As digital and programmatic developments usher in a new era of marketing, major brands are failing to invest enough into media training, according to a new survey of senior brand and media agency marketers.
In fact, almost two-thirds (60%) of senior executives at agencies and advertisers agreed that there was not enough financial support for media training programmes, according to ID Comms’ 2016 Training Survey
Furthermore, less than a tenth (9.4%) felt that current media training programmes were satisfactory.
The findings may highlight cause for concern given that the vast majority of respondents (96%) believed that media training would give them a competitive advantage.
It’s an issue that The Drum recently explored following the well-documented Facebook and Dentsu miscalculations in how they were reporting and charging for digital advertising. A number of sources raised their concerns over the chronic undervaluing of the importance of media knowledge within brand marketing team.
But, as concluded, it’s not as as simple as going on training courses or embedding someone with that expertise within a team. Rather, the whole agency-brand relationship needs to be considered if brand-side marketers are to ensure they’re not embroiled in the next media miscalculation scandal.
For brand-side marketers, the major challenge for the time being is a lack of budget whilst agency respondents were most concerned with the lack of time to commit to media training.
The media change consultancy’s study surveyed 117 senior executives at agencies and advertisers, including marketers from brands spending an estimated $20bn each year, as well as all the major media agency networks. Around 70% of the respondents were Europe-based while 20% were from the US and the remainder represented the rest of the world.
“Recent concerns over trust and transparency in the media landscape have highlighted the risks to brands of not having up-to-date knowledge and skills in media” said Tom Denford, chief strategy officer at ID Comms.
“Brands can no longer simply rely on agencies to provide free training but must take active steps to improve their own skills and commit to a programme of continuous media education. Training is one key tool to upgrading that internal capability, alongside recruitment, but while many recognise the benefits that better media understanding could bring to their business in a fast changing media landscape, collectively brands are failing to invest enough time and money in media training”
With marketers collectively voicing their concern over the lack investment into training it suggests that that clients are losing trust in their media partners and must now begin asking key questions moving forward.
This article first appeared in www.thedrum.com
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