As challenges of resource and investment continue to loom over in-house marketers, a focus on 'slow burn' tactics might seem out of place.

However, in the face of ever-more saturated marketplaces, both in-house and agency marketing leaders alike are in agreement: In 2023, brand loyalty - and authenticity - will be king.

In a 'Pulse Check' survey from marketing intermediary The GO! Network, more than 150 in-house and agency professionals were asked to share their priorities, challenges, and opportunities for 2023.

Trends, Opportunities, and Challenges for Marketing Communications in 2023

GO! have released an initial summary of the findings:

- Investing in Customers - Across both in-house and agency marketing leaders, more than 50% of respondents chose Customer Retention and Loyalty as holding the most opportunity for marketers in the new year - the most popular response selected across the board.

- Organic Strategy - Alongside Customer Retention, other key opportunities in the most popular responses centered on organic growth, with Brand-Audience engagement, Community building, Reputation, and Organic Channels all landing in the top 5 results.

- A Tech Disconnect - One point of difference between agency marketing leaders and in-house teams stood out in the prioritising of Tech-led solutions and software in the new year, with 32% of agency-side respondents selecting the option against just 14% of in-house marketers.

- Brand-Agency Relationships - As 70% of in-house respondents predict no significant change to their budget in the new year, more than 60% also believe there will be no significant change to the scope or length of relationships with external resource and marketing agencies

In-house vs. Agency Marketing Perspectives

Where in-house and external marketers broadly agree on key trends for 2023, disconnects can still be seen.

Whilst 40% of agency leaders significantly favored the potential for client projects to increase in scope, just 16% of in-house marketers predicted the same.

Similarly, when covering the key challenges for the year ahead, agency leaders almost entirely discounted the role of Brand-Audience Awareness (selected as a key challenge by less than 16% of respondents), in contrast to 38% of in-house marketers citing it as a significant challenge area.