The vast majority (75%) of senior marketing decision makers feel restricted in their creative endeavours by boardroom executives.
The survey commissioned by digital asset management software company Bright found that only 25% of respondents said they had autonomy in the business to run any creative campaigns they wanted. This is despite the fact that 58% said that creativity will play a ‘very important’ role in campaign planning for 2021.
Significantly more women than men feel their creativity is being restricted – 84% of women compared to 67% of men. And age is also a factor, with 86% of under 35s feeling restricted, as opposed to 66% of over 35s.
On a more positive note, humour is playing a vital role in creative planning for 2021, with 76% of marketers likely to use it in some form this year. Social media is the preferred channel for using humour, with 67% saying this is where they would use it.
Angela Nyman, CMO at Bright, commented on the survey: “When you consider the challenges of the past year, many senior leaders will be in survival-mode for their businesses, so it’s perhaps unsurprising that they are wary of being overly creative in marketing campaigns.
“However, the results of this survey give the impression that the authority of the marketing team is being scrutinised when it comes to creativity. Creativity is the fuel of good marketing; not every creative campaign will hit the mark, but it’s important to keep testing and pushing boundaries. We can’t lose that freedom to take at least some risks, whatever the economic climate may be.”
The findings are part of an in-depth study by Bright, focusing on the factors holding marketers back.
Research methodology
The survey was conducted among 200 marketing decision makers working in brands/client-side in the UK, in companies with 25 or more employees. At an overall level results are accurate to ± 6.9% at 95% confidence limits assuming a result of 50%. The interviews were conducted online by Sapio Research in December 2020 and January 2021 using an email invitation and an online survey.
Bright
