‘The system is broken’: Inside Australia’s marketing redundancy crisis
Australia’s marketing industry is being reshaped by redundancies at a scale not seen for decades, and across the board, senior leaders and teams are being reshuffled or let go. Here, Mumbrella explores an industry in flux, speaking with several impacted leaders joining the growing pool of talent on the market.
(Flickr)
Marketing, media, and advertising in Australia is increasingly being defined by redundancies. Once seen as unusual, job losses are now part of the everyday experience across brands, agencies, and media owners — and no corner of the industry has escaped unscathed.
And these aren’t just small teams quietly disappearing. They are experienced professionals with years of industry know-how, suddenly on the market. People who were once considered indispensable.
While ABS data tells us that marketing is far from alone, with unemployment in Australia at 4.3% (the highest level since post-pandemic recovery) and the national retrenchment rate up 0.2% year-on-year, the industry is widely regarded as first on the chopping block.
I’ve not seen this amongst my marketing mates (but that’s not to say it isn’t happening.)
Meanwhile, a recent study by Victoria University ranks “sales and marketing” as the eighth largest industry in Australia with a worker shortage!
https://www.vu.edu.au/about-vu/news-events/vu-blog/the-10-most-in-demand-jobs-in-australia-right-now
Why do I feel this may be an agency side problem rather than a brand/client side one? Is it because brand’s are increasingly bringing the marketing function in-house and using their own channels?
I think that’s a case of university’s publishing something that appeals to the studies they support. Those quoted in the article are all/mostly client side.
An impactful read. Thank you Lauren.
I don’t know if it’s necessarily a new thing that marketing is first – or close to first – on the chopping block when cuts are due.
Many CEOs and CFOs don’t truly understand the value of marketing, and it delivers less of a straight line to revenue than, say, direct sales made by a BDM.
The past few years have been challenging with high interest rates impacting on consumer confidence and spending, and price hikes due to rising supply chain costs and to offset declining volumes meaning less discretionary spending for a lot of Australians.
Add to that the start of the age of AI & automation and it’s not been a good time for the industry.
I expect we’ll see some changes when consumer spending goes back to a better level, but interest rates will likely hold at a rate that is less comfortable than pre-cost of living crisis levels, and lets face it – once goods have increased to a certain cost there’s very little chance of them coming down, meaning overall that we’re probably not going to easily get back to a place where advertisers are paying enough to keep media and marketing people with enough demand to place and create campaigns.
Personally I believe that the government needs to do more to share productivity benefits with workers as well as companies (a problem that is only going to get worse), and to put more stringent requirements on redundancies than just delivering shareholder value.
Job security has become a thing of the past but companies still expect loyalty – we’re heading for a reckoning as AI and automation benefits get bigger and bigger, unless substantial changes are made.
“and shape the next chapter of the industry”
Reinvent yourself not the industry. Find your unique position, deliver year on year growth to YOURSELF. Never rely on a job. It’s a risky strategy.