Retail marketing effectiveness reaches six-year high

Marketing effectiveness in the retail sector reached a six-year high in 2022, according to research from the Data and Marketing Association (DMA).

The average number of brand effects per retail campaign has more than doubled year-over-year from 0.2 in 2021, to 0.5 last year. Response effects have grown by 60% year-over-year, from 1.8 to 2.9, while business effects have grown by 67%, from 0.3 to 0.5.

The DMA says retail marketers took a balanced approach to campaigns this year, with short-term response being driven by promotions and discounts, and retailers also investing in brand-building activity.

“Trading conditions have been undeniably tough during the cost-of-living crisis. Consumer demand has been impacted by squeezed household budgets, while retailer profit margins have been hit by cost inflation,” says DMA director of insight Ian Gibbs.

“However, retailers have got the balance right in terms of campaign strategy. There is an even split between acquisition and retention activity, and the most even balance between brand and response activity seen in the last six years, with a third of campaigns having some sort of brand goal.”

Retail saw the most average campaign effects out of any sector. Financial services saw the second-highest number of effects, followed by the utilities sector.

Source: DMA

Half of marketers fear AI might stall career advancement

Just over half (52%) of marketers fear that the rise of generative AI might overshadow certain parts of their jobs, thus stalling career advancement, according to data from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM).

While most marketers (61%) do believe they have the skill to adjust to new digital technologies being introduced, almost two-thirds believe AI is being introduced too quickly. Many organisations have been forced to quickly introduce guidelines around the use of AI as it was quickly adopted by staff this year.

“AI and digital transformation aren’t just passing trends; they’re integral components of the new age of marketing,” says CIM CEO Chris Daly. “While the pace of technological advancement might feel overwhelming, it’s crucial for marketers to recognise this as an opportunity to evolve.”

The vast majority (92%) of marketers believe their organisations will have to adapt to cope with these emerging technologies.

Source: CIM

The average rebrand sees 251 assets transformed

The average rebrand takes seven months and sees 251 assets transformed, according to research from Bynder.

Out of all the marketers Bynder surveyed, over eight in 10 (82%) reported having worked on a rebrand.

Marketers rank updating marketing assets as the most challenging part of a rebrand (47%), closely followed by communicating that rebrand to their audience (42%). Online assets are the hardest to update in a brand, the marketers surveyed say.

The most common reason for undertaking a rebrand is found to be to update brand identity (57%). A brand repositioning in the market (47%) is the next most popular motivator, followed by catering to a change in target audience (41%).

Almost one in 10 (8%) marketers surveyed say they have taken part in a rebrand that took between one and two years.

Source: Bynder

Nearly half of retail marketers have seen increased employee turnover

Over four in 10 (43%) retail marketers report an increase in employee turnover in the last 12 months.

Almost one in three (31%) say their organisation is having to make redundancies due to financial constraints, and 38% are finding their budgets no longer stretch as far as they once did due to an uncertain economic backdrop.

A similar proportion (39%) report a drop in effectiveness in how their budget is spent. However, on a more positive note, 77% expect an increase in marketing budget over the next 12 months.

Nearly two-fifths (37%) of marketers say their organisation has struggled to recruit to fill gaps, meaning understaffed teams are becoming common.

Source: ROI Hunter

Most UK consumers disengage with unrepresentative media

Over half (57%) of UK consumers say they disengage with unrepresentative media and advertising, according to research from Spark Foundry.

This figure is even higher among diverse communities. Almost four in five (79%) people from ethnic minorities have disengaged with a piece of media because it is unrepresentative. Neurodiverse (76%) and LGBTQ+ (62%) people are also likely to disengage from a piece of media for this reason.

The primary reason for this disengagement is either lack of or negative representation.

The food and drink sector is ranked as the most representative, closely followed by travel. The fashion, beauty, and travel sectors were considered to be the least representative, in particular, by young people, neurodivergent and BAME respondents.

Source: Spark Foundry