UK marketers struggle with campaign delivery, study

Half of senior UK marketers rate their organization’s campaign execution performance below average, according to new research from Intermedia Global (IMG), highlighting ongoing challenges around operational effectiveness, technology use and return on investment measurement.

The findings come from IMG’s Marketing Experience (MX) Readiness Survey, which assesses marketing operations across areas including data and insights, technology integration, campaign execution, operational efficiency and process alignment.

Campaign performance falls short

The study found that 50 per cent of marketers score their organisation’s overall campaign execution at less than 11 out of 20.

Only 6 per cent describe their teams as genuinely agile when defining, creating and executing marketing campaigns, suggesting many organisations continue to face challenges in responding quickly to changing market demands.

The research also found that while only 13 per cent of organisations lack a content strategy, more than half of respondents either do not collect content and campaign performance insights or fail to act on the findings generated from reporting.

Visibility on ROI remains limited

Measuring campaign return on investment continues to be a challenge for many marketing teams.

According to the survey, 38 per cent of respondents measure ROI for some campaigns but not all, while 25 per cent report having no visibility of campaign ROI.

Steve Kemish, CEO of IMG: "Many teams have invested in platforms and data, yet struggle to develop and execute campaigns efficiently. This points to a gap between martech investment and operational maturity.

"The underlying problem is that many teams still lack the integration, workflows and internal alignment needed to turn data into measurable business outcomes."

Martech capabilities underused

The study identified significant differences in technology maturity between organisations.

While 44 per cent of marketers say their core marketing technology tools, including CRM, automation, analytics and digital asset management systems, work well together, 25 per cent describe their technology environments as ineffective and unsuitable for future requirements.

More than half of respondents, 56 per cent, say their teams understand the primary functions of their marketing technology stack but do not fully utilise advanced capabilities.

Training and operational maturity in focus

The research also highlighted skills and training challenges. Half of marketing teams provide only limited onboarding and training for marketing technology or expect employees to learn systems independently.

Steve Kemish: "Overall, the research reinforces that modern marketing success is no longer just about creativity or investment in technology. It's about operational maturity - how effectively organisations connect their data, systems, processes, people and execution to create a stronger Marketing Experience."

According to IMG, the findings demonstrate that improving marketing performance increasingly depends on how effectively organisations align technology, data, processes and teams to support campaign delivery and business outcomes.

The full report can be accessed here

www.intermedia-global.com

Follow Marketing Report on LinkedIn