March is for Marketing!

Digital Marketing campaigns are a high area of investment at the moment after a lull in popularity last year, our latest data has shown.

StudioSpace is an agency/client matchmaking platform, monitoring real-time briefs we receive from chief marketing officers (CMOs) and brand owners. This information gives us a unique perspective on what’s hot and what’s not each month – data which is then distilled into our monthly Marketer’s Most Wanted report.

This month, Digital Marketing represented 9.7% of the total briefs coming into the StudioSpace platform, higher than every other category. Despite the 0.4% volume decrease, this category has climbed three spots from last month: an exciting jump when compared to its positions in the 2024 tables, where it usually found itself at the bottom quarter.

At StudioSpace we define Digital Marketing as multi-channel digital campaigns.

“Campaigns range hugely in size and shape as well as audience, but our clients are consistently looking for external partners to bring their experience from specific target markets and industries, as well as seeking external creativity for their brands,” said our CEO Pete Sayburn.

“We’ll certainly be interested to see if this popularity carries on through spring to the summer, as budgets are reconsidered with the beginning of a new financial year,” he added.

You can view our Digital Marketing-savvy agencies by clicking here.

Social Media & Content has relinquished its first place position.

Our Social Media & Content category has dominated the table since February 2024, holding tightly onto its first place position. But as Digital Marketing has come out on top this month, where does that leave our typical winner?

Social Media & Content was our fourth most popular category in February, representing 8.3% of total briefing volume - its lowest share on record.

“This doesn’t necessarily mean that social media has fallen out of favour with our clients,” affirmed Pete. “It’s more the case that there’s simply been an increase in demand for other categories, and a more event spread across disciplines.”

We’re certainly interested to see if 2025 is the year of in-house content creation, or whether this category picks up again as we approach the new financial year and then summer.

Software Development beats Creative & Production to second place.

Software Development has consistently been a member of our top five since January 2024, though showcasing volatility in its position. This month it shows negative volume growth (from 10.8% in January to 9.0% currently), but hijacks Creative & Production’s second place position: the last time this happened was October last year.

Projects in this category range from new web and app development to optimisation and general ongoing maintenance.

Creative & Production has held a top three position since June 2024, usually favouring second. This month it has seen a volume drop of 2.5%, largely due to growth in other categories. There have been lots of exciting pitches in this space, and we love seeing the big ideas our agencies come up with!

Research & Insight finds itself neck and neck with Social & Content.

Research & Insight continues to be an area of strong investment for brands on the StudioSpace platform. It has held a top five spot since last summer, and as technology continues to advance, we don’t foresee this changing any time soon.

This month it sits in fifth place, representing 8.3% of our total - the same share as our Social Media & Content category, and only 0.7% away from the current second place title.

Projects are varied, with many different types of qualitative and quantitative demand in play. Concept testing is particularly hot at the moment, as well as competitor research.

“As AI becomes more ingrained in the digital world, brands can easily struggle to differentiate between ‘human’ and ‘robot’ input in their research, hence often turning to specialist agencies like the ones on our platform for help,” noted Sayburn.

If you’re looking for a first-class Research & Insight agency to help you navigate complex digital terrain, then click here.

UX/UI Design sees a slight upward trend this month.

After suffering a huge table fall since last summer, dropping from second place to sixth, and then to ninth last month, UX/UI Design has shown positive growth in February.

Back in sixth place and representing 7.6% of total briefs - almost double last month’s volume - we’re curious as to whether a positive trend will continue, especially as budgets are redefined over the next few months.

Proposition Design falls a spot from January to February, whilst Brand Strategy holds onto its spot.

Proposition Design has seen a fall from 8.7% to 6.9% - sixth to seventh - this month. We find that this category tends to rise and fall in the table, depending on budget available for innovation. In fact, it’s held every position from sixth to tenth. Perhaps this year it will finally reach our top five?

Brand Strategy has held onto its eighth place position, with a 1.5% increase in volume. Brands old and new are seeking external support in this space.

Experience Strategy is a new entry onto the table in February, whilst SEO & PPC loses out on a place.

Our first new entry of 2025 goes to Experience Strategy, an exciting category which this month represented a comfortable 5.5% of our briefs. We are seeing demand to both reimagine existing experiences and develop new experiences, with a focus on omnichannel approaches and a splash of service design. As we approach summer, this category may combine its magic with Events to position itself higher on the table.

SEO & PPC has unfortunately dropped out of the table for the first time on record. That’s not to say it won’t make a grand return, though: it’s been up and down from fourth to tenth for the last year!

PR & Comms returns to tenth after a jump in January.

PR & Comms reached its highest ever position - seventh - last month, but has now suffered a fall back to tenth. It currently represents 4.8% of our total, only 0.6% less than January. This is another regular mover on the table, so it will be interesting to see where it finds itself over the next few months.

Conclusion.

Overall, this month has seen a pretty big shake-up, notably with Digital Marketing taking over at the top and Social Media & Content suffering a noticeable fall.

“This shake-up leads us nicely into an exciting - and hopefully warmer - few months with the end of the financial year coming up. We’re expecting to see a change in external investment strategies, and it’ll certainly be interesting to see how this changes the type of briefs our agencies receive,” - concluded Pete.

Remember to stay tuned for our next report in early April.