Brands and Agencies Share Their Vision for Creativity’s Future

Marketing creativity is at a crossroads. Budgets are stressed. CMOs have to prove the value of every dollar, making performance is a priority. But at the same time, it’s harder than ever for brands to stand out and get noticed, amplifying the need for greater brand equity. Is this the creative future marketers and agencies have in mind?

Based on an exclusive survey of more than 200 brands and agencies by Adweek Branded in association with Frontify, “The Future of Creativity” explores the role of creativity in marketing. The research found that brands and agencies frequently agree about the importance of creativity, but they may have contradictory opinions of what that will look like.

Key findings include:

• Creativity as attention-grabber: About two-thirds of respondents said creativity will be more important over the next 3-5 years, especially to differentiate in a noisy market.
• Tension between brands and agencies: Asked to describe the brand-agency relationship, 47% of agencies and 41% of brands said it was “complicated.”
• Business needs vs. big ideas: Brands overwhelmingly said a business focus drove creative success; agencies agreed, but were much more likely to point to the value of “big ideas.”

Get a clearer view of the future of creativity. Download the research report.

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