The AdNews end of year Perspectives, looking back at 2023 and forward to next year.
Even though the marketing science geeks (and I count myself among them) have been pushing its principles and laws for a while, 2023 felt like the year it finally broke through at a boardroom level.
And I expect it to continue to grow in prominence and application, as we head into 2024. We all know the story by now. We live in challenging economic times.
Budgets are tight. Yada yada yada.
And yes, as a result, clients are scrutinising every marketing $ they spend and wanting to maximise its impact. But that’s just good marketing practice whether the economy is going gangbusters or belly up.
Ultimately, as marketers, we’re here to make money. So, it stands to reason that we should also try to spend it better. This is where marketing science can help by providing marketers with a robust framework and set of principles to guide their thinking and deliver ‘work that works’.
The challenge to date has been how to make it simple for marketers to act on these principles.
For our clients that has meant creating a Marketing Effectiveness Playbook, which we delve into through a series of workshops, out of which comes a consistent and shared understanding of what can help drive effectiveness and a set of actions to turn the theory into practice for their brands.
As more marketers find the means to match their motivation in 2024, the marketing science revolution will continue at pace.
Shortage at the top
Much has been made about the agency talent drain at an entry level. But the picture higher up isn’t too rosy either as first Covid, and then a slowing economy, saw agencies remove senior staff, leaving their less experienced counterparts to pick up the slack.
While it has no doubt worked to reduce overheads and protect margins, it has also stripped out years of experience and expertise, which, and here’s the irony, often serve as a shortcut to getting to the correct answer quicker, and thus more cost effectively.
As an agency, we’ve made a conscious decision to have a hands-on senior team work across our clients, and it's working out profitably for both parties.
Ian Cassidy – Managing Partner – Creative Director - The Station Agency.
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