In an industry forever in thrall to the next big thing, the danger is that even the most progressive creative and marketing leaders miss the opportunity presented by the now.

This is the ethos of Creativebrief’s regular industry insights report, which aims to distil what’s on the minds of progressive brands right now. 

The report is rooted in content, data and insight from the Creativebrief platform, alongside qualitative insights from daily conversations with senior level brand marketers. 

Trends included in the report include the need for simplicity in marketing. With multiple channels to choose from and an oversaturation of content, consumers' attention is harder than ever to grab. The solution? A simple, clear and laser-focused message. While the rise of long-form storytelling successfully eschewed a wider industry narrative of ever-decreasing attention spans. 

Practical purpose

Another key trend in the report is the rise of a more tangible and ‘practical’ approach to purpose marketing. While industry commentators have long treated purpose and profit as mutually exclusive pursuits, progressive brands have continued to prove that purpose works for business. 

According to the Advertising Association, the number of people who believe that advertising drives positive social change has increased by 10% in three years, from 34% in 2021 to 44% during the first half of 2024. 

Katharine Pebworth, Head of Marketing and PR at Creativebrief, said:  “As we start to round off another year, we’ve pulled together insights based on our daily conversations alongside date and content from Creativebrief’s marketing intelligence platform. Whether that’s crashing cultural moments which have punctuated 2024 so far or taking it back to basics, we hope our latest report will give curious marketers an overview of what’s happening right now in the industry.”

At a time when success demands that staying curious is more than marketing jargon and instead a daily pursuit, the free-to-download report is a must-read.  

Download industry insights