1、Communications you are not on this journey on your own. The Cognito Research Team Our survey is based on the responses of 165 in-house communications and marketing leaders from 100 organisations across EMEA, the US and APAC. This year we explore new areas, such as technology and the impact of AI and

2、 automation. We seek greater clarity on the social platforms proving most popular and gain an understanding onthe topics shifting in importance. This is the second year we have conducted our global survey, exploring the future of communications and marketing across the financial services, technology

3、 and professional services sectors. 85% of respondents consider LinkedIn to be more important to the business now than 12 months ago 21 Challenges The issues faced by in-house teams from leveraging technology to skills 40% of respondents say they have limited in-house expertise in communications and

4、 marketing technology 4 3 We asked respondents to outline the obstacles that they expect to face in the year ahead. Securing budget continues to be the biggest challenge, followed by the need to ensure creativity. Adapting to technology is a recurring theme throughout the survey, as teams look to im

5、prove understanding from analytics, leverage automation platforms and continue to diversify their mix of channels and activities. Three-quarters of respondents cited organisational change as a challenge for their teams in 2018. Diversity, and the need to look attractive to potential hires, remains i

6、mportant a priority also echoed when respondents look at themes they expect to be communicating next year. What lies ahead We all know that technology is fundamentally changing communications and marketing, but which technologies are having the biggest impact? 79% of respondents expect that data ana

7、lytics will have an impact on their team next year. This follows on from our 2016 survey results: the increasing pressure to justify spend, optimise ROI and evaluate different channels and content is driving investment in smart measurement and analysis. Automation, mobile and programmatic are rising

8、 in importance, with around half of those surveyed anticipating a moderate or high impact on their teams in the next year. Customers now expect always- on, personal communications, driving brands to take a holistic omnichannel approach. Automation and programmatic make that possibleat scale. More re

9、cent developments, and newer technologies such as virtual reality, machine learning and AI, are expected to make less of an impact over the next year. As these technologies and their applications mature, however, the impact on marketing is likely to be substantial; though less immediate. They should

10、nt be ignored. Rise of the machines Extreme challenge Somewhat of a challenge Not a challenge How much impact will the following technological developments have on your teams work during the next year? Moderate or high impact Low or no impact Data analytics79% 21% Marketing automation57% 43% Mobile

11、marketing54% 46% Programmatic marketing43% 57% Artificial intelligence30% 70% Machine learning30% 70% Virtual reality9%91% Securing budget / investment34% 55% 11% Organisational change26% 51% 23% Ensuring creativity25% 63% 12% Adapting to disruption21% 66% 13% Adapting to new technologies19% 65% 16%

12、 Adapting to regulatory change16% 55% 29% Attracting / retaining talent 11% 61% 28% Communicating trust or ethics11% 40% 49% Ensuring diversity 9% 38% 53% Over the next 12 months, how do you rank the following challenges for your communications and marketing teams? 65 Despite recognising the growing

13、 importance of marketing technology, in-house teams acknowledged that a considerable skills gap remains. Nearly 40% of those surveyed believe that their team has limited, or extremely limited, expertise in communications and marketing technology. The gap exists for online marketing more broadly; the

14、 top areas of weakness are in digital from social media to digital marketing and advertising. In comparison, team expertise was rated highly when it comes to more traditional areas including media relations, events and corporate communications. Though digital and social areas continue to be weakest,

15、 the results show a much broader skillset than our 2016 survey. Mind the (skills) gap Rate your companys in-house expertise for the following activities: 1 Events 91% 9% 2 Corporate comms (messaging, executive positioning) 89% 11% 3 Content creation 85% 15% 4 Media relations 85% 15% 5 Internal commu

16、nications 80% 20% 6 Investor relations 80% 20% 7 Brand development 78% 22% 8 Public affairs / government relations 67% 33% 9 Social media 67% 33% 10 Traditional advertising 66% 34% 11 Digital marketing (email, SEO, SEM) 66% 34% 12 Marketing and communications technology 61% 39% 13 Digital advertisin

17、g 57% 43% Moderately/ fully proficient Limited/ extremely limited Moderately/fully proficient Limited/extremely limited 9 Social media 13 Digital advertising 10 Traditional advertising 11 Digital marketing (email, SEO, SEM) 1 Events 2 Corporate comms (messaging, executive positioning) 3 Content crea

18、tion 4 Media relations 8 Public affairs / government relations 12 Marketing and comms technology 91 7 Brand development 78 67 57 89 66 85 5 Internal communications 80 6 Investor relations 80 66 85 67 61 8 7 Only 63% of respondents believe their current website adds value to the firm Aspirations How

19、priorities for topics, activities and channels are shifting 10 9 Communicating change At present, when your team is communicating with customers, staff and external stakeholders, are the following topics increasing or decreasing in importance? The biggest concerns among respondents indicate a growin

20、g need for digital and social cohesion within the marketingmix. Professionals are split (50% agree 50% disagree) as to whether their company has an effective social media strategy. This is exacerbated by a majority consensus that CEOs in particular do not have well-functioning social mediaprofiles.

21、Although 84% believe they have a solid understanding of the target audiences and customer journeys, there is less confidence in their website; only 63% consider it to add value to the firm. There is widespread confidence in strategy, content and familiar channels, yet a mixed and imbalanced approach

22、 to socialmedia. Using digital to create greater value 84%16% 16%84% 26%74% 28%72% 35%65% 37%63% 39%61% 39%61% 50%50% 64%36% DisagreeAgree Relocation and regulatory issues relating to Brexit Cyber security including workforce and supply chain digitisation Sustainability, circular economy andclimate

23、change Ethical standards, consumer protection and fraud Company values in relation to the Trump Administration Workforce diversity Corporate governance including boardstructure, CEO compensation No changeDecreaseIncrease 72%21% 7% 30%1%69% My CEO has a functioning social mediapresence We have an eff

24、ective social mediastrategy We produce genuinely differentiatedcontent My CEO and executive team see the value in investing in new technologies for communications and marketing We have a coherent communicationsstrategy We are managing to integrate our marketing and communications activityeffectively

25、 Major financial media coverage is vital toenhancing our firms reputation We have a good understanding of our target audience and customer journey My CEOs media/external profile is suitablymanaged Our website adds value to the firm 46%49%5% 52%46%2% 60%37%3% 61%37%2% 65%32%3% To what extent do you a

26、gree or disagree with the following statements? Unsurprisingly, given the 2017 news agenda, Brexit and cyber security lead the topics rising in importance. Sustainability and diversity also continue to grow in relevance and we have seen an increase this year in content, editorial media coverage and

27、budget dedicated to those issues. Managing reputation has never been more important as communicators and marketers balance the needs of customers and broader internal and external stakeholders. 12 11 Strikingly, in the era of fake news and subscription models, trusted sources such as major financial

28、 media and to a lesser extent trade media gain in importance. Whilst Google, Twitter and YouTube are also taken increasingly seriously, there is a great mistrust of Facebook, the largest social channel. This is at odds with a view that channels such as Facebook and Instagram, traditionally not utili

29、sed in B2B campaigns, offer the greatest targeting opportunities and can prove powerful in getting the right content in front of the right audiences. LinkedIn rules the waves Are the following becoming more or less important to your business? LinkedIn85% 14% 2% Major financial media57% 39% 4% Google

30、55% 42% 3% Twitter54% 41% 5% YouTube53% 41%6% Financial trade media35% 56%9% WeChat34% 51%15% Regional business media28% 54%18% Facebook25% 51%24% WhatsApp22% 62%16% Instagram22% 52%26% Generalist newspapers21% 56%23% Broadcast TV/radio17% 48%35% Wikipedia15% 72%13% No Change More Important No chang

31、e More important Less important Facebook WeChat Instagram WhatsApp YouTube When asked which channels and activities are increasing the most in importance, respondents indicated a clear winner - LinkedIn. Over the last 12 months we have seen an increased appetite for paid LinkedIn campaigns, with mor

32、e teams looking to capitalise on the channels ever-improving targetingcapabilities. Less important Twitter Google LinkedIn Wikipedia Major financial media $ Financial trade media $ Generalist newspapers Regional business media Broadcast TV/radio 1413 61% of respondents will increase spending on cont

33、ent in 2018 Performance and budget The state of measurement and how priorities will change going into 2018 16 15 56%44% 47%53% 64%36% 56%44% 57%43% 63%37% 63%37% 63%37% 66%34% 66%34% 64%36% 64%36% 72%28% 66%34% 66%34% Measurement and analytics are constantly cited as areas in which teams and managem

34、ent seek a better understanding. We asked respondents about particular channels and activities where they feel most and least confident with the level of information about performance. Performance management Do you feel you have enough information about the performance and effectiveness of these cha

35、nnels/activities? This year we saw greater confidence in measurement across the board with over two thirds feeling they had adequate insight into activities such as events, short form content and internal communications. Interestingly, while two thirds are happy with data for long form content, vide

36、o, media and digital marketing, one third still struggle. Nearly half felt they lacked sufficient information on advertising social and traditional or across both organic and paid social media. With the exception of traditional advertising, these channels should have the clearest analytics. Extracti

37、ng meaningful insight from the data available appears to be a challenge. Events your own Events online Events industry Content short form (e.g. blog) Content video Content long form (e.g. white paper) Internal communications Media major Media consumer Media trade / investment Marketing digital Socia

38、l media organic Social media marketing Advertising digital Advertising social Advertising traditional (e.g. print/TV) InsufficientSufficient 79%21% 18 17 Budgets The biggest forecasted winners on budgets for next year are twofold: content and the channels used to get that content in front of the rig

39、ht audiences. This year we saw greater confidence in measurement across the board with over two-thirds feeling that they had adequate insight into activities such as events, short form content and internal communications. Biggest winners Content creation61%31%8% Digital marketing SEO, SEM, email57%3

40、7%6% Social media54%42%4% Marketing and comms technology52%44%4% Digital advertising48%40%12% Corporate comms messaging, executive positioning42%52%6% Biggest stickers Investor relations20%71%9% Public affairs / government relations25%69%6% Internal comms30%61%9% Media relations33%61%6% Biggest lose

41、rs Traditional advertising11%49%40% Over the next 12 months, do you see more or less budget going into these activities? LessSameMore Biggest losers Activities losing budget in 2018 Biggest winners Activities gaining budget in 2018 Biggest stickers Activities retaining the same level of budget in 20

42、18 as 2017 Traditional advertising Media relations Internal comms Public affairs / government relations Investor relations Digital marketing Social media Marketing & comms Digital advertising Corporate comms Content creation 2019 Get in touch EMEA Vivienne Hsu +44 20 7426 9400 US Ryan Barr +1 646 39

43、5 6300 APAC Prisita Menon +65 6221 7310 About the survey Our survey is based on the responses of 165 communications and marketing leaders from 100 organisations across EMEA, the US and APAC within the financial services, technology and professional services sectors. The survey was carried out in September 2017 and focuses on respondent views on future trends in communications and marketing and how they see their profession changing in the future.