Major Brands Considering Startups to Keep Pace With Digital Marketing Trends

As marketers look to keep pace with the latest trends in technology and their industry, many of them are turning to startups for assistance. In fact, a new Association of National Advertisers report titled “Brands Working with Startups” has discovered that approximately one-third of marketing professionals now work with startup companies.

While startups are most commonly used for their technology solutions, the data shows major brands are not investing for this purpose alone. Instead, marketers are investing in them to deliver solutions to common business problems. According to the data, the majority of marketers hire startups to handle social media (53 percent), content development and management (49 percent), and analytics (45 percent).

“Marketers clearly take a serious approach to engaging with startups, and this survey takes a deep dive into exploring the nuances of those relationships,” said ANA President and CEO Bob Liodice. “It examines and reveals not only how but why advertisers turn to startups, and what they expect of them.”

Marketing professionals said that they enjoy working with startups because they are “passionate about what they do” and they are typically “driven to meet client needs.” Approximately 88 percent who engage startups do so with their existing marketing budget.

Restructuring to Take on New Marketing Challenges

To keep up with the changes of the industry, research has shown that marketers are doing a fair share of internal restructuring. The report, “A Study in Brand Transformation,” from Skyword and Researchscape International, has found that one-third of enterprise companies have restructured their marketing departments to take on new challenges.

Over the past year, 58 percent said they’ve adopted new technologies. Nearly 49 percent claimed that they’ve started investing more time in social media, while 40 percent have expanded their content marketing efforts.