Investments in Marketing, focus on sustainability, creativity and emerging technologies are trends in 2023
Around the world, brands have responded to economic instability with investment rather than pulling back and cutting costs. The growth mindset has led them to prioritize plans and initiatives to help protect the business against a backdrop of global uncertainty. This is one of the trends that the Global Marketing Trends 2023 study, prepared by Deloitte, points to for the year.
Other trends covered in the survey are: CMOs (Chief Marketing Officers) driving growth through internal sustainability efforts, brands prioritizing creativity as a growth force, and attention to emerging technologies.
“Marketing people are aware that it is not possible to slow down even in times of uncertainty and economic instability, which is why they continue to invest. understood that continuing to invest is the only way to maintain competitiveness. There is a closer look at sustainability, although advances are still needed for true strategic transformations to occur, and we already see bets on emerging technologies. The four trends identified in the global study are applicable reality of the Brazilian market, where we also have opportunities to accelerate data technologies, AI, campaign management, scale personalization and CRM”, highlights Guilherme Evans, partner at Deloitte and leader of Deloitte Digital.
The survey polled 1,015 global executives and conducted 23 executive interviews to better understand how top brands are meeting the needs of today’s customers.
Investments in marketing
The majority (75%) of marketers most concerned about economic instability are responding to it with an investment mindset.
The biggest concerns cited by the brands are with the economy and inflation. Against this backdrop of uncertainty, the top priority for brands is to accelerate the shift to new technologies and digital platforms. That’s because increasingly digitally savvy customers expect digital channels that facilitate the user experience.
Another priority highlighted by marketing professionals is expansion into new markets, segments and geographies. Among the factors cited by respondents are: expanding services into new areas, improving product awareness, enhancing the customer experience, and driving consumers to digital platforms.
Sustainability
More than half of brands are investing in getting their house in order when it comes to sustainability, a good sign that they are looking to make an authentic, long-term impact. These companies are planning to improve the sustainability of marketing practices, promote more sustainable products and services, and establish long-term sustainability commitments. Yet they are not prioritizing sustainability as readily as in previous years. The vast majority of marketers (85%) are implementing both public-facing and internal sustainability initiatives.
Creativity
High-growth brands are more likely to create an environment that supports creative thinking, encouraging risk-taking and cross-functional collaboration. Forward-thinking brands are using creativity beyond brand communications and advertising as a driver of growth.
The majority (89%) of high-growth companies agree that their long-term success depends on their ability to foster creativity. CMOs surveyed across industries are increasingly turning to content creators as creative collaborators. Both brands and creators are looking for partners more often. The brands surveyed expect to practically double their partnerships over the next two years.
The survey reveals that there is a growing interest from brands in the metaverse. About half of the companies surveyed will create metaverse experiences by 2023, but the majority (84%) plan to engage in this within the next two years. Brands reported that the main barrier to participating in the metaverse is the difficulty of technical implementation.
However, 90% see entering the metaverse as relevant to their industry. Already the pressure to address privacy may be fueling the start of blockchain migration; CMOs that are prioritizing regulated environments have already implemented the tool three times more than their peers, suggesting that blockchain has high relevance for this type of industry. Nearly half (41%) of surveyed CMOs plan to support their advertising strategies with blockchain.
(Image credits: Mailchimp/Unsplash)
