Changes—whether they be environmental, emotional, behavioral, etc.—have been a source of dramatic uncertainty since the beginning of time. Debris on the motorway affecting your morning drive? Air turbulence changing the comfort of your recent business trip? Your mother in law’s presence changing the dynamic in your household? The frustrating roadblocks that too often crop up in life can almost always be pinpointed on some element of change.
And so too for marketers, as I’m out every day speaking to top brands across Europe, the resounding theme I hear time and again is how businesses will be able to adapt to and succeed amidst change. New and evolving technologies are too often to blame for the digital roadblocks facing European marketers today—and as the leader in digital marketing technology—Adobe has once again taken the pulse of marketers across Europe to better understand how they are being impacted by these dramatic changes.
In the Adobe Digital Roadblock Report 2015, we surveyed 1,311 marketers across the UK, Germany and France—with top insights emerging around:
Marketers are seeing their industry transforming at a rapid pace – the face of marketing is changing
- Roughly 5 in 6 marketers (86%) feel the pace of change is accelerating and over half (58%) believe marketing has changed more in the past year than in the previous 5 years.
- 7 in 10 marketers believe marketing is entirely different today than when they started their marketing career and that digital tools and proliferation of channels are fundamentally changing the nature of marketing.
The reaction to these changes is overwhelmingly positive
- Seventy-two percent agree they are at the start of a golden age of marketing and most see this is an opportunity rather than a threat (87%).
- Marketers describe feeling challenged (56%) and optimistic (55%).
Marketing’s business influence and impact is seen as increasing
- Seventy-three percent believe the marketing function has increased in influence in the past 5 years and marketing is seen to strongly influence overall business strategy (65%).
- Sixty-nine percent agree that marketing is increasingly responsible for revenue contribution.
New technologies are transforming how marketers interact with their audiences; marketers must master these technologies to stay relevant
- Marketers believe that internet-connected devices enable marketing to permeate every aspect of consumer life (69%) and marketers must become skilled in mobile 2 (70%) to reach these consumers.
- Technology is contributing to the change in consumer expectations – consumers now expect immediate responses (78%), compelling content (77%), uniquely tailored marketing (69%) and 24/7 engagement with brands (65%).
Mobile is most important to marketers now. Wearable and the internet of things will be crucial in the future.
- 72% believe the rise of mobile and wearable technology has taken marketing into new territory and 52% believe marketing today is all about mobile and internet-connected devices.
- While mobile and marketing for computers will continue to be important 3 years from now, it is wearables, IOT, and embedded screens that will see the largest shift in importance for marketers.
Technology has changed how marketing effectiveness is measured
- Nearly 3 in 5 (58%) believe new technologies are changing how they reach audiences and analyze marketing effectiveness.
- 60% agree capturing and applying data to inform and drive marketing activities is the new reality.
- 59% agree that data (metrics from digital ads, campaigns, website, etc.) are informative in evolving their company’s marketing creative .
Marketers are open to implementing technology (64%), and taking risks (57%) – however there is reluctance around adopting technology that is not yet mainstream.
- Change is imperative. Marketers expect to adapt to tech advancements to keep pace with the industry (74%).
Although these changes are welcome and many feel optimistic, there is still concern around both their companies and their own abilities to meet these changes
- 66% say their company is somewhat to very well set up to deal with changes – of those only 10% say it is **set up very well **to do so.
- Being tech-savvy – an early adopter of technology – is seen as key for an ideal successful marketer (57%), yet only 30% describe themselves in these terms.
- Marketers see their companies as performing well on traditional marketing activities, but they are underperforming on activities marketers identify as most critical in the years to come, (big data, IoT, endemic marketing, and mobile marketing). These areas are also among those found to be most challenging for marketers.
I think we can all relate to these themes and, at Adobe, our job is to help knock down the digital roadblocks of today—partnering with you to build a digital roadmap to help you capitalize on marketing’s golden age. Check out the full report below for more information, and let’s continue this conversation as we combat digital change.
