o        Globally, the top concern amongst consumers is how companies use their personal data online (39%) followed by a preference to maintain anonymity online (34%)

Today’s marketing landscape 

o        Leading channels 

  • The website is still king – 56% visited a brand’s website in the last month   
  • Newsletters are still effective – 26% read an email or newsletter from a brand  

o        Expectations of consumers 

  • Global consumers unanimously want brands to be reliable, authentic and innovative 

o        The rise of Audio 

  • In the last three years, there has been an increase in consumption of music streaming services and podcasts 
  • Australia & Singapore are seeing the most growth in music streaming and podcast listenership YOY  

o        Scepticism with social media 

  • Only 23% of consumers globally think social media is good for society 
  • Malaysians are the most positive about social media, with 40% seeing it as a force for good 

“It’s no longer as simple as getting in front of your audience with a single message as many times as possible,” said Simon Billington, Executive Creative Director at TEAM LEWIS. “Consumer expectations of a brand’s interaction with them is clear. They want unique, attention-grabbing creativity delivered in a personalised way. The complexity of message and the vehicle the message is delivered in is paramount to success.” 

Download the Marketing in 2022: Multi-Moment Audience report here.

Marketing departments ‘rely on outdated data and analytics practices’
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The majority of marketing departments still rely on outdated practices when it comes to marketing data and analytics, according to a new report.

Of the almost two-thirds of marketers surveyed by Adverity who believe their company is analytically mature, some 77% have yet to achieve a single unified view of their marketing performance while 68% still depend on spreadsheets for reporting.

At the same time, although 61% of marketing departments see developing predictive analytics as a key strategic aim in 2022, more than a third of those still struggle with manual data integration and some 48% say they do not trust the accuracy of their marketing data.

Conducted by Sirkin Research, the report surveyed almost 1,000 marketers and data analysts from around the world about their current data capabilities and aspirations for 2022.  Alongside businesses’ aspirations for predictive analytics, the research also revealed a worrying disconnect between analysts and marketers when it comes to understanding what their business’s current capabilities are.

For example, 60% of marketing data analysts say their organization already has the capacity to run predictive models, and yet only 42% of marketers agree. Similarly, although the majority (59%) of analysts say their company has a centralized data warehouse, only 43% of marketers say that’s the case.

“While the confidence of marketing departments in their analytical capabilities is commendable, that so many businesses are actually still struggling with the basics tells a very different story,” said Adverity CMO, Harriet Durnford-Smith.

Jeff Sirkin, CEO of Sirkin Research, added: “Yet, it’s the marketers who are actually the ones who should be utilizing those capabilities to make decisions and determine where budget is spent. If they don’t know what their company’s current capabilities are, this not only hinders their effectiveness, it is also a waste of money for the business. As such, bridging this divide should be a top priority for CMOs in 2022.”

The new research comes on the heels of Adverity’s “Marketing Analytics State of Play 2022: Challenges and Priorities” research report, which outlined the pain points facing modern marketers and data analysts–most notably, a lack of trust in the data. This new report builds out further how marketers can reflect on the challenges that they currently face and helps to identify solutions that will provide guidance for how to prioritize modernization in 2022.