Dive Brief:
- The main finding on a visual content survey from Curalate and the Internet Marketing Association was that 86% of respondents reported that “type of channel” is important when choosing images for marketing campaigns, but 78% said they share images across every, or most, channels.
- More than half of surveyed marketers reported doubting their ability to track how images drive conversions, and 45% doubt their ability to report on revenue.
- Sixty-one percent of marketers acknowledged looking to other innovative brands for visual inspiration rather than coming up ideas independently.
Dive Insight:
“It's clear that there's an enormous gap between what brand leaders expect and what marketing teams are equipped to deliver,” Matt Langie, CMO of Curalate, told Marketing Dive. “More than three-quarters of marketers are scrambling to tie their visual assets to dollars, but just a fraction believe they are doing so effectively.”
The survey, looking at visual commerce trends for 2016 included 200 marketers, uncovered challenges in visual content including less than 11% of respondents believing images are sufficiently being used in emails, ads and in e-commerce. Respondents also agreed that their creative assets are weakest in mobile and app environments, even though one-third report using images to drive mobile commerce.
Langie also shared what he considered a surprise from the research with Marketing Dive, “With all of the compelling images brands now have at their fingertips, we were surprised to learn that just 7% believe their creative assets are helping them hit their marketing goals. What this tell us is that marketers need better access to images — whether from their store associates, community managers, brand influencers, or customers — as well as better insights and tools to measure how images are driving conversions at every point of the purchase funnel.”
