Demand for content shows no sign of slowing

Image credit: Adobe Stock/ DC Studio.

As the digital economy continues to grow, the demand for content continues to accelerate. Effective digital content that is personalized, relevant, and timely is fuelling digital experiences. It determines how successful brands are at attracting new customers and deepening relationships with existing customers.

To understand the rate at which global demand for content is rising and uncover the factors driving that demand, Adobe surveyed more than 2,600 customer experience and marketing professionals spanning eight countries — the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and India. Following are the highlights from our research:

Demand for content will continue to accelerate. Eighty-eight percent of respondents reported demand for content grew by at least twofold during the last two years, with about two-thirds saying they expect demand to grow by between five times and 20 times over the next two years.

Takeaway: Organizations that are struggling with content velocity now will need to significantly increase resources or streamline their content workflows if they want to keep up with the competition.

What’s driving demand? Personalization at scale, hybrid experiences, and emerging formats are the top drivers of increasing content demand. For brands experiencing increased demand for content, the three largest factors were (#1) customer expectations for personalized experiences, (#2) hybrid digital/physical customer journeys, and (#3) emerging formats — including 3D and immersive content. Other top factors include increasing needs to create content for traditional blogs/articles/infographics, video/audio formats, more channels, more geographies, and more languages.

Takeaway: Responding to demand for content isn’t about creating more of the same — marketing and customer experience leaders face increasing complexity in what, how, and where they deliver content to meet customer expectations.

Top blockers: Most companies’ content supply chains — the process of producing and delivering the content that fuels effective customer experiences—are not operating as efficiently and effectively as they could be. Our research revealed the top blockers identified by marketing and customer experience professionals: (#1) lacking the right technologies, (#2) not having enough people, (#3) relying on broken processes, and (#4) experiencing a lack of budget.

Takeaway: In the past, companies may have been able to add creative head count or agency support to keep up with rising demand. However, the financial and workforce realities of the digital economy make it impossible for brands to scale — efficiently and effectively — in the absence of a more strategic, automated, and collaborative approach to content.

Today’s companies face tremendous pressure to meet customers with the right experiences and the most relevant and compelling content, in the right moment, and in a fast-changing and uncertain digital economy. Taking a strategic approach to scaling content operations unlocks creative capacity and delivers on key outcomes, including cost efficiency, scaled personalization, and greater employee engagement.