“Creativity remains valuable to businesses, yet the creative thinkers within them are facing a perfect storm of pressures going into 2024—economic uncertainty, political turmoil, international conflicts and shifting workplace models.” - Adweek
There’s a lot going on and yet marketing leaders still face the pressure to meet business objectives and face short-term pressures, while keeping a long-term perspective in mind.
Here are ways you can face the challenge and deliver growth:
Try new agency partnerships
When the world seems to be changing around you, forcing more change can feel daunting. But this can actually be the perfect time to try something new. Instead of sticking with a traditional agency, why not explore a new agency partnership? Smaller agencies are used to working lean and fast, so they know how to hire the right people for the job and are ready to respond. Lean teams allow for more competitive pricing and enable you to take more risks creatively.
Focus on your 20%
Keep the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto’s 80/20 rule in mind: 80% of outcomes are produced by 20% of causes. Find the 20% of tasks that generate the most value for your company, then prioritize them. It may be helpful to do an audit of how your team is spending their time so you can understand inefficiencies and determine more efficient ways to manage tasks.
There are going to be a lot of distractions. Focusing on the 20% of causes that are most productive allows you to make the right bets and push back when leadership fails to think about the long-term impact. Remember to reserve a percentage of your budget for high-funnel activations that will help maintain awareness and branding.
Keep what’s working
Think about how you can repurpose assets from past campaigns that performed well. This frees up time and money to focus on new opportunities. Your creative agency can make video cut-downs and repackage them into a new campaign. If you don’t have the budget for paid campaigns, this content can be great to maintain organic connections with your audience by posting content from company executives and employees. As new platforms emerge, repurposed content can also help you establish your presence efficiently.
By being even more strategic now, you’ll be better prepared to evaluate, address and succeed in this disrupted marketing environment.