BrandMaker, the leading innovator in Marketing Resource Management (MRM) solutions, today shared the findings of the BrandMaker Pulse. The purpose of the BrandMaker Pulse was to gain insight into the impact that Covid-19 has had on marketing budgets, teams, agility, program planning and content creation within global organizations, and how it will shape long-term strategies. Key findings include:
Correlation Between Marketing Investments and Agility:
While half of respondents agreed that previous investments in marketing innovation and automation delivered the agility and visibility needed to respond quickly to the changing market, the other half said that their marketing was less agile than expected or had inadequate workflow collaboration tools.
There was a direct correlation between budget impact and agility. Respondents whose previous marketing investments gave the agility and visibility needed to respond quickly to the changing market experienced the lowest budget reductions. Respondents that stated they were not as agile as expected experienced the largest reductions in budget.
Budget shifts varied among respondents. Approximately one-third were required to reduce their marketing budget by 60 to 80%, one-third by 20%, and finally one-third had no budget reduction.
Shift in Budget from Brand to Pipeline Will Increase Demand for New and Local Campaign Content
The overwhelming majority of respondents (80%) expect to shift budget from brand campaigns to pipeline and overall lead generation efforts in 2021. They also see an increased need to create and provide fast access to new, refreshed, and localized content. Additionally, two thirds of respondents predict an expected move away from agency to In-house content creation and management.
2021 Will See Increase In Digital Transformation and Organization Change
- Three quarters of respondents plan to continue remote working for employees
- Over 90 % will increase investment in the digital transformation of marketing processes
- The overwhelming majority of respondents (80%) % believe their global marketing organization will be more productive and collaborative because Covid-19 has changed how they work.
Said BrandMaker CEO, Mirko Holzer, “Recent events have demanded global marketing organizations to rethink their entire 2020 strategy and campaigns. The BrandMaker Pulse shows a clear indication that organizations with agile MarTech systems have fared better than their counterparts. The need for marketing organizations to be fast, effective and nimble, with highly productive, collaborative, and agile workflows, that are also highly measurable, will be even more vital given the anticipated budget shift from brand to pipeline and the undoubted increase in the need for new, fresh and local content.”