The industry view: where does marketing go next?

The past 12 months, in fact the past five years or so - have been characterised by uncertainty and change at all levels: global, national and in our industry. 2024 is not just an election year – it’s the election year, with voters across 64 countries deciding on the direction of their country. We’ve already seen a change in government for the UK and a loose coalition formed in France, with America due to choose its president soon.

Businesses in the UK have been battling rising costs and high inflation, which has influenced their ability to dedicate resources towards marketing. The net result of all of the uncertainty and cost pressure ultimately falls onto marketers, who have shown remarkable resilience, constantly adapting to their circumstances.

As part of our ongoing Impact of Marketing series, we’ve polled our membership of marketers to find out the key challenges and trends affecting them most in 2024 and to gauge the health of the marketing industry. Like all good marketers, our members have fascinating insights which they’ve shared with us to help inform the latest report, on topics as broad as diversity, AI and the rise or fall of marketing budgets. In developing the report we reviewed data from this year and also results from polling we undertook in 2023, to see how the picture has changed for marketing.

Diversity progress

There were positive signs for the diversity of the industry, although we recognise that marketing still has work to do on that front. Just over half (56%) of our marketers said their team has become more diverse in the last 12 months, which is progress, but still leaves a similar-sized section of the industry that has either not improved or gone backwards.

Improvements in ethnic diversity have led the way recently, but representation of those with neurodiversity or physical disabilities is still lagging behind. There’s a huge responsibility to drive diversity and inclusion and defining what good looks like in this area should be high on the agenda for every marketing leader.

Stress still an issue

To illustrate the pressures marketers face, we found that more than half (56%) of those surveyed admitted experiencing burnout. That’s far from ideal, and unless organisations address the issue head-on, it’ll only be exacerbated. In a more positive sign, and perhaps as a direct result of the stresses that marketers face, employers are getting much better at implementing mental health initiatives. Our survey found that a similar proportion (57%) feel that their company’s efforts have positively impacted their overall wellbeing.

A variety of factors can improve wellbeing at work. Sometimes, it’s as simple as having more face-to-face contact with teammates, which 71% said boosted their mental health. I’ve always felt marketing has always been a collaborative industry, and that in-person interaction is crucial for creative reasons as much as it is for social reasons.

A technological revolution

I was interested, but not surprised to find that marketers have significant concerns about the role that new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) will play. While most in the industry (61%) believe they have the skills to adjust to new technologies, almost two-thirds (65%) believe AI is being introduced too quickly.

As an organisation, we’re passionate about implementing AI responsibly and ethically. We want to avoid the worry of half (52%) of marketers that the new tools will overshadow parts of their job and hamper their personal development. The focus must be on how we can work together with the new technology to complement the skills that marketers have.

Wages

Financial pressures are felt by businesses and employees alike, particularly in periods of acute inflation like those that we’ve seen over the past couple of years. As costs rise, businesses have to cut their cloth accordingly. For brands, that unfortunately often means a reduction in marketing budgets, which can affect staff or have a knock-on effect for agency contracts.

Whether public sector, brand-side or in agency, marketers will feel the impact of smaller budgets through lower pay rises. So, while the majority (67%) of marketers we surveyed had seen their wages increase in the last 12 months, more than half of those (36%) were modest increases of between 1% and 5%. In fact, a fifth (18%) hadn’t received an increase at all.

Hopes for the future

I’m optimistic that we’re now entering a period of stability as a country and an industry. Cost-of-living pressures remain, but hopefully at a slightly lower level than before and on a downward trend. It’s an impressive feat that the industry has managed to make progress, even on a smaller scale, during the last few years, and that will stand us in good stead to kick on throughout the rest of 2024 and into 2025.

There is no doubt that these are exciting times for marketers. I'm fascinated by the introduction of Gen-AI and its convergence with marketing and feel it presents a unique opportunity to propel our industry forward – giving us a more relevant voice in the board room. Marketing has a golden opportunity to create a future where data-driven insights combined with our creativity and imagination can drive marketing excellence. Let’s work together as a marketing industry to make it a success.

Download your copy of the Impact of Marketing report now