LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM — (Marketwired) — 11/17/14 — The digital marketing manager role has become more complicated than ever recently, particularly in light of operating in often under-resourced departments that too often work in silos. That–s according to a new industry census of more than 200 UK digital marketing managers released today by (NYSE: MRIN).
Marin commissioned pollsters Censuswide to gather the views of digital marketing managers working across companies with a combined annual turnover of over £60billion(1).
The study revealed that as they grapple with fragmenting media channels and an avalanche of new data.
and two thirds (66%) say more needs to be done to integrate different digital marketing disciplines — such as paid search, social, SEO and display — with each other.
Whilst silos clearly exist within Marketing, strong relationships are beginning to be built across other departments. Over half (54%) say they are already working closely with their IT department, and one in five (19%) are planning to do so in future. Yet 26% also said they planned to hire more people with data analysis skills.
Despite overall UK digital ad spend growing by 17% in the first half of 2014 to hit £3.46bn(2), to deliver better returns for the business — just 30% think they have the balance right.
Whilst there is perhaps an element of self-interest in this response (who wouldn–t want more budget to play with?!), the report nevertheless highlights a sense frustration from digital marketers who feel their work is not always recognised in terms of the direct impact it has on their businesses.
There is also a clear sense that some respondents doubt the decision making of the most senior marketer in their business. and doesn–t invest in it sufficiently.
Breaking down organisational silos and integrating channels will be the main focus areas in the next twelve months, according to the respondents, who named their top five priorities(3) as:
1. Better integrating our on and offline marketing efforts (46%)
2. Creating campaigns based on deeper understanding of audiences (41%)
3. Better integrating our digital marketing disciplines (37%)
4. Cross-channel digital marketing (35%)
5. Working more closely with our IT/tech team (29%)
Jon Myers, VP & MD EMEA of Marin Software said; “As media has fragmented, so have marketing teams. Too often, we–re seeing collections of specialists working independently. This has to change. We know that marketers get the best results from their campaigns when they work in a joined up way and focus on the customer rather than just the click.
“That means following customer behaviour across multiple channels and joining these up to form a complete picture on which to build integrated campaigns. For example, our own research shows that users are twice as likely to convert when they click on both search and social ads as opposed to search ads alone. When you multiply this effect across all online channels, the results can be hugely powerful.”
The full results of the 2014 Digital Marketing Managers Census are available . Marin is also hosting a seminar for digital marketing managers on breaking down marketing silos on Tuesday November 18th to address some of the issues raised. Free media passes are available by contacting .
1. Marin Software commissioned Censuswide to survey 201 digital marketing managers in October and November 2014 who work in companies with an annual turnover of at least £20 million.
2. IAB UK and PwC, October 2014
3. Other 2015 priorities digital marketing managers cited include: gaining better transparency into where digital agencies invest (20%); developing a deeper understanding of how to market digitally to emerging markets such as Brazil, Asia and China (18%); and hiring more people with data analysis skills (26%). Despite being the buzzword of the moment, just 10% see programmatic buying as a key focus.
Marin Software Incorporated (NYSE: MRIN) provides a leading cross-channel performance advertising cloud for advertisers and agencies to measure, manage and optimize more than $6 billion in annualized ad spend across the web and mobile devices. Offering an integrated SaaS platform for search, display and social advertising, Marin helps digital marketers improve financial performance, save time, and make better decisions. Advertisers use Marin to create, target, and convert precise audiences based on recent buying signals from users– search, social and display interactions. Headquartered in San Francisco with offices in 9 countries, Marin–s technology powers marketing campaigns around the globe. For more information about Marin–s products, please visit: .
Media contacts:
Laura West-Wilson
Harriet Webster
020 7924 5656
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