The 2023 Marketing Transformation Report: Lessons from The Marketing Society Awards

Welcome to the 2023 Marketing Transformation report in partnership with Accenture Song and supported by our friends at WARC: your definitive guide to evidence-based lessons for marketing today.

After another year of global turbulence, it’s been heartening to witness the resilience of our industry as it evolves and rises to the demands of our ever-changing world. Our 2023 Awards once again revealed the ingenious ways your businesses and brands have responded to changing societal behaviours, needs and priorities with some truly superb campaigns.

“Change is hard work. All the theories on behaviour change underline this. Award-winning work is often fuelled by brilliant understanding, but it also needs commitment and rigorous deployment. Taking theory into practice is the hallmark of a real changemaker,” Sophie Devonshire⚡️ CEO The Marketing Society

We spent many (enjoyable) hours poring over and analysing those campaigns, noting the trends and themes culminating in four interconnected considerations which have the power to transform businesses and brands for a more profitable, sustainable future.

• Be a Changemaker: with change comes opportunity and as the world moves on, marketers must transform their brands and shape their businesses to the changing needs and demands of customers.
• Realise relevance: achieve authentic connections because brands that are meaningful to customers’ lives are stronger.
• Play the long game: amidst the myriad of short-term pressures and changes –political, financial, technological - the core truths of marketing remain the same.
• Champion all customers: be inclusive in every decision you make, from the data you choose to analyse, to the media, content and creative choices you make.

Throughout the report you’ll find an in-depth analysis of these trends supported by case studies and insights from industry reports, to help further develop your understanding of the transformational changes needed for visionary growth-led marketing.

We know as marketers we can deliver real, tangible commercial impact with what we do, and our awards’ analysis proves this and provides a simple workable, framework to illuminate the way forward.

So carve out some time for yourself and dig right in. You can view the report here.

“This year, the array of entries demonstrated the power of insight in delivering outstanding results. It’s why we – Accenture Song – continue to partner with The Marketing Society and the Awards, celebrating the game-changing work that has been delivered over the last 12 months in our collective pursuit of authenticity and relevance”.  Nina Holdaway Managing Director, Accenture Song