Marketing salaries, media trust, budgets: 5 interesting stats to start your week

Financial Times is Briton’s most-trusted news outlet

The Financial Times has the highest level of ‘net trust’ of all the major British news outlets, according to YouGov, with 40% of Britons stating they trust the FT, compared to just 10% who distrust it.

The FT tops a poll of 32 outlets, with ITV and Channel 4 ranking joint second, both with a score of 27, and the BBC coming in third place on 23.

However, while the FT has the biggest net score, more people (44%) say they find the BBC trustworthy. But with 21% deeming it untrustworthy, it has a lower overall score of 23.

The Guardian is the highest ranking non-business newspaper, with 33% deeming it trustworthy, while 18% find it untrustworthy giving it a net score of 16.

The news outlet most likely to be considered untrustworthy is The Sun, with 59% of respondents describing it as such, including 36% who say it is ‘very untrustworthy’. Its net score is -53.

The level of trust each outlet garners differs between Conservative and Labour voters, particularly for the Guardian. The paper has a net score of 41 for those who voted Labour in 2019, compared to -6 with those who voted Conservative. Labour voters are also more likely to trust Channel 4, with a net score of 49 compared to just 14 for Conservative voters.

Conservative voters were also more likely to trust GB News, with the news channel rated 7 among this group, compared to -39 among Labour voters. While both Labour and Conservative voters distrust the Daily Mail, it scores better among Conservative voters at -16 versus -62 for Labour voters.

Source: YouGov

94% of global consumers concerned about rising costs

The vast majority (94%) of consumers across the world are concerned about the rising cost of living, according to EY’s Future Consumer Index.

The findings are based on a survey of more than 21,000 consumers across 27 countries. Nearly all (92%) are currently worried about their country’s economy and 39% believe things are going to get worse in the next six months.

These worries are leading consumers to change their purchasing habits, with 49% of those surveyed planning to buy only essential products and 67% preferring to repair damaged or broken possessions rather than replacing them with new items. Similarly, 62% said that they do not feel the need to keep up with the latest fashion trends.

More than a third of survey respondents (36%) said they were planning to spend less on clothes and 44% said they expected to reduce their spending on take-away food.

The survey also reveals consumers are keeping a close eye on how companies are dealing with increased costs – 74% of those surveyed say they had noticed that some brands have reduced their packaging sizes without changing the price of the product.

Two thirds of consumers say they would be willing to share their data with a company in exchange for getting cheaper products or services.

Source: EY

Salaries for most marketing roles increasing ahead of inflation

Most marketing roles are seeing salaries increasing ahead of inflation, according to research from recruiter Aspire, which specialises in the marketing and digital media sectors.

In pure-play marketing roles, senior marketing managers lead the way, with average salary increases almost 50% higher than the rate of inflation. Between April 2022 and April 2023, the average salary for the role increased 15.4% across the year, from £65,000 in 2022 to £75,000 in 2023.

For marketing directors or heads of marketing, the average salary increased by 11.1% to £100,000 in April 2023. Again, outpacing the rate of inflation.

Aspire analysed salaries across various roles and sectors based on vacancies registered between April 2022 and April 2023.

Junior marketing managers saw significant average salary growth of 9.1% between 2022 and 2023; however, unlike their more senior counterparts this rate does not keep up with inflation.

While marketing directors are the best-paid out of the roles analysed, it is roles in content which saw the largest percentage increases in salary between this year and last. Senior copywriters saw pay go up by one fifth to £60,000 in 2023, while content executive pay increased 17% in the year.

Source: Aspire

Majority of CMOs say they don’t have enough budget to carry out strategy

Despite the pressures of inflation, UK marketing budgets have remained flat compared to last year, at 9.3% of overall company revenue.

While budgets have remained consistent as a proportion of revenue, seven in 10 UK CMOs agree they do not have enough budget or resources to execute their strategy this year. The same proportion (70%) agree they are under pressure “to do more with less” amid the challenges brought about by inflation and the cost of living crisis.

UK marketing budgets as a percentage of company revenue are up from 6.9% in 2021. However, they remain down on 2018 levels, when marketing budget represented an average of 11.4% of company revenue.

The research from Gartner is based on the views of 410 CMOs and marketing leaders, including 111 in the UK. It finds UK CMOs spent the most on staffing out of any country. More than a quarter (25.7%) of marketing budget is allocated to labour costs, while over a fifth (22.2%) is allocated to agencies.

Gartner marketing practice chief of research and VP analyst Ewan McIntyre notes UK CMOs face “unique challenges” when it comes to making decisions about long-term marketing investment.

“In recent years, UK marketing budgets have been more volatile than their US counterparts, the effects of which have been compounded by economic and geopolitical uncertainty,” he says.

Source: Gartner

Inflation in the UK falls to 8.7%

UK inflation fell to 8.7% in April – down from 10.1% in March, and the lowest rate since the cost of living crisis began last year. It is not as low as the 8.2% previously predicted by the Bank of England, though. The ONS said that housing and energy prices are starting to fall, but this was partially offset by increased prices in other areas, including the cost of alcoholic drinks, tobacco and transport.

Raj Badiani, principle economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, warned the Bank of England could raise interest rates again later this summer. “We now expect the policy rate to rise by 25 base points to 4.75% at its next meeting on 22 June, while acknowledging the rising probability of a further hike in early August,” he said.

This is the first time the inflation rate has fallen below 10% since August last year. “We are no longer in double digit territory,” Grant Fitzner, chief economist at the ONS told the BBC last week. “We have seen falls in bread, cereals, fish, milk, cheese, eggs, sugar, jam and honey – so that is positive.” However, he cautioned that the drop in inflation won’t be reflected in consumers’ supermarket shops straight away.

“It’ll take some time for this to wash through to retail prices,” he added.

Source: ONS