‘A year of contagious uncertainty’: Ad execs wrap up 2023

Marketing, as the industry responsible for getting people to buy stuff, has been squeezed by all of these macro pressures, leading to consolidation at major ad agencies and a wide range of fortunes for independents. But marketing’s also seen its own micro-trends this year, from faux/hoax out-of-home executions to new performance marketing tools from the big players, Google and Meta.

Which of these trends define the year soon to be in our rear-view mirrors? We asked 10 leading marketers from The Drum Network.

Gary Jenkins, managing director, No Brainer: “Turbulence is continuing to prove inevitable; ‘chaos’ might be the word that most accurately describes 2023. It was a year packed with geopolitical instability and economic uncertainty, with cost-of-living impacts cutting deep into consumer and business life. Plain sailing wasn’t on the cards for anyone owning or running an agency.

Some sectors have suffered more than others. Some are thriving more than ever. Whether you’ve won or lost (or had a mixed bag like us), it’s been crucial to neither panic too much nor celebrate too early. While the world’s experiencing so much turbulence, agency owners have needed to stay calm, and resist making short-term decisions that could impact their long-term futures. Yes, it’s been chaos, but who wants plain sailing? You don’t grow when you’re comfortable.”

Martin Kelly, chief executive officer, EMEA & APAC, Kepler: “It’s been a year of contagious uncertainty in the ad market. Media spend has always been the canary in the coal mine for larger economic uncertainty. Budgets suffered as a result. But look a bit deeper and you see an industry reshaping under the surface, coming out leaner and future-facing. Performance-focused, AI-driven products have thrived with Google’s Performance Max and Meta’s Advantage+ taking an increasing share of the market as advertisers look for results in uncertain times, but also creating a new wave of brand safety concerns. Two more powerful ecosystems have accelerated into view with TikTok delivering outsize growth and retailers looking to monetize data assets and bolster the bottom line through Retail Media Networks. As the macroeconomic clouds lift for 2024, advertisers are planning with more certainty and optimism. I see an industry poised for growth, emerging from the gloom in a different shape.”

Sam Hodges, executive director, corporate reputation, The Romans: “From shamelessly shambolic testimonies in the UK’s recent Covid Enquiry to the world’s richest men teasing a willy-waving cage fight that inevitably never happened, 2023 set a fantastically low bar for leaders even pretending to be good people. Here’s hoping 2024 is the year some step up and take us out of this reputational race to the bottom, bringing inspirational leadership and integrity where it’s much needed.”

Ben Fox, chief executive officer, Fox Agency: “The role of the B2B CMO evolved significantly in 2023, and there’s no turning back. Over and above ‘brand-level activity’, there’s now a laser focus on driving growth and impacting opportunity and revenue across the business. For CMOs at global B2B firms this means a vast and ever-expanding remit, with huge expectations and pressure to perform. Quite rightly, they will demand more from their agency partners. Agencies now face a major challenge: evolve or get left behind.”

Nick Padmore, head of language, Definition: “Tone of voice has been around for a few decades now. In that time, it’s gone from smoothie brand Innocent’s mid-00s wackaging to Apple’s minimalism. Now, gen Z brands like TikTok and Twitch look to be heralding a whole new phase: the ‘no make-up make-up tone of voice’. Essentially, it’s all about trying really hard to look like you haven’t tried at all.”

Chris Attewell, chief executive officer, Search Laboratory: “It’s been a tale of two ends of the digital and data maturity spectrum throughout 2023. We’ve seen an increase in clients ready to invest in technology, giving them the solutions to better leverage their data and outsmart their competition. But there are lots of companies that aren’t at that stage yet, either in terms of their data or the maturity of their technology. Above all else, they want an agency partner that can deliver the strongest possible results from their digital channel campaigns.”

Tom Burch, founder and managing director, Pixel Artworks: “2023 has been the battle of the ‘real’. I’m not just talking AI (although that has played a part). I’ve witnessed real-time take a huge leap forward with greater understanding both in the industry and with consumers. Expectations have raised accordingly. People want more seamless and easily updated content. Reality has also been at issue in the ‘faux’ ads circulating online. They’ve had huge reach, have rattled the industry and consumers alike, and will continue to change the game of ‘real’ into 2024. They’re creatively clever, but some followers are furious – surely their brand loyalty will waiver. Next year will be busy with more legal battles around false endorsements. Let’s see what side of the battlefield we’ll be on.”

Benjamin Potter, chief executive officer, North America, Clickon: “In a world of mergers and commoditization, agencies face the imperative to evolve and differentiate. Brand budgets shrink, demanding greater efficiency and sustainability, and the creative landscape shifts from extravagant moonshots towards lean, outcome-driven strategies. Traditional agencies often disappoint, prompting clients to consider in-housing, which is a complex endeavor. Instead, we must offer a middle ground: agency flexibility with in-house control. Top creative talent that integrates seamlessly with your team. It's a new era, where data matters, results are paramount, and marketing is simplified.”

James Robinson, chief creative officer, North America, Momentum Worldwide: “When was the last time you let someone down? The last time you saw someone’s expression change from excited to borderline angry?

“When was the last time you knew that a piece of advertising that you created was a total waste of a real person’s time, and that they were going to call you on it? We who create experiences live with that possibility every day. There’s no second take, no cutting away, no pointing out that the focus group liked it, no massaging results. We just get that real reaction, right into our faces.

“That’s why we take it so seriously. If we’re going to interrupt your day, your walk to your courtside seats, or your journey to the main stage, that interruption had better be worth your while – or you will really, truly and oh-so-obviously let us know. And it will suck.

“It’s a sacred exchange: time and attention for engagement. In the rush to please all the stakeholders and focus groups you do see, it’s easy to forget the people you never see: the consumers you’re trying to reach.

“An old boss of mine told us that we were not just the voice of the brand; we are the advocate for the consumer. So the next time you sit down to write an idea, don’t just think about the client objective, or the reaction in the jury room. Think of the person on the receiving end of your creativity. What expression will they have on their face?”

Aaron Dicks, technology director, Impression: “It would be remiss of me not to reflect on the changes to measurement in performance marketing this year. Performance marketing attribution is still taking a battering, but challenge brings opportunity, for brands to do two things properly.

“First, with the upcoming changes triggered by the Digital Markets Act, brands need to properly ask for consent for marketing purposes on their websites — something that’s been something of a gray area for 15 years, since punishment for noncompliance wasn't really a thing for most brands.

“Second, the loss of fidelity in digital attribution has sparked a renaissance in marketing mix modeling (MMM) that will continue to grow rapidly into 2024. This will be music to the ears of brand marketers who have often seen little to no credit for the sales and conversions their work contributed to under digital attribution tools like Google Analytics over the last 10 years.”