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U.S. Advertising And Marketing Executives Reveal Hiring Projections For 2018
53% of Executives Report Difficulty Recruiting Creative Talent; Greatest Need for Content Marketing, Brand Management and Digital Marketing Professionals

MENLO PARK, Calif., Dec. 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The demand for creative talent is expected to remain fairly stable in the first half of 2018, according to new research from staffing firm The Creative Group. Five percent of advertising and marketing executives surveyed plan to expand their teams. The majority (78%) anticipate maintaining staff levels and hiring primarily to fill vacated roles. In addition, 53% of executives said it's challenging to find creative professionals today, up from 45% six months ago.

U.S. Hiring Climate for Creatives

Jan.-June
2018

July-Dec.
2017*

Jan.-June
2017

Expanding — adding new positions

5%

9%

12%

Maintaining — only filling vacated positions

78%

64%

67%

Freezing — not filling vacated or creating new positions

17%

21%

20%

Reducing — eliminating positions

0%

4%

0%

Don't know

0%

0%

1%

*Responses do not total 100 percent due to rounding.

Research from The Creative Group reveals U.S. advertising and marketing executives' hiring plans for first half of 2018

View an infographic of the research highlights.

"At the beginning of the year, budgets have been approved and creative and marketing teams are adding staff to support new campaigns that will drive business growth," said Diane Domeyer, executive director of The Creative Group. "A priority for many companies is using data to deliver personalized experiences throughout the customer journey. Finding people with experience in this area is a challenge, as they're in high demand and short supply."

Get tips for recruiting in a competitive market in a free booklet, Your Definitive Guide to Hiring Top Creative Talent, available at https://www.roberthalf.com/research-and-insights/workplace-research/your-definitive-guide-to-hiring-top-creative-talent.

Marketing and Advertising Specialties in Demand
Executives who plan to add staff cited the greatest need for people with expertise in content marketing, brand/product management and digital marketing. But the research shows companies will be recruiting for a range of specialties in the first half of 2018.

Top Areas for Hiring*

Content marketing

25%

Brand/product management

23%

Digital marketing

22%

Marketing research

20%

Copywriting

20%

Social media

19%

Customer experience

18%

Interactive media

18%

Print design/production

17%

Media services

17%

Public relations

14%

Creative/art direction

13%

Account services

13%

Web design/production

12%

Mobile design/development

10%

*Multiple responses permitted.

Domeyer added, "When adding creative and marketing staff, hiring managers want people with experience developing and executing innovative digital strategies. Positions like content strategist, marketing analytics manager and user experience researcher are in strong demand."

Recruiting Challenges Intensify
Fifty-three percent of advertising and marketing executives said it's hard to find creative professionals today, up eight points from six months ago. Hiring managers in small marketing departments (100-249 employees) expect the greatest difficulty, with 58% reporting challenges. According to executives, the hardest roles to fill are those in web design/production, marketing research, brand/product management and digital marketing.

To win over potential hires, some companies are increasing salaries. In a separate survey from The Creative Group, more than half of advertising and marketing executives (57%) said they are at least somewhat willing to negotiate compensation when extending a job offer to a top candidate.

About the Research
The national study was developed by The Creative Group and conducted by an independent research firm. It is based on more than 400 telephone interviews with approximately 200 marketing executives randomly selected from companies with 100 or more employees and 200 advertising executives randomly selected from agencies with 20 or more employees.

About The Creative Group
The Creative Group (TCG) specializes in connecting interactive, design, marketing, advertising and public relations talent with the best companies on a project, contract-to-hire and full-time basis. For more information, including job-hunting services and candidate portfolios, visit roberthalf.com/creativegroup.

 

 

SOURCE The Creative Group

For further information: Alison Strickland, (650) 234-6277, alison.strickland@creativegroup.com