Why do marketers exist?

In today's world marketers are increasingly expected to do more for their business with less budget and less time. They must carefully manage their long and short term strategies to ensure a healthy balance is struck between delivering both commercial and cultural impact.

Commercial impact of course refers to the financial performance of a business, both revenue generation and cost reduction whilst cultural encompasses three key areas: how an organisation impacts people, society and communities,  how it impacts the environment and how it impacts employees.

Both commercial and cultural impacts are vital to business success meaning marketers need to find the right equilibrium between both.

In a new report authored by Digitas UK, in association with The Marketing Society, we have examined the actions and decision-making approaches of over 400 senior business leaders revealing some illuminating insights including:

• Nearly three-quarters of businesses (72%) find demonstrating the value of cultural impact to be the most challenging 
• 97% of business leaders believe it is essential for organisations to change their internal culture to adapt to changing customer preferences and behaviours
• While 40% of leaders identify sustainability and environmental responsibility as a priority, 44% say they are underperforming in terms of delivering a positive environmental impact.

“Impact goes beyond brand purpose to look at the effectiveness of marketing and customer experience efforts in totality. How can we create work that has an impact on consumers? Communities? Colleagues? The climate?”

The report is packed with valuable insights and practical strategies for marketers striving to make a positive, meaningful impact. You can read it in full here. 

The report has been authored by Digitas in association with The Marketing Society

Published on 19 June 2024