1、STATE OF MARKETING AND PR LEADERSHIP 2023Roles and responsibilities of marketing and communications leadersMuck Rack conducted a survey focusing on professionals in leadership roles in marketing and communications.We received 384 responses and used a total of 193.The respondents hold titles such as

2、CCO,CMO,Director,Vice President,or other C-suite positions.We asked a series of role-confirming questions that allowed us to sort them into three groups:marketing leaders,communications leaders,and marcom leaders,based on their primary function.Marcom leaders are those that describe their role as a

3、blend of marketing and communications functions.Just under 70%of respondents reported that they manage a combination of both marketing and communications responsibilities.We complemented this quantitative data by carrying out one-on-one interviews with survey participants.The following section provi

4、des an overview of the roles and responsibilities of marcom leaders.Executive summary Approximately 70%of respondents say their role is a mix of marketing and communications Internal communications is more likely to be overseen by comms and HR/people ops than marketing Marketing and marcom leaders a

5、re optimistic about their budgets,with 42%and 49%respectively increasing their budgets in 2024 and content marketing will be a top area of investment Broadening reach and share of voice is a top priority for 76%of marcom leaders Lead generation is the top metric for 67%of marcom leaders40%80%60%20%1

6、00%MarketingCommunicationsA mix of bothWhich option best describes your current role?12%19%68%0%More than half of leaders surveyed say both marketing&comms are part of their role68%of all leaders surveyed say their role is a mix of both marketing and communications.In most cases,respondents say they

7、 are both the highest ranking comms and marketing executive at their company.LEADER SPOTLIGHTKelly GardinerVP of Communications&Brand,Thirty MadisonWhat keeps you up at night?“Being able to keep everyone updated on everything thats going on in a way that lets them do their jobs effectively.It is rea

8、lly like every day is a crash test in if we are effectively communicating to our people.”Spotlight Statement:“We treat our employees as our first audience.Understanding how they react to messaging and how they respond will determine what happens externally.”Thirty Madison exists to deliver on health

9、cares biggest opportunities:access and affordability;patient outcomes;and patient experience.Kelly has been there for two years and focuses mainly on corporate communications,brand PR and brand strategy.44%35%8%7%3%2%2%Who do you report to?0%20%40%60%80%100%CEOCCOCMOPresidentOtherVP of Comms/Sr.Comm

10、s ExecutiveVP of Marketing/Sr.Marketing ExecutiveMarketing and comms leaders tend to report to CEO Many leaders who selected the“other”option reported in to the COO.Growth and revenue leaders were also common among write-in responses.Leaders also reported collaborating most frequently with the CEO a

11、nd other chief executives.Which function oversees internal/employee communications in your organization?40%80%60%20%100%0%MarketingCommunicationsHR/people ops or another non-marketing functionOther14%37%38%11%Communications or HR are the most likely to oversee internal commsWhile fewer organizations

12、 have marketing run internal comms,theyre evenly split on using comms versus another team,like HR,for this purpose.The respondents who replied“other”often said internal comms is handled by a group of people from different departments,or occasionally,handled solely by the CEO.“Internal has become so

13、important because executives finally understand the power of their employees voice,”Kelly Gardiner said.“Both as customers and because theyre either your supporters or your detractors”PrioritiesOverall,leaders have almost identical top priorities.In another example of the blurred lines between marke

14、ting and communications,“broaden reach and share of voice”is the top priority of leaders regardless of their station.Marketing,communications and marcom leaders also rank“manage brand reputation”as a top priority.The main differences in the top concerns comes down to the media.For comms and marcom l

15、eaders,“build and maintain media relationships”is a top priority,while marketing leaders are more likely to prioritize“report and analyze impact.”What are your top priorities today?(Select top 3)40%80%60%20%100%0%Broaden reach and share of voiceMarcom leadersMarketing leadersComms leadersBuild and m

16、aintain media relationshipsManage brand reputationReact to industry trendsDrive efficiency and collaborationReport and analyze impactOther(please specify)76%71%70%53%17%59%72%42%57%11%25%22%39%33%38%32%50%16%7%25%8%What keeps you up at night?“What havent we done?What havent we gotten?What havent we

17、planned for?What eventuality,”she said.“Youre hoping that all of the funnels and things youve set up will all go through and its wondering if youve missed a step thats going to break the whole process.”Spotlight Statement:“Its how engaged the audience you have is at any given time that makes a diffe

18、rence in terms of how much people are listening to you.You want to build your own armies.”McKinney Media Group is a Public Relations agency focusing on digital PR,digital marketing and content marketing.Claire has been there for 15 years and focuses mainly on integrated media strategies,content crea

19、tion,social media and SEO.LEADER SPOTLIGHTClaire McKinneyCEO,McKinney Media GroupMetricsThe following charts show the preferred marketing and comms metrics for different leaders.Lead generation is important to marketing and marcom leaders and number of stories placed is important to marcom and commu

20、nications leaders.Marketing leaders have a strong preference for an additional three metrics:sales,web traffic and conversion rates.Claire McKinney,CEO of McKinney Media Group said its important to look at metrics beyond impressions.“A lot of people use key performance indicators like impressions as

21、 one of their major measurements,”she said.“I really care about what the actual interaction is.I want to know what the engagement is because impression just means that something appears in front of eyeballs,but those eyeballs might not be looking at that screen at that moment.”Top marketing metrics

22、for marcom leaders40%80%60%20%100%0%Lead generationWeb trafficSocial media engagementConversion rateSalesBrand share of voiceFollowers/social media subscribersAd impressions/reachSEO rankingsOtherWhat are the most important marketing metrics for your team to measure your success?(Select top 3)46%45%

23、45%35%33%30%24%18%11%2%40%80%60%20%100%0%What are the most important metrics for your PR/communications team to measure your success?(Select top 3)Number of stories placedReach/impressionsWebsite impactRevenue impactKey message pull-throughSocial media impact of your own social channelsSocial engage

24、ment of earned coveragePitch performanceShare of voiceSentimentOther48%43%36%33%27%22%21%20%19%14%2%Top PR metrics for marcom leadersTop metrics for marketing leaders40%80%60%20%100%0%Lead generationConversion rateBrand share of voiceFollowers/social media subscribersSEO rankingsOtherWhat are the mo

25、st important marketing metrics for your team to measure your success?(Select top 3)67%Web traffic42%Social media engagement17%42%Sales50%13%13%Ad impressions/reach4%13%4%Top metrics for communications leaders40%80%60%20%100%0%What are the most important metrics for your PR/communications team to mea

26、sure your success?(Select top 3)Number of stories placedReach/impressionsRevenue impactSocial media impact of your own social channelsSocial engagement of earned coveragePitch performanceSentimentOther54%38%Website impact16%24%Key message pull-through43%8%22%11%Share of voice27%19%5%What keeps you u

27、p at night?“How do we generate awareness,interest and traction in markets that are new to us,but where we know we have potential customers who will be very receptive to our product and our message?How do we get in front of them and differentiate ourselves?”Spotlight Statement:“I think from our persp

28、ectivewere a fashion apparel brandwe need to be present in peoples lifestyle and overall environment rather than just being purely functional driven.”Unified Commerce Group is a retail platform that acquires and scales purpose-driven lifestyle brands including Frank&Oak.As part of the founding team,

29、Elisabeth focuses on brand strategy for a growing portfolio of brands.LEADER SPOTLIGHTElisabeth de GramontChief Brand Officer&Head of Impact,Unified Commerce GroupBudgetsLeaders are overall optimistic about their budgets going into 2024.Marketing and marcom leaders are most optimistic about their bu

30、dgets with 42%and 49%respectively saying they expect budgets to increase over the next year.In comparison,just 30%of comms leaders expect to increase their budget.Content marketing,social media and media relations will be the top areas of investment for 2024 for all leaders.Elisabeth de Gramont echo

31、ed this optimism but with a cautious reminder of the tough choices that come with budget constraints.“Ideally everyone would have a big team and a big budget,”de Gramont observed,“But the reality is that PR can really build a brand and create momentum,especially in terms of share of voice.However,wh

32、en its down to the wireparticularly for D2C online e-commerce brandstheres a tendency to prioritize spending on guaranteed traffic over PR.”In the next 12 months,do you expect your overall budget to:40%80%60%20%100%0%IncreaseMarcom leadersMarketing leadersComms leadersStay the sameDecrease49%44%8%42

33、%33%25%30%62%8%Marcom leaders will invest in content marketing in 2024In 2024,which of the following areas will receive increased investment in either budget or headcount?Content marketingMedia relationsSocial media45%33%30%40%80%60%20%100%0%Marketing leaders will invest in content marketing in 2024

34、In 2024,which of the following areas will receive increased investment in either budget or headcount?Content marketingEmail marketingSEO50%42%42%40%80%60%20%100%0%Comms leaders will invest in media relations and social media in 2024In 2024,which of the following areas will receive increased investme

35、nt in either budget or headcount?Media relationsSocial media/Influencer marketingEmployee comms/Employer branding40%80%60%20%100%0%68%57%19%What keeps you up at night?“Native Roots does really well with brand awareness,but further down the funnel is harder to market simply because of the regulations

36、 that we have to abide by.”Spotlight Statement:“When youre looking at customer loyalty,it needs to be more than just sending an email to a customer,”he said.“Its finding those new and interactive ways to engage with our customer base and drive more loyalty.”Native Roots is a vertically integrated ca

37、nnabis company in Colorado.Buck has been with the brand for just over 2.5 years and primarily focuses mainly on driving traffic and loyalty to their 21 retail locations across the state.LEADER SPOTLIGHTBuck DuttonVP of Marketing,Native RootsTeam alignmentWhen marketing and communications teams are s

38、eparate,they collaborate frequently.Leaders from each group say they meet with the other team at least once a week in most cases.We also asked leaders how comms and marketing can be better aligned and the answers from both sides were similar.Both marketing and comms leaders say they need to plan ear

39、ly,communicate often and align on their shared goals to bring the teams into harmony.Buck Dutton provided a look into how his team is structured.“We do most of our marketing in-house with our team of seven.We have a public relations firm on retainer that assists in earned media and public affairs,bu

40、t for the most part,we do all of our marketing and communications in-house,”he said.“We operate with a director of digital marketing,a team member focused primarily on omni-channel customer communications and a team member focused primarily on events.We also have a team member focused on our individ

41、ual stores as each of our locations is in its own unique community,and community is one of our brand values.Finally,we do most of our graphic design in-house.”The following graphs show the combined responses from marketing and communications leaders.How often do you meet with the opposite team?Weekl

42、y or moreMonthlyQuarterlyA few times a yearNever64%17%3%6%11%40%80%60%20%100%0%How aligned are your marketing and communications teams?56%Very aligned42%Somewhat aligned2%Not aligned at allAudience breakdownWhat best describes your level in your company?52%48%C-suite(CCO,CMO,EVP,SVP,CEO)Director(VP

43、or Director)How many full-time employees work at your company?Just me29 employees1049 employees5099 employees100499 employees5004,999 employees5,0009,999 employees10,000+employees0%40%80%100%60%20%6%13%23%15%20%17%2%4%What best describes your companys average annual revenue?(all answers in USD)Under

44、$1 Million$1M$99M$100M$199M$200M$299M$300M$399M$400M$499M$500M$599M$600M$699M$700M$799M$800M$899M$900M$999M$1 Billion+I dont know/prefer not to say0%40%80%100%60%20%15%43%2%4%3%1%2%1%2%1%1%7%19%The primary audience my organization/clients sell to are:30%Both(B2C and B2B)27%Business to consumer(B2C)4

45、0%Business to business(B2B)3%OtherWhich of the following best describes the principal industry of your organization?Public Relations AgencyEducationHospitalityTechnologyFinancial Services/BankingInternet/SoftwareMarketing/Advertising AgencyFood&BeverageTelecommunicationsLaw Practice/Legal ServicesNo

46、nprofitApparel&FashionAirlines/AviationEntertainment,media and publishingTravel and TourismOtherGovernmentHealthcare/Biotechnology/PharmaceuticalsUtilities,Oil&EnergyConsumer productsConsumer services9%6%1%16%7%3%7%1%1%1%10%1%1%6%4%11%1%6%4%1%2%Which of the following best describes where you work?Br

47、andAgencyNon-profitConsultantGovernment0%40%80%100%60%20%41%26%23%7%3%In what country do you work?USA84%UK6%Antigua&Barbuda1%Poland1%Armenia1%Nigeria1%Singapore1%South Africa1%Portugal1%Spain 1%Norway1%Canada5%MethodologyWe conducted a survey of 384 PR and marketing professionals in leadership roles

48、 between September 7 and October 26,2023.Muck Rack distributed the survey primarily via email to individuals at the director level or higher.To ensure the quality of our data,Muck Rack employed several cleaning methods.First,only fully completed surveys were considered.We also discarded responses co

49、mpleted in under two minutes,recognizing them as low effort.Additionally,duplicate submissions and any entries identified as originating from spam accounts were removed,and we screened for significant outliers.Our final sample size was reduced to 193 respondents.To augment our quantitative data,we a

50、lso conducted follow-up interviews via Zoom with four senior leaders to gather qualitative insights.Given the relatively small sample size,we recommend exercising caution when generalizing these findings to the broader population of PR and marketing leaders.Due to rounding and the possibility of excluding certain categories,percentages presented may not sum to exactly 100%.Muck Rack is a Public Relations Management(PRM)platform that enables organizations to build relationships with the media,manage crisis risk and demonstrate PRs impact on business outcomes.Thank you!https:/Learn more