Creative Skills Within The Advertising Industry Has Declined By 17% In The Past 5 Years, Says LinkedIn’s CEO

The yearly Cannes Lions Event is another name given to a creative festival where many leading tech experts unite. For the annual gathering this year, so many made their way to France and that’s where Ryan Roslansky who is LinkedIn’s CEO was seen speaking about something he felt was rather serious.

Ryan mentioned that it’s a little shocking to see the number of creative skills drop down by 17% in the advertising industry and that’s a remarkable difference when you compare the stats seen in the last 5 years.

If you happen to be a part of the lot that continues to wonder who and why it matters, well, the answer is simple. You can’t put technical and data-related skills on display at an expense of those with creativity.

Remember, this industry continues to lose so many creative minds than it has managed to gain, in comparison to various other sectors.

If you wish to go by the exact numbers, you’ll find how the advertising industry has managed to lose nearly 6% of what it has gained. Meanwhile, we’re seeing the tech industry gain around 24% more individuals than it lost during the same timeframe.

A decline in creativity and its related skills was seen to cross the 32% mark. Be it branding or design, or even skills related to the development of creative strategy- the figures are in stark comparison to how we’ve seen a 48% rise in various technical skills.

To put it in layman's terms, the number of creative individuals that were hired in 2015 was equivalent to those seen in the technical field. But when we compare these results in 2021, every creative person that was hired was equal to 1.25 technical experts being taken on board.

While some tech analysts seated in the audience may see this as a natural phenomenon related to the digitalization of the modern world, we are more or less over-hiring tech skills at the expense of a loss of advertising skills. And that way, advertising firms will soon be losing sight of some great business models.

Ryan says one of the biggest losses could be related to B2B firms that require the greatest level of creativity to make an impact in the advertising industry. Only then can they compete against huge rivals like Coca-Cola or perhaps Nike.

The LinkedIn CEO added that these companies are where transformational growth lies and that’s why we need to make sure they’re blessed with creativity. Remember, last year, the success of tech IPOs was all related to BTBs and that trend can only continue if we value creative talent for the master skill that it is.

In the end, Ryan added that some of the biggest names in the industry are finding it hard to better themselves. And that is already halting the growth opportunities for today’s advertising industry.

Hence, the take-home message from the speech was simple: There is a clear shift in today’s industry and standards. Brands require creativity in the same amount as they need great technical skills. Only then can we expect firms to deliver a new generation of success and growth.


H/T: AdWeek

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