Survey: Over half of industry players say creative work doesn’t stand out

Over half of global marketers and agency creatives say that most creative work doesn't cut through the clutter. Meanwhile, the creative process in marketing is flawed and stifles creativity, as only 27% of global marketers and 30% of agencies agree that they are well-trained in evaluating ideas, highlighting a lack of training in the industry, a survey finds.

Conducted by BetterBriefs and research agency Flood + Partners, and produced in partnership with the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA), the “BetterIdeas Project” report surveyed 1034 industry individuals across 54 countries including the US, UK, and Australia, with representation from both B2C and B2B sectors.

The report examines the current landscape of ideas and creative decision-making, aiming to ignite discussions among young teams within companies and helping them generate improved ideas.

The survey found that 76% of marketers and 91% of creative agencies agree that strong creative ideas are key drivers to the overall success of an organisation’s marketing efforts. However, 54% of marketers agree that creative work doesn’t stand out, with 75% of people working at creative agencies agreeing with the statement.

Despite the industry having access to more tools and increased knowledge of how creativity works, 47% of marketers and 76% of agencies still feel that the quality of creative work is not improving. 64% of marketers and 71% of agencies agree that evaluating ideas is a tricky but important responsibility.

Looking at the causes, difficulties arise both within agencies and during the implementation process. On marketers and their feedback, after agencies have presented ideas, only 30% of agencies receive clear and constructive client feedback, and 70% of agencies are unclear about the feedback they receive.

Over half of marketers (56%) and 23% of agencies agree that the current approval process is functioning well. When asked to describe their current approval process, respondents’ most commonly used words were “Painful”, “Slow”, “Subjective”, and “Inconsistent”.

Only 27% of marketers and 30% of agencies agree that they are well-trained in evaluating ideas, showing that the industry lacks training.

On average, it takes five rounds of creative development (or rework) to get to a signed-off idea. This is up from three rounds in 2007, as measured by the IPA. It shows that the rework rate is high and time-consuming.

Other issues are holding back creative ideas; only 36% of marketers, 26% of creative firms, and 32% of in-house teams are proud of their work throughout their careers.

Evaluating creative ideas and providing support to agencies are also discussed in the study, as 23% of agencies and even fewer (15%) marketers agree that briefs are always used by their organisations when evaluating ideas. Only 10% of all respondents agree that ideas are always evaluated against clearly defined criteria in their organisations.

In terms of the impact of poor assessment practices, 84% of marketers and 89% of agencies believe that personal opinion has a big influence on decision-making. Additionally, 70% of creative agencies do not trust the creative judgment of the marketers they collaborate with.

The findings also reveal that less than a third of agencies (29%) believe that marketers inspire them to do their best work. This suggests that marketers who inspire their agency to do their best work are three times more likely to feel proud of their work.

Don't miss: Survey: 31% of HK SMEs prioritise marketing and branding for business growth

Matt Davies and Pieter-Paul von Weiler, co-founders of BetterBriefs, said, “Creativity is a powerful tool that enhances advertising effectiveness. While many ideas are generated, only a few are approved and brought to fruition. The BetterIdeas Project shows that evaluating ideas is crucial for our industry. If briefs serve as a guide for agency thinking, then ideas are the vehicle that propels effectiveness in the advertising world.

“With global advertising spending forecast to reach US$1.07 trillion in 2025, our previous work suggests up to US$350 billion – or one-third of spending - could be wasted due to unclear briefs and misdirected work. The research reveals how marketers can make better creative decisions with actionable insights to boost results and efficiency.”

Stephan Loerke, chief executive officer, WFA, said: “Creativity is the lifeblood of our industry and a core driver of growth. Sadly there’s often a suboptimal creative process that delivers sub-par results. Advertisers and their agencies must invest time, effort and greater faith in fit-for-purpose briefing, evaluation and approval processes that foster collaboration and trust to generate bold ideas. Getting this right is the only way to truly harness the power of creativity and enhance the perception of marketing as a key driver of growth.”

Laurence Green, director of effectiveness, IPA said, “This timely report is something of a wake-up call for our industry, but one which also alerts us to quick wins in efficiency and effectiveness: because good briefs and good briefings achieve both. The IPA is delighted to endorse this publication as a stimulus for new, improved processes and better training.

Related Articles:

How can marketers navigate a new audience as preferences change
Interview: Why marketer Anthony Tsang believes true storytelling is important for brand building