In a recent hiring trends survey by The Creative Group staffing firm, 13 percent of advertising and marketing executives said they plan to expand their teams in the second half of 2016. This is up from 11 percent in the first half of the year.
The majority (59 percent) of respondents said they expect to maintain staffing levels and hire primarily to fill vacated positions in the next six months.
In addition, 20 percent of the advertising executives and 10 percent of the marketing executives anticipate increasing the number of freelance staff during the remainder of the year.
“Many companies are adding to their bench of marketing talent, particularly within the digital space,” said Diane Domeyer, executive director of The Creative Group. “Employers seek professionals who can help build their businesses’ online presence, support year-end campaigns, and strategize for the future.”
Creative Specialties in Demand
When executives were asked in which areas they plan to add staff in the second half of 2016, they reported a variety of specialties. Topping the list (at 18 percent each) were content marketing, brand/product management, digital marketing, and web design/production.
When advertising and marketing executives were asked, “In which of the following areas do you expect to hire in the second half of 2016?” Their responses were:
- Content marketing: 18%
- Brand/product management: 18%
- Digital marketing: 18%
- Web design/production: 18%
- Marketing research: 17%
- Creative/art direction: 17%
- Print design/production: 17%
- Customer experience: 17%
- Social media: 16%
- Media services: 15%
- Public relations: 14%
- Copywriting: 14%
- Account services: 13%
- Interactive media: 10%
- Mobile design/development: 10%
(Multiple responses were permitted; Top responses shown.)
Recruiting Challenges
Forty-one percent of advertising and marketing executives said it is difficult to find skilled creative professionals today. Hiring managers at small advertising agencies (20-49 employees) and large advertising agencies (100+ employees) expect the greatest difficulty, with 50 percent of respondents in each group reporting that it is somewhat or very challenging to find the talent they seek.
When asked which types of roles were most difficult to fill, the top responses were web design/production, customer experience, and brand/product management.
About the Research
The national study was developed by The Creative Group and conducted by an independent research firm. It is based on 400 telephone interviews — with 200 marketing executives randomly selected from companies with 100 or more employees and 100 advertising executives randomly selected from agencies with 20 or more employees.
About The Creative Group
The Creative Group (TCG) specializes in connecting interactive, design, marketing, advertising, and public relations talent with the best companies on a project, contract-to-hire, and full-time basis.
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