The graphs on page 3 and 9 of this research feel particularly accurate to how a lot of marketers are feeling. I hope it at least makes you feel a bit more 'seen' and less alone! Earlier this year, The Marketing Meetup embarked on our first-ever big piece of research to enquire into the 'state of marketers' (not just the state of 'marketing'). In the past few weeks I've delivered a bunch of talks, and met a lot of marketers 'doing the job'. Conversations have led me to a place of pointing them to this report, as I think it helps a bunch of us feel a bit more 'seen' as it represents their experiences, too. From 1,070 responses - some key findings included: - 46.5% of marketers described their work as positively challenging - top of the emotional list. - 41.1% feel uncertain, 39.3% stressful, and 36.7% overwhelmed. - Only 5.4% described their work as calm. - Marketers rate their current job satisfaction around 7/10. - They’re more optimistic about marketing’s future than their present - The most common daily challenge is “too much to do, not enough time”. - Lack of time for creative work ranked as the second biggest challenge. - Mid-sized teams (6–10 people) report the highest satisfaction. - Solo marketers and those in very large teams feel more isolated and stressed. - AI enthusiasts report 15% higher job satisfaction than AI avoiders. - Enthusiasts rate their job satisfaction at 6.8/10 vs. 5.9/10 for avoiders. And plenty, plenty more. The full report is below (ungated and freely accessible). We'll run the survey again in 2026. We'd also be interested in partnering with brands to do more, too. Whatever you take from it - I hope you find it interesting, useful, and perhaps even feel a little 'seen' by the findings (in the sense of not feeling alone). A big thank you to everyone who filled in the survey ☺️ ✌️ P.S. For more stuff like this, plus invites to free/choose-your-price online/IRL events - do get on our newsletter list, found on the TMM website!
That's the morning's reading sorted then! Thanks!
Just shared this with the team. Anyone working with a marketing team / individual at the moment needs to be able to put themselves in their shoes in order to fully support them and have their back. A great piece of research - finally something out there about the smart people rather than the smart tools. Thanks for sharing Joe!
Thank you, Joe Glover, and the The Marketing Meetup team, this is super interesting. As a solo marketer, it feels comforting to see so many similar feelings expressed here. Perhaps I’m not so solo after all… 💛
Love the widespread effort taken for this research. Hoping there’s more space for creativity in the coming future.
Wow. Massive thanks to The Marketing Meetup team for undertaking such a wide ranging piece of research and for making it publicly accessible! So useful how not only is a clear picture painted of the problems people are facing but also what will help tackle these issues. Not to underestimate the challenges being faced, but it's heartening to see within the madness and the chaos there's still optimism, the 'fun', 'empowering', 'rewarding' and 'enjoyable' emotions still being experienced. Lots of this I'm sure down to communities like TMM!
There's certainly a heap of uncertainty in the industry at present... but it's good to see that on balance marketers think things are going to get better. Which they will!
I got stopped in the street today and they mentioned this report. I feel like this is such an important thing for us to keep highlighting. Props to you mate for coming up with the idea 🙌
Super interesting research! The “too much to do, not enough time” stat really hit home. Both for myself but also for my clients, I see that time pressure plays out constantly. And it’s interesting how the lack of space for creative work is the second biggest challenge. In fact, creativity is often the first thing to get squeezed when deadlines pile up, yet it’s also what drives the best marketing.
Very relatable, Joe Glover. I can definitely see myself in the results. It's reassuring to see optimistic glimmers and practical advice in there. Overall, good to remember that so many of your day-to-day challenges are shared across the industry - it can be difficult to remember that that among the noise of campaign successes and award wins.
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2wThis year has been the toughest yet for many of us. There is so much noise in the fight to be seen that I can well believe that overwhelming is a top result. I also reckon most people have sugarcoated their responses.