London – 13 January 2021: Improving the efficiency of their marketing and creative teams is the top priority for UK marketing leaders next year. The finding is revealed in new research by digital asset management (DAM) provider Canto conducted in partnership with CMSWire, which highlights how marketing teams will shape up post-pandemic.
More than half (57%) of respondents identified better efficiency as a top area of focus, ahead of the desire to create and publish more content (53%). This was followed by better collaboration with other internal teams or departments and achieving better ROI from marketing activities (both 47%).
The survey of British marketers also identified that the most popular way of working post-pandemic is a 50/50 split between home and the office. 43% of leaders expect their teams will follow this balance, with most others showing a bias toward the office. Around a quarter (23%) said they expect their team to work more from the office than at home, and 16% expect their team to work from the office every day.
“Increased efficiency and better productivity have been on the agenda for years,” commented Mike Paxton, VP Europe at Canto. “On the one hand, it’s surprising to see that this remains a priority, a seemingly aspirational goal for managers and their teams. On the other, marketers and creatives must continually adapt to business requirements and ways of working that maintain a high performance culture at every level.”
Asked about top concerns when producing digital content, marketers highlighted security and managed access to files – a worry for 43%, particularly when it comes to things like new product launches or campaigns. This is closely followed by challenges with version control and the review and approval process (38%) and the expense of producing new content (35%).
Tracking whether certain aspects are more or less of a problem than they were 12 – 18 months ago:
- 59% said unnecessarily duplicating work or doing rework is now more challenging
- 52% said finding digital assets when needed is now more challenging
- 45% said miscommunication across teams collaborating virtually is now more challenging
- 45% said speed to create new digital assets is now more challenging
- 44% said creating digital content that differentiates their brand or engages their target audience is now more challenging
Mike Paxton added: “This research shows that it’s not concerns over talent or executive buy-in, but ensuring people and process come together seamlessly. This is a watershed moment across our industry – one where marketing, digital and creative teams can reinvent better ways of working. Choices made now about how your team operates will have a huge impact on performance for many years to come.”
About the research
CMSWire surveyed 200 UK and 200 US marketing decision makers of manager level and above.
Top represented industries included retail (15%), business and professional services (8%) and manufacturing (8%).
About Canto
Canto helps thousands of teams across the globe work faster and smarter by streamlining the way they organise, search and share their digital content.
We work with a diverse range of customers in the UK and internationally. Our state of the art software-as-a-service (SaaS) is chosen by industry heavyweights like BP and Mitsubishi, retailers such as Birkenstock and Ralph Lauren, as well as non-profits including Fairtrade and the Institute of Cancer Research.
When your content is organised, your team is organised, meaning everyone can focus on what really matters to your business.
To see how Canto can help people in your organisation work more efficiently, check out our features and use cases on canto.com
