The creative struggle is real. APAC marketers share their biggest barriers

Last week, MARKETING INTERACTIVE reported that two in five (41%) APAC marketing practitioners cite a lack of time to be creative as a barrier to delivering excellent customer experiences. The Adobe’s 2023 Digital Trends Report also noted that 41% cite workflow issues as a critical barrier holding back their marketing organisations.

True enough, in this day and age, we are seeing the advertising world get more and more crowded. In 2022, Dentsu reported that total ad spend was expected to reach US$738.5 billion by the end of 2022. It also estimated that the 2023 global advertising market is set to increase by 5.4% to reach US$778.6 billion, followed by a further 5.1% increase in 2024.

This essentially means that more brands are looking for creative and unique ads that will help their brand stand out. However, with the number of campaigns marketing practitioners have to juggle, is there enough room for creativity? Adobe’s 2023 Digital Trends Report seems to think not.

Don't miss: Study: 41% of APAC marketers lack time to be creative

In its report, Adobe states that only one-quarter (25%) of APAC practitioners rate their organisations as ‘good’ or ‘very good’ at planning, scoping, prioritising and assigning content to achieve measurable outcomes. Historically, efforts to accelerate content creation have come at the cost of employee time and freedom.

As such, leading brands are now prioritising investments in the speed, scale and efficiency of their content creation capabilities and workflows to build stronger customer relationships and succeed in 2023. In parallel, they are enhancing their existing marketing processes and technologies to make the most of their investments and ensure they seize every opportunity throughout the year.

“Customer expectations for content-rich, personalised experiences have reached new heights,” added Duncan Egan, vice president of digital experience marketing, Adobe Asia Pacific and Japan.

According to the research, 79% of senior APAC executives say demand for content has significantly increased. Yet despite this seemingly insatiable appetite from customers – who now crave dynamic digital experiences across a growing range of channels – only a quarter (25%) of brands rate themselves as “good” at creating and delivering content.   

According to Eugene Lee, CMO of McDonald’s Asia, the lack of time to be creative is a genuine problem many marketers face. “From the outside, people always think that a marketers’ job is glamorous and all about creativity, but for the ones actually doing the work, we know that 70-80% of our time is actually spent on crunching numbers, aligning cross functionally, forecasting, processes, managing stakeholders, and preparing PowerPoints,” he said.

That then leaves very little time to sit back and think creatively – which then results in a heavy reliance on agency partners for the creative output.

Seconding Lee on the lack of time is Yeoh Phee Suan, director, Marketing, Communications & Digital Strategy at NAC. “Time, or lack of, is often the cited culprit to good creative content,” said Yeoh.

In the arts sector however, creativity is at the heart of everything that is done. “We need to continuously innovate and think of new ways to engage our audiences. It is important to adopt a creative mindset, keep an open mind and be inspired by the things around us,” Yeoh said.

Abdul Sani Abdul Murad, CMO of RHB Bank added that the content creation “rat race” that many “marketers risk getting sucked into” is also hindering creativity as marketers get obsessed with competition and ability to churn content at speed.

As a result, the dopamine producing metrics related to speed and scale becomes the core defining measure of marketing efficiency and productivity.

“Such addiction clouds marketers sight on the most fundamental values it needs to deliver, which is winning customers affection through quality engagement. We need to court them by standing out with our best creative ways in engaging them that’s unexpected, yet in a relevant way. We should avoid jumping on the speed dating track by bombarding our customers with overdose of content that does not resonate with them at all,” he added.

How to really be more creative and what’s standing in the way?

Lee added that sometimes, what hinders marketers from taking creative risks is the fear of the unknown. “Every industry has an industry norm, or a cookie cutter version of a typical ad - be it a shampoo ad, or a QSR ad, or an automobile ad, there are the stereotypical norms of how an ad should look like,” said Lee. As a result, out of the box, creative ads usually cause butterflies in the stomach of management, and usually results in a decision to stick to the tried and tested way of communicating. He added:

This fear of the unknown is usually what kills creativity.

Creativity today, also cannot live in isolation, explained Cheryl Lim, head of brand & communications, StarHub. “Strong creatives cannot exist without a strong strategy,” she said, adding that at StarHub the team begins by first aligning on strategy internally before creating the work. Lim added that while it's inevitable to get caught up in the day-to-day grind given any marketers’ busy schedule, it's important to take a step back, pause, and consider whether the creative work is aligned with strategy.

Overcoming the creative fatigue

Lee explained that in all his years as a marketer, he found the most practical way to overcome this creative fatigue and fear is to have a “test budget” which is usually 15% to 20% of your total marketing budget. With this budget, the marketing team in charge can “go wild” and try new ways of communications that are out of the box. He added.

You might try 20x different ideas a year, but only need to find 1 campaign that creates mass impact.

“Once management sees the success of this one outstanding idea, it then becomes part of marketing campaigns moving forward because there is already confidence in it. This is the most practical way to push boundaries in a safe and practical way because the 15% we spend on test and learn won’t make or break your marketing campaigns.”

Adding on, RHB Bank’s Abdul also urged marketers to leverage on marketing automation to simplify their marketing processes to have more time to be creative. Alongside, marketers must become more customer obsessed.

“While having marketing productivity metrics is good, it is never a definite way to evaluate marketing effectiveness, said Abdul.

“We need to look at customer engagement metrics too to guide our marketing actions. Ensuring what we produce matters to customers so that their experience with our brand is memorable and talk-able. Give them a reason to be excited about our brand,” he explained adding: "We should avoid being the empty vessel that makes the most noise and become the main contributor to the noise pollution that people hate. It only accelerates consumers’ disinterest in your brand."

Of course, no great creative work is without challenge, added Lim. One area many marketers find challenging is in getting the right people in the right roles to work together.

“This is why I focus a lot on building, inspiring and retaining a strong internal and external ecosystem of stakeholders to develop, embrace, and measure creativity. From my peers and boss in StarHub to our agencies, I work just as closely with each one of them. It takes a whole village to develop and nurture creativity for marketing,” she added.

Agreeing with Lim, Philip Chau, the vice president and group head of marketing at Regal Hotels International, added that it is also important to look for creative mindsets when hiring and building a team. "It is about how they think, and not what they do. Regardless of their area of expertise, you want someone who can think creatively, therefore be capable of managing this type of project and find the support needed."

"You must create a team culture that fosters creative thinking. Encourage integrating creative thinking into the day-to-day marketing operations. Reward and celebrate creative and innovative thinking, regardless of whether it drives return on investment or not. Show by example," he said. 

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