Advertising and inventive professionals are underneath rising strain to exhibit their worth to enterprise outcomes, in response to Smartsheet’s 2025 Pulse of Advertising Report. The examine, launched at the moment by the AI-enhanced work administration platform, surveyed greater than 1,200 advertising and marketing and inventive professionals throughout america to research how groups are navigating this problem and the position of expertise in addressing it.
The report reveals that over 80% of promoting and inventive professionals really feel growing strain to show the enterprise influence of their work, with 60% noting that this strain has grown considerably over the previous yr. Moreover, 78% of respondents consider they’re required to exhibit their worth greater than friends in different departments.
“As we speak’s advertising and marketing and inventive groups typically wrestle to supply tangible proof of their strategic worth and enterprise influence,” mentioned John Newall, SVP of Advertising at Smartsheet. “The Pulse of Advertising Report underscores the significance of leveraging the correct instruments and applied sciences, resembling AI and collaborative work administration platforms, to assist advertising and marketing and inventive groups keep aligned no matter mission complexity or workforce distribution. It additionally emphasizes how vital it’s to make use of these identical applied sciences to supply a richer, extra correct view of those groups’ affect on enterprise outcomes and profitability.”
Challenges in Demonstrating Enterprise Influence
The report highlights that almost all advertising and marketing and inventive professionals (94%) face challenges when attempting to exhibit the enterprise influence of their work. Over half (53%) cite a scarcity of visibility into vital info as a barrier to creating knowledgeable choices.
Excessive-quality information is vital to addressing this situation. In line with the report, a robust correlation (57%) exists between workers who’ve constant entry to correct info and those that view advertising and marketing groups as strategic companions inside their organizations. Nevertheless, solely 51% of survey respondents consider advertising and marketing is at the moment considered as a strategic accomplice.
Know-how and improved processes are seen as key options for overcoming these challenges. The report exhibits that 87% of pros consider higher instruments would improve their effectivity and skill to indicate enterprise influence. Nevertheless, many advertising and marketing groups nonetheless wrestle with inefficiencies, as 72% of respondents report switching between instruments, dropping a mean of seven.3 hours per week within the course of.
AI is recognized as a vital productiveness booster. In line with Smartsheet’s analysis, advertising and marketing and inventive professionals save a mean of 9 hours per week through the use of AI, with 84% of respondents saving at the least 5 hours weekly. Of those, 30% report saving over 10 hours per week.
The report outlines a number of methods for entrepreneurs to beat challenges in proving their worth:
- Leverage AI and mission administration instruments: These applied sciences streamline workflows, enhance effectivity, and supply the insights wanted to exhibit strategic influence.
- Standardize processes and improve visibility: Improved workflows and entry to information allow higher decision-making and make it simpler to showcase contributions to enterprise outcomes.