Shifting attitudes to work and meaning for marcomms professionals

Last week, I had the opportunity to present my research findings to a group of marcoms and practice leaders who are members of networking group, Build Up.

Pausing at key moments, small groups discussed the impact on their work of:

• Increasing levels of uncertainty

• Generational differences

• Changing importance of alignment with company & brand to individuals

Uncertainty is impacting clarity of direction, with quickly changing priorities making planning and measurement of impact more difficult.

Marcomms professionals are navigating differences in use of language, often related to generational difference, which impacts creation of copy, bids and other material appropriate to the audience both internally and externally.

The research findings highlighted a shift in the importance of work to belonging and identity. The groups believed that work remains important to the majority but the company they choose has to be more distinct and people need reminding where they are and why more often. This means clearer messaging is needed for communications. Additionally, the pursuit of purpose and meaning remains a key human need but marcomms professionals are moving towards a post-purpose world when thinking about branding.

Thank you to Clare Baxter and the team at Hawkins\Brown for hosting and to Build Up for their support with the research and for the opportunity to present.

Build Up is a networking community for those with marcomms and business development responsibility in the built environment. For more information and to sign up for future event invitations see https://buildupnetwork.net/