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What do marketers really want from their jobs?

A guarantee of a job next year some might say. Nonetheless the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) has been looking into this thorny issue and tops it seems is that mysterious quality ‘purpose.’

The top three such desirable companies in its new worldwide survey of national advertiser associations are Apple, Unilever and Procter & Gamble (who are all big and rich too, of course.) P&G’s Marc Pritchard was recently chosen as the WFA’s 2020 marketer of the year.

A “strong/clear corporate purpose and mission” was named as the No 1 corporate attribute by client-side marketers when asked to rank the factors that would attract them to work for a company. “Strong brands in portfolio” came second with “a solid track record of performance” third.

The research highlighted that different facets of corporate culture and business approach appeal to different groups and regions. Purpose, for example, was less important for media and digital marketers (why is that no surprise?), those based in South East Asia and entry-level marketers.

Male marketers were more keen than other groups to work for companies with strong brands in the portfolio, while female respondents and those based in Europe over-indexed on sustainable and ethical business models.

The results also reveal the marketing approach and key capabilities most likely to appeal to marketing talent. Respondents to the survey thought that companies that put the customer first were most attractive, followed by those with a strong innovation pipeline and those with a high reputation for producing strong marketing talent.

Consumer-centricity was more appealing to marketers with more than 20 years’ experience, product innovation indexed more heavily in Latin America, while European marketers were keener that their employer should be known for its pipeline of marketing talent.

WFA CEO Stephan Loerke says: “Marketing talent is more selective than ever; seeking to work for brands and companies that have clear values and a vision that goes above and beyond driving business performance and delivers meaningful and measurable societal benefit.”

The full report is here.

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