As we wrap up the month of October, Telum gathered the latest reports and studies from the marketing communications industries. Check out a handy overview of key highlights, important takeaways, and spine-chilling findings, as well as links to each of the full reports.

Kantar Sustainability Sector Index 2022
Sustainability continues to be an increasingly important topic for many people and this year's study found that consumers are expecting brands to take the lead in sustainability issues. While 67 per cent in APAC want to do more for the planet, the increased cost of living prevents them from doing so. Other barriers related to the sustainable offers, such as their availability, quality and level of information, also affects their purchasing decisions with 9 in 10 shoppers now ‘taking careful note of’ or ‘sometimes considering’ the causes that their chosen brands support. Overall, besides price point, clearer communication from brands about their sustainable initiatives, products and services is also critical to influence the purchases of those consumers concerned about the quality and benefits of sustainable products, and who are struggling to find suitable sustainable alternatives.

TEAM LEWIS fifth annual Global Marketing Engagement Index™
Launched in 2017, the Marketing Engagement Tracker (MET) looks at how effectively brands are connecting with their audiences and clear trends in their use of new digital tools, content and infrastructure. The 2022 findings, however, showed that companies are already developing recessionary strategies due to the effect of the global slowdown. This year, the MET scores dropped in these areas:

• Corporate social responsibility (CSR) / Environmental, Social and Governance per cent (ESG) went down from 65 per cent in 2021 to 56 per cent this year.
• Media content on the website went down from 56 per cent in 2021 to 35 per cent this year. This is mainly explained by the pull-back of original research and more companies suffering communications crises, which can be disruptive to the normal flow of content.
• From website bounce rates, domain authority, growth in top keywords, and keyword difficulty, to Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) rankings. The overall score this year is down from 56 per cent in 2021 to 47 per cent in 2022. This indicates that companies are investing less in SEM and SEO.

LinkedIn B2B Marketers’ Sentiment Survey
New research by LinkedIn reveals that 8 in 10 B2B marketing leaders in APAC remain optimistic about their marketing strategy even as global economic uncertainties loom. In the next six months, brand building will be a priority for B2B marketers, with 6 in 10 (59 per cent) of B2B marketers planning to maintain their spend on brand-building, of which 20 per cent plan to increase investment in this area. Nearly half (48 per cent) of marketers also see this period as an opportunity to help their customers in an uncertain landscape as part of their key campaign objectives. Additionally, the B2B marketers recognise this is the time to prove their relevancy and rethink their brand story, as well as to strengthen relationships and trust with customers.