The report draws upon quantitative and qualitative research from 238 in-house and agency marketers and leaders. Funnel and Ravn have found that marketers are inundated with data across thousands of sources and can’t marshal insights on how their campaigns reach customers and deliver returns on investment. The report also identifies a mismatch between marketers' recognition of AI's effect on consumer habits and their difficulty in adapting age-old strategies accordingly, says the duo.

Mountains of Data, Little Insight

Many marketers are surrounded by ample data and advanced tools, but lack information on the effectiveness of their campaigns, adds the duo.

Key Findings

  • Eighty-six percent of in-house marketers and 79% of agency marketers can't determine the impact of each marketing channel on overall performance.
  • Seventy-two percent of in-house marketers and 55% of agency marketers have mountains of data, but struggle to glean insights.

The sheer complexity of modern marketing means many teams can't identify what's working across a maze of channels, touchpoints and devices, often chasing vanity metrics — clicks, followers and impressions — and many don't have up-to-date visibility into campaign performances, says the duo.

SEO to GEO

A study by SurveyMonkey found 93% of marketers say AI helps them generate content faster, though many worry about AI tools generating repetitive, generic campaigns. Strong marketing requires resonance, distinctiveness and impact, and more than half (54%) of marketers are using AI to enhance creativity on their teams, adds the duo.

This trend is influenced by the shift from SEO to GEO, where marketers optimise content for inclusion in AI-generated results in tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini, rather than traditional SEO for ranking in standard search engines, says the duo.

Key Findings

  • Despite nearly two-thirds of marketers (64%) predicting their customers will use traditional search engines less often in the coming two to three years.
  • Only half of in-house marketers (52%) create content optimised for AI and conversational search.
  • Just 44% train their teams for AI-driven search and visibility practices.
  • Fewer than one in three (30%) use automations for content optimisation.

According to Funnel's research, discouragement from trying new tactics and tools by leaders is also a common problem facing marketers seeking to mould their strategies and practices to fit consumer behaviour. For example, 64% of in-house marketers and 53% of agency marketers say it's been more than three months since they have launched a campaign that deviated from their typical practices, adds the duo.

Tom Roach, VP Brand Strategy at Jellyfish, says, "Playing it safe is actually the riskiest long-term strategy, as it leads to stagnation. Brands can make bolder moves by adopting a test-and-learn mindset and ring-fencing a small innovation budget. I like the 70 / 20 / 10 approach: 10% devoted to trying new things, 20% to optimising what works and 70% to basic foundations."

Gen Z Risk-Averse Culture Stifles Innovation

Despite having access to disruptive technologies, marketing teams remain trapped in cautious modes that prevent them from leveraging these tools effectively, says the duo.

Key Findings

  • Fourty-one percent of in-house marketers aren't fully comfortable raising concerns or challenging existing strategies, a problem nearly four times worse for Gen Z than their oldest colleagues.
  • Only 13% say continuous review and refinement is embedded in their culture.

Leaders who aren't open to new ideas and company cultures that actively discourage risk-taking mean that, as one survey respondent put it, "People are afraid to change old habits for fear it will be unsuccessful, which would put a target on their back."

Thijs Bongertman, Chief Data Officer at SPAIK, says, "Unfortunately, a lot of marketers, especially in bigger companies, are preoccupied with meetings, senior executives and creating presentations explaining what they're doing, not necessarily working. If marketers had more mental capacity to really dive deep into data, they could create those insights themselves."

Data Skills Gap: Four in Five Marketers Lack Advanced Analytics Capabilities 

Teams that consistently use advanced analytics dramatically outperform their peers across multiple dimensions, yet less than 21% of agency marketers and only 8% of in-house teams have developed these critical capabilities, says the duo.

Key Findings

  • Few marketers have advanced skills with sophisticated models: market mix modelling (15%), incrementality testing (18%), and attribution modelling (27%).
  • Among teams using advanced analytics, 76% feel empowered to experiment with new marketing approaches; just 36% of those with limited or no advanced analytics say the same.
  • Most marketers say they want to improve the level of data analysis skills on their teams, particularly by developing marketing mix modeling capabilities (70% say this).
  • Just 13% of marketers communicate very well with finance, the function that actually tracks business outcomes.

Tom Roach at Jellyfish adds, "Data analysts are very good at reporting on what happened. But to interrogate why something happened requires additional skills, including a broader understanding of how communications work, how campaigns are supposed to work, how brand growth works… and the myriad ways things can go wrong. That's less about data analysis and more about detective work."

The research reveals analytics maturity isn't just a technical capability, but a cultural and performance differentiator that unlocks growth across entire marketing departments, concludes the duo.

For more information, visit www.funnel.io. You can also follow Funnel on LinkedIn. 

*Image courtesy of LinkedIn