Dive Brief:

• The majority of marketers (77%) are concerned about how automation and artificial intelligence (AI) will affect branding, according to new research from Bynder that was shared with Marketing Dive. 
• The 2020 State of Branding Report found that 56% of surveyed marketers think AI could negatively affect their brands by diminishing creativity, reducing jobs or impacting differentiation. About a quarter (24%) said they think AI would benefit their branding. Another 23% said that branding can't be automated. The study includes feedback from 500 marketing and branding professionals in the U.S. and 500 in the UK.
• The research also suggests that the martech industry is poised for further growth. According to the report, 68% of marketers will increase the number of vendors they use this year. Only 10% of those surveyed plan to scale back. As the tech stack increases in importance, marketing teams are struggling with new issues. For instance, 21% of marketers identified a skills gap, 20% data overload and 18% were overwhelmed with options. 

Dive Insight:

As the use of AI expands into a growing array of marketing functions, Bynder's study suggests marketers are concerned with how the technology will impact creativity and branding. Brand building is a top priority for marketers in 2020 following a period when many turned their focus to driving short-term performance lifts.

However, marketers' concerns over automation do not seem to be impacting investments, as most are still ramping up their tech stack and partnerships with martech companies. 

"Marketing organizations readily adopted technology for analytics, digital channels and other functions that clearly benefit from automation,” said Andrew Hally, SVP of global marketing at Bynder, in a statement. "The challenge ahead is to harness emerging technologies like AI to maintain creative excellence while satisfying business demand for growing volumes and faster delivery."

The Bynder report follows a December study by the Advertising Research Foundation that highlighted how different approaches to data causes tension on marketing teams. That report revealed how researchers and creatives or strategists approach research and data is preventing creative efforts from reaching their full potential. Only 65% of creatives and strategists believe research and data are important for the creative process, while 84% of researchers found it to be key, according to the report. These varying perspectives illustrate that technology can cause issues among marketing teams, despite being foundational to modern day marketing.