A recent report by marketing production services firm Charterhouse has revealed that the increasing importance of social media and brand awareness on the internet has caused many marketers to seek help from digital agencies, as their workloads mount.
The ‘Back to Creativity‘ report, based on an independent survey of 200 senior marketing professionals across the UK, France, Germany and Italy, reveals that many professionals in the industry are struggling, with over 40% reporting cut-backs in their departments in the last 5 years.
Two thirds of those questioned believe the new generation of marketing channels, with its intense focus on social media, has created more work for their department, with 67% commenting they are now expected to do more with less.
In order to deal with the demand, professionals are turning to agencies. Over half of those in the survey said they had hired agencies to deal with the intense rise in expectations and online content, with nearly half commenting they have become dependent on the agencies as a result.
Charterhouse new business director, Anthony Hawkins, commented on the report: “Overburdened marketers are turning to third parties to offload the tasks that they simply don’t have time for. But, in an unexpected twist, this has meant that many have found their role has become one of coordination and administration.
“This rather unwelcome evolution is risking low morale and poor job satisfaction in the marketing department. Clearly, this dependence on agencies and the impact it is having on marketers needs to be addressed by business leaders.”