AdNews asked industry figures for their assessment of 2022 and outlook for next year
Sophie Madden, CEO, Media Federation of Australia
2022 was almost like breath of fresh air. We emerged out of COVID lockdowns and returned to the office (sort of) and embraced working differently and trialling new approaches – hybrid, flexible, four-day weeks, working from overseas, hot-desking and co-working spaces, to name just a few.
We saw healthy growth in marketing investment and heavy pitching activity meant robust business growth.
On the other hand, talent and pressure on our people was the biggest challenge for businesses of all sizes – negatively impacting our ability to attract, retain and support industry talent. This is not surprising amidst a global talent crisis. Australia is simply not a destination of choice for overseas talent, and so a 19%-plus growth in our industry population year-on-year still carried a 12% vacancy rate.
However, the positive impact of this is that we’ve seen some great strides in how our industry manages talent:
- A genuine focus on diversity, equity and inclusion;
- Investment in the overall wellbeing of our people;
- and innovations in how we work not just in flexibility, but investments in automation and capability to reduce workload.
2022 was an extremely productive year for the MFA with a number of initiatives we were proud and excited to bring to fruition, including launching our industry purpose We Are The Changers to re-instill pride back in the industry and bringing our community back together for MFA EX and the MFA Awards. Both of these projects reminded us of the impact we can all have working in our industry.
The MFA Awards demonstrated that despite significant pressure and market challenges (or perhaps because of), media agencies are producing world-class work and partnering in innovative ways with clients and media partners to deliver impactful solutions to business problems. It was truly inspiring to see.
Heading into 2023, I’m looking forward to the industry continuing to reconnect as a community and to embedding our industry purpose We Are The Changers. While I don’t have a crystal ball, there are four areas I expect to rise in prominence and focus in the new year:
1. A spotlight on regulation: data, privacy, digital platforms and advertising restrictions will be under further scrutiny this year. The recent Optus and Medibank data breaches have added greater urgency to the task.
2. Agencies and advertisers will dial up the importance of sustainability in marketing and investment decisions. This journey took off to a good start in 2022, with greater gains to be made in the coming 12 months.
3. The focus on talent attraction and retention will intensify, empowering us to become not just better employers and colleagues, but also better community contributors.
Expect to see: - Looking after, protecting and supporting the people we work with; - Initiatives that provide stronger foundations and support for new talent to succeed in our industry; - Continuing to build a DE&I industry.
4. Zeroing in on measurement: an overhaul of industry audience measurement/metrics, new audience data and attention metrics. Our industry has been working towards many of these for some time, and 2023 will be the year changes start to come into effect. What of the broader conditions in which we’re operating? The recent Federal budget announcements outlined a challenging economic outlook with high inflation and cost of living increases, inconsistent supply chains, dampening consumer confidence and uncontrollable global factors.
While these conditions will lead to a softening of marketing investment, particularly from global brands, we know from experience that our industry will tackle adversity and challenges with unity, innovation, and a change-making attitude.
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
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