MARKETING SILOS

A R E P O R T B Y

# m a r k e t i n g s i l o s

2 3D e p r e s s i n g l y ,

o n l y 2 1 % i n c l u d e

S E O i n t h e i r

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b u d g e t – d e s p i t e

i t b e i n g 2 0 1 5

w e ’ r e s t i l l a c t i n g

l i k e i t ’s 1 9 9 5 .

Hotwire conducted a survey amongst 300 senior marketing decision makers, focusing on how they view the modern marketing landscape and the big issues they are grappling with today:

• Integrating activities within the department

• Ensuring alignment of marketing with the business

• Tracking the ever-growing number of trends and influencers in the market

This white paper covers the first of the three areas and includes recommendations for marketers on improving internal integration and creating multi-channel campaigns.

Multi-channel campaigns still not a reality

Marketers are using a variety of channels in their mix, but there is more to be done when it comes to integrating campaigns across channels.

One campaign, many channels. It’s what we read about all the time and get lectured about at events. But, are we actually doing it?

S t i l l n o t p r a c t i c i n g w h a t w e p r e a c h .

Marketers and PRs were asked about which channels they used and whether they used them together. It’s no surprise we’re looking for bang for our buck and so prefer mass media to 1-1 communication - online advertising and PR are the most popular channels (52% and 47% respectively).

Depressingly, only 21% include SEO in their budget and just 27% mention social media as part of their budget. It's 2015 but we’re still acting like it’s 1995.

Despite the variety of channels used, marketers generally admit (45.7%) that campaigns tend to work in isolation, with different channels being used to implement different campaigns.

As an industry we’re failing to practice what we preach and instead reaching for our comfort blankets – preferring to do what we’ve always done rather than take a risk and think big.

E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y

O F M A R K E T I N G D E C I S I O N

M A K E R S I N C L U D E S E O I N

T H E I R B U D G E T

2 1 %O F M A R K E T I N G

D E C I S I O N M A K E R S

I N C L U D E S O C I A L M E D I A

2 7 %

4 5

of marketers view data as a problem. Are we really as good as we think we are?

15%Only

1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0

55

B i g d a t a i s n o t t h e r e a s o n f o r d i s c o n n e c t e d c a m p a i g n s .

Marketers are more comfortable with data than you'd expect. Negative perceptions around our ability to understand data are classic disconnect between thought leadership and reality. We read and write reams about how no one understands how to use data, but the reality is it doesn’t actually worry us – just 15% of marketers view data as a problem.

There is room for improvement in access and management of data, but to marketers this is small change compared to other issues.

Are we as good as we think we are? Probably not: if we’re struggling to connect up our campaigns we won’t be getting truly valuable insights from our data.

D A T A N O O B J E C T

6 7

No48%

Yes52%

W H I C H O F T H E F O L L O W I N G C H A N N E L S I S Y O U R S P E N D S P L I T A C R O S S ?

D O Y O U T H I N K C A M PA I G N S A R E W O R K I N G O N M U LT I P L E C H A N N E L S ?

300S E N I O R

M A R K E T I N G D E C I S I O N

M A K E R S S U R V E Y E D

D O E S E A C H O F T H E C H A N N E L S Y O U S P E N D M O N E Y O N H A V E I T S O W N R E L E V A N T C A M PA I G N ?

Y E S3 5 %

N O4 2 %

D O N ' T K N O W

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W H A T A R E T H E I S S U E S Y O U U S U A L LY F A C E W H E N I N T E G R A T I N G C A M PA I G N S ?

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C R M ( 2 0 % )

S o c i a l c h a n n e l s ( 2 7 % )

S E O ( 2 1 % )

O f f l i n e a d v e r t i s i n g ( 3 2 % )

E v e n t s ( 4 0 % )

P R ( 4 7 % )

0 % 2 0 % 4 0 % 6 0 %

Ye s , d e f i n i t e l y

N o , n o t r e a l l y

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3 4 . 7 % 3 5 . 3 % 1 0 . 3 % 1 9 . 7 %

T h e c a m p a i g n i s n o t s u i t e d a s m u l t i - c h a n n e l ( 3 0 % )

T i m i n g / p l a n n i n g i s s u e s ( 2 0 % )

To o m u c h d i s c o n n e c t e d d a t a ( 1 5 % )

T h e r e i s u n c e r t a i n t y o f t h e a p p r o p r i a t e c h a n n e l s t o u s e ( 2 1 % )

T h e r e i s d i s c o n n e c t b e t w e e n t e a m s i m p l e m e n t i n g t h e c a m p a i g n s ( 2 3 % )

T h e r e i s a l a c k o f r e s o u r c e s ( 2 9 % )

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P R I N C L U D E D I N M A R K E T I N G B U D G E T, B Y S E C T O R

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m o s t t h a t t h e r e a r e

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“ p r e f e r r e d ” c h a n n e l s

T h e c h a n n e l s m a r k e t e r s p r e f e r v a r y b y i n d u s t r y , w i t h s o m e i n d u s t r i e s s h o w i n g c l e a r b i a s e s t o w a r d s k e y c h a n n e l s .

Once we know something works and have the data to prove it, it's human nature to apply the same approach to your next activity, especially if you’re targeting a similar audience. This is reinforced by the nature of the industry you work in – we expect certain channels to be used for consumer campaigns and a different set to be used for B2B.

So, it will come as no surprise to most that there are clear biases towards “preferred” channels in some industries, particularly Environmental Services, Utilities, Construction and Property. All these industries are heavily focused around a small number of favoured channels, opting for depth over breadth.

Other sectors prefer running campaigns across a wider variety of channels. Two consumer focused industries, Research and Cultural & Sports, are the most likely to plump for multi-channel campaigns. It’s worth noting here that this isn’t just about the breadth, but also the way resourcing is allocated – there’s a much more even divide rather than a heavy focus on one channel, with token resources pumped into the others.

If we consider specific channels, Finance, Engineering, Entertainment, Telecoms and Research are the industries most likely to invest in PR; whereas the least likely to use PR are Utilities and Marketing Consultancies (only 33% and 20% respectively include it in their budgets).

What’s abundantly clear is that most industries have their favourites in the channels they use – based on historical trends and marketers’ own experience. The challenge – particularly for B2B marketers – is how they explore the possibilities offered by new channels. There’s an understandable fear of the unknown and of allocating limited resources to untested platforms.

Given these biases, it’s no surprise marketers remain concerned that there’s a silo mentality within their departments. These, often unconscious, biases towards specific channels, paired with lower budgets may be preventing companies from delivering the optimal marketing campaign.

I N D U S T R I E S H A V E T H E I R P R E F E R E N C E S – A N D S T I C K T O T H E M

Telecoms

Entertainment

Engineering

Gov./Public Services

Finance

Construction

Hospitality

Media/Publishing

Travel/Tourism

Transport/Distribution

Technology

Voluntary Sector

Retail

Industry/Manufacturing

Property

Marketing

20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

90%

71%

69%

67%

64%

56%

55%

53%

50%

46%

46%

45%

45%

45%

35%

20%

0%

1 0 1 1O N L I N E V I S I B I LT Y: G R A S P E D B U T N O T M A S T E R E D

A m a s s i v e 7 9 % o f t h e s e n i o r m a r k e t i n g d e c i s i o n m a k e r s d o n ' t i n c l u d e S E O i n t h e i r b u d g e t . T h i s c o m e s d e s p i t e t h e f a c t t h a t o n l i n e a d v e r t i s i n g , m u c h o f w h i c h i s d i s p l a y e d t h r o u g h s e a r c h e n g i n e s , f e a t u r e s i n o v e r h a l f o f m a r k e t i n g b u d g e t s ( 5 2 % ) .

M a r k e t i n g d e c i s i o n m a k e r s c l e a r l y u n d e r s t a n d t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f o n l i n e v i s i b i l i t y , h o w e v e r n o t t h e w a y o f a c h i e v i n g i t .

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40%

20%

0%

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Finance

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Volunta

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S E O / O N L I N E A D V E R T I S I N G I N C L U D E D I N M A R K E T I N G B U D G E T, B Y S E C T O R

79%O F T H O S E S U R V E Y E D

D O N ' T I N C L U D E S E O I N T H E I R B U D G E T, D E S P I T E T H E F A C T T H A T O N L I N E A D V E R T I S I N G W A S T H E

M O S T P O P U L A R C H A N N E L

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A C C O R D I N G T O G O O G L E

T H E R E A R E O V E R O N E T R I L L I O NS E A R C H E S A Y E A R O N T H E I R S E A R C H

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S O U R C E S : S E A R C H M E T R I C S , G O O G L E

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

0%

18-24

S E O / O N L I N E A D V E R T I S I N G I N C L U D E D I N M A R K E T I N G B U D G E T, B Y A G E G R O U P

25-34 35-44 45-54 55+

10%

SEO

Online Advert.

80%

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Online Advert.

1 2 1 3

D e v e l o p m e n t o f n e w s k i l l s

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3 9 %

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W H A T D O Y O U T H I N K I S P R E V E N T I N G Y O U F R O M K N O W I N G Y O U R A U D I E N C E B E T T E R ?

I d e n t i f y i n g a p p r o p r i a t e c h a n n e l s

K n o w i n g w h o t h e i r i n f l u e n c e r s a r e

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W e f a c e c h a l l e n g e s e v e r y d a y – h e r e ’s f i v e t h a t a r e s t r e s s i n g o u t t h e i n d u s t r y i n 2 0 1 5 .

M A R K E T I N G ’ S C H A L L E N G E S

A R E Y O U C R E A T I N G C A M PA I G N S W I T H Y O U R O W N S I L O S I N M I N D ?

Only a third of companies think their campaigns work across channels. Moreover, over a third (35%) develop a specific campaign for each of the channels they invest in.

While this shows a clear focus on the channel, it can also point to the existence of silos in the department: once a campaign has been created, it is more difficult to adjust to fit other channels if everyone has started to use their budget and developed parallel campaigns.

W H Y A R E N ’ T Y O U R C A M PA I G N S M U LT I -C H A N N E L ?

The most common challenge companies say they face when integrating campaigns is that campaigns are not designed for multichannel (30%). Nearly the same percentage (29%) believe a lack of resources is to blame and, closely after (23%), they claim the difficulty to integrate campaigns is also due to the disconnect between teams implementing them.

1

2

3A R E Y O U M I S S I N G O U T O N C E R T A I N C H A N N E L S ?

Companies have their tendencies to be more or less multi-channel, but within these, some may be avoiding some channels which could be applicable as part of their mix and support the rest of activities very usefully.

SEO-shunners are found in Finance (only 16% claim to invest in it), Technology (17%), the Voluntary Sector (9%) and, probably logically, Construction (8%). Here is where Marketing Consultancies have their clear favourite in terms of spend (60% allocate budget to SEO).

H O W T O M A K E T H E M O S T O F Y O U R C A M PA I G N S N O W

Despite 48% saying they don’t have any way to improve the results of their campaigns, those who do have various solutions. When asked how they think they could improve their campaign results, 21% mentioned targeting aspects, 18% improvements in the use of channels, and relatively less (17%) alluded to resources.

A R E Y O U R E A D Y F O R T H E F U T U R E ?

When asked about the challenges in the next 5 years, companies are most concerned with using new platforms (41%) followed by development of skills (39% mention this as a near future challenge) and channel integration (36%).

The youngest generation of marketing decision makers are, however, thinking about campaign integration as an area that needs to be addressed and we agree – things are only going to get worse and now’s the time to tackle them.

4

5

1 6 1 7

R E C O M M E N D A T I O N S

S o w h a t c a n w e d o a b o u t i t ? H e r e ’s f i v e p o i n t s t o

g e t y o u s t a r t e d .

O N E : P l a n m u l t i - c h a n n e l

Companies should start by identifying a campaign that will resonate with the target audience. Once this is done – then identify and understand which channels are the right way to deliver a campaign. If you can only think of one channel – think again, no one in the modern media landscape just consumes information from a single source.

T W O : P l a n t o g e t h e r

Encourage teams to work together at the planning stage, so internal silos never get a chance to appear. This means selecting an agency or agencies who understand how and when to use each channel to achieve your objectives, and be able to include any of them in your campaigns. It also means challenging them – ask why they’ve focused on X and not Y or why they’ve not included Z.

T H R E E : Te l l a s t o r y

Your story is what makes or breaks a campaign – the channels are just how you sell it. If you’re not interested in what your team or agency has to say, no one else will be. An easy way to check this – can you summarise the story in a tweet? If not, start again – if you can’t do it, how can you expect anyone else to?

F O U R : A l l o c a t e b u d g e t b y n e e d s , n o t b y c h a n n e l s

Don't disregard a specific channel based on past results / individual results – ask yourself what will work for this specific campaign. Past data can guide you, but it shouldn’t be the ultimate decision maker. Although you will still set budget by channels, ensure you have selected the channels based on your needs first. All teams should understand how they can benefit from the activities on other channels or disciplines, and leverage them.

F I V E : Tr a c k a g g r e g a t e r e s u l t s

When tracking results, add up the channels (cost, results) so you have a full picture of the activity, and even at a basic level, understand the combined effect of your marketing.

Ensure your agencies understand this need and can provide you with the overview of how their channel(s) have impacted your results.

1 8 1 9

Marketers hoping for a quiet life are going to be disappointed. The future is only going to get messier – new channels will demand our attention and new tech will claim to help us make the most of them.

This means we need to get savvy about understanding what really works for us – what are these tools and channels useful for and how do they integrate into our existing efforts.

It’s time to end silos within marketing departments once and for all. They only hinder us, making campaign planning and tracking more complex, and fragmenting our key messages.

C O N C L U S I O N

The independent study, commissioned by Hotwire PR, was carried out by OnePoll in May 2015 amongst 300 marketing decision makers.

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