Trend Report: Marketing Sydney

The landscape of marketing recruitment definitely shifted over 2019, and at Six Degrees Executive, we have witnessed many of the traditional FMCG clients bowing out of sponsoring international candidates in favour of local talent in 2020. Plant-based products have also been desirable with suppliers ramping up their ingredient provenance stories.

These are some of the other trends in the marketplace that we have identified.

1. “Do you have any roles within SMEs?” is a question that we continue to hear from marketing candidates. We have seen big companies attempt to take some risks to create an attractive and sustainable brand but ultimately have not been able to stop the shift from candidates being attracted to SMEs and their agile brands. The big brands don’t have the ‘pull’ factor of a few years ago. Thanks to social media our attention spans are at an all-time low, meaning short sharp projects and fast and furious innovation will entice candidates to companies that can demonstrate this pace.
2. Over 60% of Generation Z say that they want to be part of positive change in the world (Forbes, 2019). Consumers want to understand the health and sustainable benefits in products prior to purchase. Over two-thirds of modern consumer don’t care if brands disappear, they expect transparency about a company’s role in society and where they are making efforts to be better. We are seeing this in candidates and people interested in ethically conscious businesses.
3. Our survey of 1,790 brand professionals on LinkedIn showed that the median tenure in a company is at 2.2 years. Growth opportunities are still a key driver for marketers, with 587 of surveyed professionals changing within their current organisation or into a new business within the last 12 months. With this low tenure, we have identified an opportunity for senior marketers to continue to differentiate themselves and move around a variety of categories and channels.
4. Traditionally, General Manager roles have automatically gone to Sales Directors. However, at Six Degrees, we have witnessed a sharp increase in Marketing Directors securing these coveted GM roles. These marketers have demonstrated heightened commerciality through strong category and sales experience.
5. The only increase in FMCG marketing salaries has been at the junior end with graduates, coordinators and Assistant Brand Managers experiencing higher base salaries. All other levels have remained steady for the past 3 years. A lot of companies have not realised this and therefore have been offering the same junior salaries as what was the standard more than five years ago. With salary data now so transparent, savvy junior marketers will be more inclined to follow where the money is.
6. We have seen a reduction in Senior Brand Management positions and an increase of this level of candidate on the market. We are seeing many businesses downsizing their middle layer or alternatively, upskilling their Brand Managers. In some cases, this middle layer is being made redundant altogether. Subsequently, there are some very strong Brand Managers looking to step up. It should be noted that despite these strong Brand Managers being open to opportunities, they can often be unwilling to make a sidestep into another opportunity unless it is in a category they are personally passionate about.
7. “Do you have any roles in tech?” is another question we’ve been hearing from potential candidates in interviews in the last few months. The perception that Facebook, Google, Amazon and other tech giants are leading the way with innovation and employee culture has meant that FMCG organisations have finally started to take notice of how they were engaging their employees. There is still a huge interest surrounding what companies are doing for employee flexibility, parental leave, and CSR.
8. Although shoppable posts on social media have been in the market for over two years, 2020 will witness an explosion of product funnel links on images. Campaigns are driving impulses to an all-time high, triggering behaviours through feeds and stories on social media platforms. According to Instagram, the number of active users is one billion, and over 90% of the users are following shoppable accounts.UK retail giants Topshop and River Island re utilising this function which allows users to have a basket full of items in just two clicks. For Six Degrees to be able to differentiate between a good Brand Manager and an excellent one, we identify their proactivity and knowledge of these everchanging functions and curiosity for global digital trends.

Find out more about FMCG marketing trends in Sydney by contacting our consulting team.