In Screendragon’s recent creative operations survey, we discovered that a large portion of marketers are still not utilizing technology to support their work. The State of Creative Operations 2023 report revealed that less than half of marketers currently have a workflow management system in place. Additionally, only 30% are using resource management to manage their people and time.

The findings above may explain why 70% of marketers are in the market this year for a tool that supports marketing operations. Rather than having a separate tool for managing projects, workflows, resources, and files, why not look for an all-encompassing Marketing Work Management solution?

What is Marketing Work Management?

Work management is a well-established concept and business practice, but marketing work management (MWM) is a relatively new term. With recent research by Gartner® and a new report from MarTech, the MWM category is likely to become more prominent in 2023 and beyond. The principles underlying MWM are comparable to traditional work management practices. As expected, the MWM philosophy focuses on optimising work processes for marketing and creative departments.

Gartner defines the MWM market as “platforms that provide marketing operations leaders with visibility into project work performed across the department”. It continues with a brief description of the MWM functionality “these platforms offer capabilities such as request management, project communication and collaboration, automated workflows, project templates, digital asset approval, project views, resource allocation and capacity planning.”

Who are MarTech®?

The MarTech® brand is owned by Third Door Media who also host the renowned MarTech® Conference. In addition to the MarTech Conference, Third Door Media regularly produce intelligence reports for marketers. Popular research topics include performance marketing, attribution modelling, SEO, email marketing, and of course, work management.

Enterprise MWM Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

In July 2023, Third Door Media released their latest MarTech® Intelligence Report. This year’s edition is titled ‘Enterprise Marketing Work Management Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide’. As the name suggests, the report is a comprehensive guide to navigating the Marketing Work Management (MWM) market in 2023.

So, what exactly does a marketer’s guide include? Readers will be introduced to the MWM category and the foundations of work management. Within the guide you will also be reminded of core project management methodologies and the underlying principles behind them.

Furthermore, you can get a sneak preview of what vendors are currently leading the MWM market offering. Screendragon, Adobe Workfront, Asana, Smartsheet, and Wrike all feature prominently in the 2023 guide. Third Door Media have worked closely with these vendors to create descriptive solution overviews and a helpful vendor comparison table for today’s buyers.

A Comparison Table Highlighting Core Capabilities of MWM Vendors

Screendragon’s Feature in MarTech® Report

Within the MarTech® guide, you will get a view into what Screendragon can offer for MWM buyers. In addition to vendor comparisons like the table above, the guide will break down the solution offering for each vendor under the following headings:

• Company Overview
• Key Customers
• Target Customers
• Use Cases
• Permissions and Organizational Structure
• Workflows Supported
• Visualizations
• Integrations

If you want to read Screendragon’s solution overview in full then we recommend downloading the 2023 MarTech® guide. Here’s a sneak preview of Screendragon’s MWM offering from the Vendor Profile section:

• Strategy and Planning – Marketing strategic and budget planning project management, including task, timeline, and budget tracking capabilities (including Gantt, List and Kanban views).
• Workflow Management – Content development workflows, including dynamic routing of assets, digital proofing, and approvals.
• Resource Management – Resource planning and capacity management, including scheduling, time sheeting and PTO.
• Asset Management – Digital asset libraries, including storing and sharing developed content with internal and external teams and third-party systems.
• Workflow Builder – No-code form and workflow engine that connects all work management functionalities into a seamless delivery cycle.
• Advanced Reporting – Reporting and analytics module enables customers to utilize standard reports or create custom reports leveraging all the data captured.

How to access the MarTech® Report

If you want to download the Marketer’s Guide for Enterprise Marketing Work Management Platforms, then you can visit the report homepage here. Alternatively, you can learn more about the MWM topic by checking out the MarTech MWM explainer blog!

See Screendragon’s MWM Solution in Action

Are you interested in learning more about why Screendragon was chosen to feature in this year’s guide? Marketers can see our MWM capabilities in action by scheduling a 30-minute product tour. Find out why Screendragon is a MarTech leader and currently rated 4.8/5 on peer-to-peer network G2!

The original audit of the creative operations industry is back! After a break last year, The State of Creative Operations 2023 returns with a wide-ranging survey of the creative landscape. So, what can readers expect from this year’s edition? Here’s a quick summary of the key topics and trends observed from surveying 101 creative leaders across a diverse spectrum of roles.

Economic Impact and Outlook

When Screendragon last surveyed the community in 2021, the economy was the main concern for creatives. As a result of the pandemic, many creative teams had downsized, and marketing budgets were slashed. Survival was the aim of the game and everything else seemed secondary.

In our 2023 report, we’ll find out whether creative operations are still being significantly impacted by macro-economic forces. This will include insights on whether creative teams are expanding or contracting. Additionally, we will find out if marketing budgets have recovered since our last audit in 2021.

The 2023 Creative Tech Stack

Managing a tech stack and maximising technology’s impact is a huge part of the modern marketer’s role. In the 2023 MarTech map, there were more than 11,000 vendors offering marketing solutions. With so many tools on offer, how can creatives choose which technologies to implement?

The State of Creative Operations will reveal what’s inside the creative tech stack in 2023. This means readers can see what technologies are being utilised today, and which ones are still being left on the side. As a result, you may be surprised at some of the gaps in the toolkit!

Have we enough resources?

In the section above, we introduced our analysis and breakdown of the creative tech stack. However, the most important ingredient in a successful creative operation is not technology (what?). Of course, it’s the people who produce the magic and they need to be supported to do so. This year’s survey will find out if creative teams have enough resources to be successful. Furthermore, creatives will tell us whether they’re on top of workloads or struggling to keep up.

To buy, or not to buy?

If you’ve downloaded our report by now, you will have learned about what makes up the creative tech stack. Furthermore, you can now see whether creative teams are sufficiently resourced. The natural next step is to see what the market looks like in 2023.

This year’s report includes a breakdown of the tools that creative teams are looking for today. As noted previously, there are evident gaps in the creative tech stack. We’ll find out which technologies are being replaced and which tools are being evaluated for the first time. 

AI in Creative Operations

Artificial intelligence has firmly become part of the creative lexicon since our last edition of The State of Creative Operations in 2021. Previously a futuristic notion, AI is now a leading item in marketing discussions. But are creatives practicing AI or is it just a lonely PowerPoint slide from January’s marketing plan?

Our creative operations report will determine whether AI is now a habitual activity or still a work in progress. See how many creative teams are using ChatGPT, dynamic creative optimization, AI generative imagery, and AI powered Resource Management!

What makes a great creative operation?

Lastly, it wouldn’t be a Screendragon creative operations report without recognizing some of the great work in the industry. The State of Creative Operations 2023 will reveal the companies that received most nominations for doing creative operations well. Additionally, we will also list the top 5 ads of 2022/2023 as voted by our creative community. It’s not often that we mention Ben Affleck in Screendragon communications so there’s a first for everything!

Where can I get the report?

You can download your copy of The State of Creative Operations here. Please feel free to share with colleagues and friends that may also be interested! If you have any questions regarding the content of the report, then please don’t hesitate to reach out to fergal@screendragon.com.

Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about Screendragon’s creative operations management solution then visit screendragon.com. You will be able to book a 30-minute tour of our software at a time that suits you!