The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), have today released the results of a study in partnership with YouGov, which surveyed 255 marketers across England, Wales and Scotland, and where they believe the industry is heading in 2017. We take a look at some of these notable findings…

Calling All Creatives

One of the key findings is that 76 per cent of marketers believe that the rise of ad-blocking is actually going to be beneficial to the industry, as it forces the industry to be more creative in their approach, and find different, less annoying ways for brands to reach their consumers. Directly linked to this, then, is the fact that some marketers are looking at prioritising new technologies such as Virtual Reality, Chatbots and short-lived content, driving innovation and hopefully investment within these still relatively unexplored areas.

Chris Daly, chief executive, CIM, notes that: “Marketers are naturally skilled when it comes to embracing change and new technologies, and they have a natural thirst for creativity. So it was positive to see the majority of respondents rising to the challenge of ad-blocking. It was also encouraging to see that whilst marketers are starting to look at new technologies (like Chatbots and Virtual Reality), the fundamental skills of their profession in terms of delivering more personalised, targeted and influential campaigns, still sit at the core of marketers’ everyday life.”

High Standards

It’s also clear from the report that customer experience continues to be the ultimate focus of brands looking to maximise the impact of their digital offering. With customer expectations being raised higher and higher by disruptive brands like Uber and Amazon, marketers are feeling the pressure to up their game. 49 per cent of marketers admit to feeling pressured into reinventing their customer experience in order to keep pace with these dynamic, incredibly innovative brands.

Strategic Partnerships

But it’s not all doom and gloom. The resources available to marketers continue to increase, with 33 per cent of those surveyed suggesting that the lines between IT, digital and marketing are becoming more and more blurred. This alignment of goals across brand creates a reinforced strategy which can feed more easily into a multi-channel approach.

Daly continues: “… it’s encouraging to see customer experience is being given the consideration needed at a business level, and that marketing is clearly playing a more strategic role… Marketers have a clear role to play in demonstrating their value to the business, and for making the case for increased investment to meet their organisational goals.”

What are your thoughts on these findings? Do you agree? Continue the conversation at @Figaro_Digital.