Marketers in the UK are least concerned about wasting their ad budgets, with just 20% of total budgets believed to be lost on the wrong channels or strategies.
The findings come from research by Rakuten Marketing on over 1,000 marketers across the UK, US, France, Germany and Asia-Pacific (APAC) regions, exploring the perception of ad spend efficiency across multiple markets.
On a global level by comparison to the UK, over a quarter of marketers (26%) believed ad spend to be misplaced, while marketers in France (30%) and the US (30%) showed higher levels of skepticism.
Profession to lifestyle
Exploring the priorities of marketers in the UK, Rakuten Marketing identified four key profiles – ‘architects’ (experienced data analysts), ‘advancers’ (who chase new channels and campaigns), ‘advocates’ (networkers with focus for video content) and ‘adaptors’ (marketing optimisation specialists).
According to findings, 22% of data-driven architects – which represent 12% of UK marketers – believed just 18% of their total marketing budget was misplaced – the least waste of all four types.
The research further found that advancers, who constitute 49%, are actively investing in newer channels such as voice (36%) and virtual reality solutions (28%), while advocates – the “old school networkers” that make up 31% – perceive a clear role for video content in 2018 with 56% planning investment. However, just 5% of this group still holding faith in the role influencer marketing.
Meanwhile, among the smallest (9%) segment of marketers, 68% of adaptors are turning away from traditional sales peaks in a bid to keep campaigns consistent throughout the year.
“The fact that advancers and advocates dominate the marketer population today at 81% is no surprise,” commented Alison O’Leary, founder at LiveTrue Career & Life Coaching.
“With the infinite advent of new technologies and channels and the personal relationship expectations of consumers, marketing has moved from a profession to a lifestyle. However, the disciplined, data-focused skills of adapters and architects are equally vital.”