The skill shortage data comes from the technology analysis firm Creative Group. This is based on a survey of 400 executives, which 43 percent of those surveyed stating that getting the people with the necessary skills and experience to launch successful branded content was proving difficult.
More branded content
This issue is set to become more pressing in light of a separate survey from the company Conductor, which notes how 76 percent of marketing executives aim to increase branded content online during the course of 2018. This type of marketing will represent a sizable chunk of advertising spend. There’s also been a shift with key performance indicators, away from leads and traffic towards conversions and revenue. The consequence is a change in content. Here the aim is to go beyond having a brand featured as a logo, or causally mentioned in an article, and to instead make the brand the story.
New skills and experience required
The types of skills that advertisers are searching for are people who know about content marketing and are savvy with the use of social media. This means those trained and with experience in applying digital design, 3-D motion graphics, and virtual effects. An understanding and experience in working with artificial intelligence platforms is also hotly sought after.
According to Sarah Pak, who is Vice-President of of strategic accounts at The Creative Group: “Traditional advertising usually sits or gets shared only on the site it originated on.”
She told DigiDay: “But since branded content is content shared across different sites, such as a Facebook video being shared on Instagram, then again on Twitter, creative professionals need to understand how to customize the content and design for the various channels.”
Skills shortage
Finding people to do this is currently challenging. Returning to the Creative Group survey, the respondents stated that 53 percent of executives now find it challenging to find creative professionals with the rigor skills for sophisticated branded content. This is up from 45 percent just six months ago.
The top three in-demand skills are content marketing, brand or product management, and digital marketing. Companies are also seeking the right people to perform roles like content strategist, marketing analytics manager and user experience researcher.
Entertaining content for mobile platforms
The main driver for moving beyond traditional advertising roles is the need to make adverts and content more entertaining. A success campaign is all about grabbing a person’s attention, and eye-catching content invariably needs to entertain. Personalized experiences also help to engage consumer interest. Consumers are increasingly faced with a deluge of advertising; those campaigns that the consumer chooses to interact with will be those that trigger interest and are entertaining.
In addition, the main way people are consuming content is via the use of mobile devices. Campaigns therefore need to be scalable. All this means that traditional advertising models are being disrupted. The consequence of this is new talent and new skills for those working in the sector, as well as the current state of play where there is market shortfall in these skills meaning the skills are in high demand.
