5 Creative Professional Statistics for 2023

Business leaders increasingly understand the value of creative teams. They see them not just as a group of designers, but as the talented creative problem solvers they are, according to Andy Brenits. “While this acknowledgment for – and of – creative teams is excellent, it ironically causes more of the challenges that creative teams have always dealt with.” So, how do you mitigate your creative challenges and reconcile business and creativity in 2023? We have done all the hard research so you do not have to. Read our five creative professional statistics below to find out!

Recommended reading: Creative Operations Statistics

Keep an eye out for the Q4 2022 Creative Operations Report, out now

Creative Professional Statistic #1: 89% Say Creative Work Is Important to Meeting Business Objectives

There is an important link between creativity and business results, according to creatives and marketers. And 87% said that their organization is giving creatives the credit that they are due.

The growing emphasis business is placing on creative assets comes from creative professionals gaining a better understanding of business objectives. Ilise Benun conducted an analysis that verified this claim. Ilise is a speaker, author, and business coach for creative professionals at Marketing Mentor – and one of six contributors who helped assess the survey results in the report. “I propose that if creatives thought about business more creatively, they could bring more value,” she wrote. “But it starts with understanding the business.”

Creative Professional Statistic #2: Only 31% of Creative Teams Are Measuring Return on Investment

Creatives are improving at demonstrating results, but they have room for improvement in tying it to bottom-line return on investment (ROI). However, many creatives have adopted several measurements in addition to ROI, such as brand recognition (56%), engagement metrics (51%); lead generation (31%); and return on investment (31%).

“Ultimately, the best measure of business impact is revenue. That is why you are in business, right?” asked Kim Condor, a strategic in-house design agency leader and branding expert. “However, it can be really difficult or even impossible to directly attribute X dollars to a specific design choice. So, you must think about the entire funnel at each stage. That, and you have to show the impact that creative work and design have.”

If you are struggling with measurement, here are 70 metrics creatives suggested as measures of effectiveness.

Creative Professional Statistic #3: 65% of Creative Professionals Are Getting New Responsibilities

With great appreciation for creativity and design come additional, more strategic, business duties. Creative professionals gain new responsibilities across company departments and practices. Examples include culture, marketing strategy, analytics, customer experience, and even mediation between internal teams.

“I see this as a huge indicator of awesomeness,” assessed Adam Morgan, an executive creative director for Adobe. “Being asked to take on new responsibilities means that in-house teams are getting more accountability and ownership. This is happening because the businesses see the value of the work the team is doing and is giving them more.”

Creative Professional Statistic #4: The Speed at Which Creative Teams Work Is the Top Challenge for 77% of Teams

Marketers and designers also identified the volume of work (71%), strategic contribution (63%), and the increased variety of digital channels that require creative projects (55%) as major challenges.

While there has been a trend to bring creative teams in-house over the last several years, challenges show why external creative partners are still relevant. “Agencies and freelancers can augment and enhance the initiatives of in-house creative teams,” said Sam Harrison, a speaker and author who has penned several books on creative work such as, Idea Spotting, Idea Selling, and Creative Zing.

However, that requires putting pride aside. “For best results, the tenets of collaboration apply. Potent partnerships happen when everyone puts egos aside and sees the chance to create something great and learn something new,” he added.

Creative Professional Statistic #5: 83% of Teams Get Creative Project Approval in Five Review Rounds or Fewer

The review and approval process for creative work has traditionally been one of the biggest barriers to efficiency. However, this year’s survey revealed some progress. 83% of respondents said creative project approval takes five or fewer rounds of review, an improvement of 6%. Additionally, 78% of projects get approval within a week, up from 65% the year before.

“For creative teams dealing with the growing demand for creative work plus new responsibilities, efficiency is key,” wrote our very own Molly Clark, Director of Marketing. “For teams that need to turn around projects faster, the best approach is to work with your reviewers, so they understand what you need from them and how a slow review will impact the timeline of the project.”

Why Are Statistics Important to Creative Teams?

Creativity and statistics have always been seen as polar opposites. After all, they require entirely different skill sets and mindset, plus they rarely ever converge… Or, at least, this is what business professionals considered to be conventional wisdom for decades. In reality, when you combine the chaotic nature of creativity with the discipline found in business, what you get is innovation.

Use our recommended creative professional statistics to inform your future creative decisions. When combined with your team’s creativity, you are sure to achieve your business targets and keep your team’s creative performance in top form. Which statistics did you find the most interesting?

Lytho helps you streamline your entire workflow and harmonize all brand collateral under a single, uniform platform. It is your creative team productivity one-stop-shop. Feel free to reach out to us by scheduling a demo and learning how our creative solutions can boost the effectiveness of your creative projects. We look forward to speaking with you!