Research & Insight takes a trip to our top three for the first time
‘Do Your Research’ seems to be an important mantra for top brands this month, as our Research and Insight category settles for the first time into our Marketer’s Most Wanted top three.
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.
Representing 10.6% of our total briefs in September - tied second place with Creative & Production - this category has seen huge growth this month. Having dropped out of the top ten back in March, rising to fourth two months ago, and now positioning itself as a strong table leader, there’s certainly much to be said for current demand for market research - an almost 4% growth in just one month.
“We’ve had a big surge in demand for this category, and also indication of investment in future growth,” noted our CEO Pete Sayburn. “This demand has been split across both qualitative and quantitative research, with lots of projects focused on testing new concepts and features.”
This is a combination of B2B and B2C audiences, with some hard-to-recruit audiences keeping our agencies on their toes! You can view our full list of specialist Research & Insight agencies here.
Proposition Design also sees a significant increase in demand
Proposition Design is another big winner this month on our platform, having moved five places up the table in September - from ninth to fourth - and now making up 8.3% of our briefing total (+3.1%).
This jump, alongside clear growth in demand for Research & Insight, demonstrates a shift this season towards the new, in contrast with earlier market uncertainty, where the focus was on solidifying business strategy and marketing.
This category has shown extreme volatility over the year, covering almost all positions in the bottom half of the table - most commonly tenth.
“With the UK market up, we’re seeing that brands are proactively exploring new products, services and features. As a result, we’re predicting that growth in new areas will be a key focus for the remainder of 2024,” Sayburn added.
Social & Content and Creative & Production hang onto their top-table positions
Content appears still to be King this month as this category retains its first place position, despite seeing a 2.8% volume drop.
Interestingly, overall briefs issued via the StudioSpace platform in this category are at a record high, so the actual number of briefs in this area are similar, but the actual share has been combated by a wider spread across different categories.
Creative & Production has also retained its position in September - its third month in a row in second place. Its volume has remained relatively constant, currently representing 10.6% with an average of 10.4% whilst in this position.
After we announced the ‘Summer of Creativity’ last month, we’re continuing to see brands invest in this area as we move into Autumn.
Software Development, UX/UI Design and Digital Marketing claim mid-table spots
Software Development has dropped to position five this month - its first time in this lower position since June 2023. It has been consistently third, and occasionally fourth.
Over September it made up 7.6% of our briefing total, a roughly 1% decrease from its average in H2 of 2024. Similarly to our Social & Content category, the number of briefs is actually flat, but the increased demand in other categories has led to a decline in its overall share.
The Digital Marketing category experienced an almost identical difficulty, dropping one place into seventh (6.1%) but retaining a relatively similar number of briefs compared to previous months.
UX/UI Design is once again in sixth place, but claws back some volume share, from 6% last month to a current 7.6%.
“UX/UI projects this month have included a simulator app for internal training and a couple of discovery projects. After its first fall out of the top three back in July, could this be the start of the return to the top for this category?” Sayburn asked.
Demand for Brand Strategy falls significantly this month
Brand Strategy has seen a big drop in September, moving four places down the table, and decreasing in volume by 2.3% to now make up 4.6% of the total share.
It seems that there was a focus on Brand Strategy synced with the beginning of the new financial year, but this has potentially died down. We certainly look forward to seeing if this is a seasonal trend or whether this picks back up again.
Copywriting makes room for PR & Comms
Copywriting has fallen out of our Marketer’s Most Wanted table for the first time since February, having this month been replaced by PR & Comms, which hasn’t featured since March.
This fresh category made up 4.6% of September’s briefs to tie with Brand Strategy. The re-entry comes as a result of a combination of different project types - ranging from specific campaigns to the development of a new podcast and press office retainers.
Conclusion
“This month has seen huge shifts for some of our long-standing categories, to make room for exciting new position entries and a changing market mindset,” concluded Pete.
“As mentioned earlier, we’re predicting a continued growth in the Proposition Design category, as well as in Research & Insight, two of our highest performers in September. We’ll see next month whether these predictions come true and what other exciting shifts occur as 2024 comes to a close!”
StudioSpace Project Highlights This Month
A customer acquisition strategy project for a large insurance company
Global qualitative and quantitative research to underpin a digital product roadmap for a large Automotive business
A new podcast series to help a Financial Services company to connect with a new audience
USA expansion strategy and marketing pilot for a Healthcare app
A new campaign to engage the GenX audience in the retirement space
Creative & Production for a large 2025 advertising campaign for a well-known Financial Services brand
We’ll see you next month for October’s report! In the meantime, if you’ve got any questions, please do reach out to hello@studiospace.com and we’d be happy to help.
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About StudioSpace
StudioSpace is a matchmaking platform for senior marketers looking to hire agencies. Its clients include major brands such as Google, Jaguar Land Rover and Aviva. It was founded in January 2022 by Pete Sayburn, Gideon Hyde, Robin Scarborough, Paul Bowman and Phil Kohler.
About Marketers Most Wanted
The Marketers Most Wanted report is a regular snapshot of actual agency briefs posted on the StudioSpace platform by brand owners and chief marketing officers from 50 blue chip companies to over 350 creative, digital and marketing agencies.
About Pete Sayburn
Pete Sayburn is CEO of Studiospace, a matchmaking platform for senior marketers looking to hire agencies. Its clients include major brands such as Google, Jaguar Land Rover and Aviva. Studiospace was founded in January 2022 by Pete Sayburn, Gideon Hyde, Robin Scarborough, Paul Bowman and Phil Kohler.
