Leading brands are investing in content creation to succeed in 2023: Adobe Digital Trends report

Leading brands have prioritised investments in the speed, scale and efficiency of their content creation capabilities and workflows to build stronger customer relationships and succeed in 2023, as per Adobe’s Digital Trends Report.

The 13th annual study into brand marketing and IT priorities for the year ahead has been prepared after a global survey of more than 9,000 executives, practitioners, and agency employees (including 800 APAC respondents including 170 from India).

The report also explores the technology investments and strategies that set industry leaders apart from the competition.

The report went on to add that brands are enhancing their existing marketing processes and technologies to make the most of their investments and ensure they seize every opportunity throughout the year.

“Customer demand for content-rich, personalised experiences have increased immensely,” said Anindita Veluri, Marketing Director, Adobe India. “To meet this, businesses need to focus on content supply chain backed by intelligent workflow automation, built on a customer-centred strategy and streamlined for the entire content lifecycle.”

According to the research, 79% of senior APAC executives including 92% senior Indian executives surveyed say demand for content has significantly increased. Yet despite this seemingly insatiable appetite from customers – who now crave dynamic digital experiences across a growing range of channels – only a quarter (25%) of APAC brands rate themselves as “good” at creating and delivering content. 

As per the report, industry leaders are therefore rethinking and streamlining their content supply chains, which cover content campaign planning, creation, delivery, and data analysis. Efficiency and cost-reduction are the focus as 43% of senior APAC executives say they have already made their content processes more efficient. 

It further adds that, historically, efforts to accelerate content creation have come at the cost of employee time and freedom. Two in five (41%) APAC marketing practitioners cite a lack of time to be creative as a barrier to delivering excellent customer experiences.

However, nearly one in two (48%) Indians surveyed believe that workflow issues are the biggest challenge in providing the best customer experience. In addition:

- Only one-quarter (25%) of APAC practitioners rate their organizations as ‘good’ or ‘very good’ at planning, scoping, prioritising, and assigning content to achieve measurable outcomes, compared to 33% globally.

- Crucially, 41% cite workflow issues as a critical barrier holding back their marketing organizations.

To address this issue and strengthen their content machines in 2023, leading APAC brands have prioritised workflow management and digital collaboration across their content teams with 24% of senior Indian executives betting on having an efficient customer data operation, as per the report.

More than one-third (37%) have prioritized streamlining or automating collaboration processes so their teams can work faster and better. Further, 43% have prioritised using workflow automation to improve marketing and customer experience process efficiency. This is higher than the global average of 38%. 

Investments in content and creative workflows reflect how leaders are prioritising improving processes and technologies to enable success in the current economic climate. Almost half (45%) of APAC leaders plan to invest in new marketing and data technologies. For India, 44% of leaders are looking to maximise the value of existing technologies.

Francis Rodriguez, SVP, E-Commerce and Digital Marketing, HDFC Life, said, "Business leaders must prioritise technologies and processes that align with changing customer trends to succeed today. Customers are becoming more knowledgeable across categories, especially in the domain of insurance products and demanding best-in-class experiences, while also becoming increasingly digitally savvy. Businesses need to adapt by leveraging technology to deliver seamless experiences, providing information on-demand, and enhancing digital capabilities to meet customer expectations."

Some brands’ future planning may be suffering due to economic concerns: 65% of senior brand executives in APAC report that emphasising immediate needs has come at the cost of longer-term planning and strategy. Encouragingly, this focus on immediate needs is not universal; some APAC respondents said they are looking ahead at new digital platforms and forms of engagement, with 41% indicating their organisations are learning about marketing in the metaverse.

The complete Adobe Digital Trends 2023 report can be downloaded by clicking here.