It’s enough to making marketers lose sleep. The pace of the advertising and marketing world — an around the clock, global, fast-paced daily sprint — has creative professionals on edge.
That edge may be the edge of the bed, head in hands, unable to sleep.
According to the recent “The New Creatives” report from Adobe, about 66 percent of creatives think their roles will change in the next three years, and 44 percent envision some upheaval within a year.
That’s because the pressure to deliver creative ideas and content faster and faster is overwhelming. For instance, 33 percent of respondents said their situations cause sleepless nights. Another 32 percent expressed fears about financial and/or job security, 28 percent worry about losing creative inspiration, and 25 percent say they have repeated insecurities about meeting demanding expectations within the deadline.
The Adobe report analyzed the online responses of 1,048 creative professionals in the U.S. The data, collated by Edelman Berland, found that 25 percent of respondents are concerned with not meeting set expectations; 21 percent worry about being misunderstood; and 20 percent fret about “not being original” or having “difficulty in differentiating the brand.”
Interestingly, technology helps to inspire creativity, according to the respondents. While 28 percent of creative professionals still rely on pen and paper for ideation and 36 percent do so for brainstorming, fully 45 percent use their mobile devices “to capture inspiration on the go.”
What about in-demand skill sets? About 20 percent believe that app development — and 18 percent 3D modeling — will become the most sought after skills in the coming year.
Creativity comes from a source, and that may be changing, too. Adobe’s report concludes that the methods used to spur creativity continue to shift from motivation to inspiration. About 36 percent of creative professionals think digital sources like social media are the best sources of inspiration. Twenty seven percent said they find inspiration in professional online communities of peers, whereas 26 percent point to collaboration and sharing as the motivating reasons for their involvement.
Head, heart, or gut? Creative professionals see the writing on the virtual wall. While a hefty 79 percent said they still “trust their gut,” 75 percent admitted that the changes wrought by technology and analytics hold more sway over their professional lives.