Marketing spend by financial services businesses on content creation is expected to increase significantly this year, but advertising in print and TV is set to drop, according to a survey of financial services marketers.
While some traditional media channels are predicted to see a decline in ad spend from financial services companies, the overall budgets of the majority of those marketers working in the sector are set to stay the same, with just four in ten reporting their budgets will increase this financial year.
Financial services specialist agency Yell surveyed 250 senior marketers across the country for its third ‘State of Financial Marketing’ report.
It found that 77 per cent of those questioned were planning to increase spending on content creation, followed by 62 per cent who said that budgets would be increased in building and maintaining their websites.
Paid social media advertising will also increase according to 54 per cent of marketers, following by 53 per cent who said spending on email spend would rise.
While budgets for these ‘active’ channels are on the rise, so-called ‘passive’ traditional media channels including TV and print will see a net reduction in advertising spend.
23 per cent of marketers said that their investment in print advertising would decline, with just 12 per cent saying spending would increase.
11 per cent said TV advertising would drop by just 8 per cent predicting an increase in TV budgets.
When asked what barriers there were to achieving their objectives, almost half of marketers (49 per cent) attributed it to a lack of time and resources, increasing from 19 per cent who said it was a ‘significant’ issue in 2016 to 35 per cent in 2017 and now 49 per cent in 2018.
Compounding this are the continuing issues with marketing technology being as much of a hindrance as it is an accelerator.
Almost eight in ten marketers said inefficient tech platforms were a hindrance to them achieving their objectives.
Yell founder partner Nigel Roberts said: “The pressure being placed on financial services marketers to do more with the same, or even fewer resources, is once again the top of the charts when it comes to marketers concerns.
“Last year it was our contention that this was due to a massive increase in channels that marketers are being asked to service, without necessarily being given more budget or people to assist them.
“This year it feels like much of the same, but there is a sense that the focus is moving away from traditional channels, with content delivery being regarded as having greater importance within financial service institutions.”
Finally, with almost a majority of marketers having to do more than less, many claim the capabilities of their agency partners are decreasing.
In 2016 just 16 per cent cited it as a moderate or significant issue.
In 2018, however, the number of marketers who said agency capability was a moderate or significant issue for them increased to 38 per cent.
To read more about Yell’s Third State of Financial Marketing findings, click here.
