More than 90% of marketing directors in the United Kingdom recognize that they would not have chosen this race if they had known to what extent would be dominated by technology. And 100% of those who have been in office for three and six years. This is concluded by the latest Global Intermediate Study (IMG), which warns about a growing problem: marketing has ceased to be a creative discipline to become a technical function, in many cases unsustainable.
The research, among 250 C-SUITE professionals with responsibility for marketing technology in medium-sized companies in the United Kingdom (with annual revenues of between 100 and 500 million pounds), shows the scope of this transformation. In 45% of marketing equipment, most profiles are already completely oriented to technical tasks. And in 35% of organizations, it is the CMO who directly assumes the management of the Stack Technological, above even CFO (19%) or IT head (18%).
The strategy, displaced
“You don’t enter marketing to end up working on technical support”warns Karla Wentworth, Chief Strategy Offer in IMG. “However, that is exactly what is happening. Marsch rules, and creativity or strategy occupy a very secondary place, if they occupy it.”
Many are trapped in an ecosystem of tools that do not dominate and that consume more and more resources and resources
The report estimates that there are currently more than 15,000 technological tools aimed at marketing. Most of them require advanced knowledge of implementation, integration or data management. In this context, many managers are trapped in an ecosystem that do not dominate and consume more and more resources.
In fact, 71% of the CMOS claim that they lose moments for creativity – as Brainstorming sessions or reflection spaces – for having to solve incidents with their tools. 95% of those who have been in the post for two and two years indicate that this happens frequently. And a third admit that it happens “very often.”
One month a year invested
The most alarming data is the time invested: on average, marketing managers dedicate 13.3 hours a month – more than 21 working days a year – simply to the tools work correctly. In 31% of cases, that figure amounts to more than five hours a week, which represents more than 34 working days a year destined exclusively to solve technical problems.
This situation directly impacts motivation. One of each twelve CMOS admits that marketing is now less attractive due to technological pressure. In addition, 13% claim that their Stack of Marsch It does not have a positive impact on the moral of the team, although it was conceived to improve efficiency.
A structural problem that affects talent
The growing weight of technology not only limits productivity. It is also altering the profile of the teams. “Now there are more technology experts than true Marketers”points Wentworth. This imbalance has direct consequences on the quality of creative work, in the emotional connection with audiences and the ability to develop memorable campaigns.
The average duration of the CMOS in your position has also been reduced. It has gone from 4.1 years to 3.9 years, according to data cited by the report, which can be interpreted as a sign of wear or further senior talent. “The industry is losing its most experienced leaders, exhausted by an environment that does not allow them to real marketing,”Wentworth sentence.
The average duration of the CMOS has also been reduced, from 4.1 years to 3.9
IMG’s response is to make an Experience marketing proposal (MX), a approach focused on simplifying the Stack technological and return control to the marketing area. “When your team is constantly turning off fires, solving incompatibilities or dealing with inherited systems, it is normal for strategy and creativity to be relegated”explains Steve Kemish, CEO of the company.
The key, according to IMG, is in recovering balance. It is not about eliminating technology, but of integrating it intelligently, with rationalized structures and clear responsibilities. Because when the whole system depends on the CMO, even in aspects that should correspond to it or finance, the margin of action to lead marketing is reduced dangerously.
The industry has been talking about digital transformation, automation and artificial intelligence for years, but this report provides a critical perspective: in its efforts to incorporate more technology, marketing has been losing part of its essence.
Marketing directors cannot – or do not want to continue loading with an excessive technological structure, so the sector must rethink how it organizes their equipment, what tools it provides and what expectations deposit in those who lead the growth of the brands.
