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Roughly 33.5 million people headed to the polling stations during the UK’s European Union membership referendum, AKA the Brexit referendum, on June 23. The public spoke and, although it was a close call, the UK voted to leave the EU by 51.9 per cent to 48.1 per cent - cue Chicken Little impressions from an array of politicians, business leaders and media outlets.
Pessimism
surrounding the UK’s economy subsequently grew sharply, according to a study by YouGov and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), which stated the number of businesses feeling pessimistic about the UK economy doubled in the week following the vote. The figure leapt from 25 per cent
the week before the referendum up to 49 per cent, as business expectations for UK investment, sales and exports all dipped. Scott Corfe, director at the CEBR, believes that the figures indicated a “significant shock reaction.” For the marketing industry, there
are clearly challenges that lie ahead which will take time and effort to overcome. Chris Combemale, Direct
Marketing Association (DMA) CEO, feels the transition away from the institutions of Europe we have all been working with for the past 40 years can’t and won’t be rushed. He says: “How long it’s going to take exactly will depend on our nation’s politicians to confirm the finer details of our departure from the EU.” Mark Hewitt, group MD EMEA at
creative agency Anthem, says that most businesses will take time to
Brexit Mean For EU And Your Job?
What Does
The UK leaving the EU has created an uncertain future for businesses. Figaro Digital looks at how the marketing industry can weather the storm.
and growing sectors of recent times, as Daniel Reilly, co-founder of marketing analytics provider Ruler Analytics, explains. “While there are a number of negatives to leaving the EU, there are also many positives for an industry that has no borders,” he says.
“We certainly don’t think this change will affect the ability to recruit skilled labour from abroad, nor do we believe this will cause a shortage of jobs within a
constantly developing and evolving market place. We are a serviced- based financial economy, which is driven by a great
infrastructure of both education and training, and this has allowed us to be at the
forefront of digital, and will continue
to do so for many years to come.” Now it’s time for marketing teams
assess the implications “because, in reality, Brexit will not happen overnight.” He adds: “And, as a global
business, we’re aware many of the countries around the world with the very highest living standards sit outside but on the edge of big trading zones and they have made being outside, but next door, work to their advantage, e.g. Singapore, Switzerland, Norway etc. Therefore, being outside doesn’t necessarily mean bad.” Curiously, Hewitt isn’t the only one
remaining rather chipper about the whole affair, with many of those working in the marketing industry being rather positive about the UK’s future. After all, the digital marketing sector is one of the most resilient
There’s always been change, whether from
new competition, regulations or economic challenges.”
to step up to the plate and prove their true worth. Erika Clegg, co-founder of communications design agency Spring, says: “The impact of Brexit will be that marketing has to prove its value as a force for commercial growth. This is not about how emotional John Lewis ads can be, or how many zany guerrilla stunts can be pulled off. This is about deep insights to audience, interrogation of brand benefits and fine-tooth comb response tracking.” There are also concerns over how
marketers must now handle customer data, as many companies had been preparing for the introduction of the new EU General Data Protection Regulations (see p.34 for a full GDPR update). From a data storage and usage
perspective, Antony Humphreys, key account manager, Adestra, thinks
32 issue 28 summer 2016
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