Dive Brief:

• Overall the ad industry feels more down than it did a year ago, according to a survey by Campaign US that found a 34% drop in morale from last year’s research, with 47% of respondents saying their morale was low or dangerously low. 
• Company leadership was the leading contributing factor for low morale cited by 73% of respondents. The next two were lack of advancement at 45%, and dissatisfaction with work at 38%.
• Employees on the job for over five years had the highest level of dissatisfaction. And while diversity has been a major issue in the agency space this year, that didn’t correlate to the study’s findings on why employees had low morale.

Dive Insight:

Some of the morale problems could stem from basic changes in how advertising is bought, created and sold, from programmatic platforms to creative that is now happening in-house and more responsive to targeted campaigns.

The marketing and advertising industries are in flux as digital technology disrupts the landscape. As a result, agencies have faced an unusual number of accounts being called into review and business going elsewhere, with the overall role of the agency in digital marketing still unclear. At the same time, agencies are experimenting with new strategies and struggling to find employees with the necessary skills. While the Campaign US report does not touch on these trends directly, it is not a stretch to imagine that so much uncertainty could be a contribution factor to low morale. 

Strong leadership is one way agencies could address the uncertain future and boost morale, but as the survey's findings suggest, leadership itself is struggling to provide a clear view of the way forward. 

While the report did not find a correlation between diversity issues and morale, the industry has faced a number fo scandals this year, including instensifying scrutiny on the industry's billing practices in the wake of an ANA report showing a lack of transparency as well as on ongoing sexism in the workplace. 

“These findings are sobering, but — sadly — not surprising. Conversations with people at all levels of the industry reveal widespread frustration and even despondence about the industry and their own jobs. But seeing the numbers really crystallizes how serious an issue this is for advertising, particularly as it fights with other industries for tech and creative talent," said Douglas Quenqua, editor in chief of Campaign US, in a press release.