New report reveals the challenges facing communications agencies.

A new report has found communications agencies can’t determine the reach and impact of their campaigns due to excessive data. The research, gathered from 238 agency professionals, found that 86% in-house leaders and 79% of agency leaders in the communications sector fail to determine the impact of channels to overall performance. In-house (72%) and agency leaders (55%) claim they have too much data preventing them from gaining this insight.

Funnel and Ravn Research's report also shows that discouragement from using new tools, such as AI, has become a common problem for communications professionals seeking to use strategies that fit consumer behaviours. This has led to 52% of in-house professionals creating content optimised for AI, yet only 44% train their teams to be AI-driven.

The study presents other cultural difficulties, such as a lack of communication between Gen Z marketers and older colleagues. 41% of in-house marketers claimed they aren’t comfortable challenging existing strategies, with 13% saying review is established in their work culture.

Lastly, the report mentions that while teams that use advanced analytics have been shown to outperform, less than 21% of agency marketers and 8% of in-house teams have demonstrated these skills.