Three quarters of marketers say the industry is stuck in ‘survival mode’

LONDON July 23, 2026 – Three quarters (74%) of UK marketers say the industry is stuck in ‘survival mode,’ with nearly two thirds (64%) admitting they spend most of their time reacting to short-term requests rather than planning ahead. 

The findings come from The Marketer’s Survival Guide, a new report from Optimizely, the AI platform for marketing. Based on a survey of 100 UK marketers, the report explores how AI hasn’t yet delivered on its promise to lighten the load, leaving marketers trapped in a cycle of reactive execution with little time for creativity or long-term planning.  

It's not just an industry-level problem, individual marketers feel it too. Nearly three quarters (72%) of marketers admit they themselves spend too much time in survival mode, reacting to demands and requests.  

The research suggests that marketers aren’t lacking ambition or creative ideas. What they are lacking is the time to act on it. More than half (54%) say they move from campaign to campaign without enough time to properly evaluate performance, while 51% feel stuck in a cycle of constant execution without a comprehensive strategy. Almost six in 10 (59%) say the amount of admin they deal with has increased over the last three years, and 31% say admin has increased ‘dramatically.’ 

“Operating in survival mode might get a campaign over the line, but it’s not how great marketing gets made,” said Tara Corey, SVP, Marketing at Optimizely. “What this research shows is that the ambition is still there, and so is the creativity. But too often, teams are stuck in ways of working that leave very little room for either. Businesses need to build the conditions for their marketing teams to thrive, not just survive." 

However, the findings also reveal that marketers are actively looking for ways out of survival mode. 85% of marketers say a unified platform for content, personalization and experimentation would dramatically improve productivity, while 43% see better integration of AI with marketing tools as the biggest opportunity for improved efficiency and optimization. 

Many organizations have already started to tackle the problem. Nearly half (46%) of marketers say their organization has invested in all-in-one marketing and workflow platforms in the past year, while 44% have introduced more automation to reduce manual work.  

The Marketer's Survival Guide explores how marketing teams can move beyond reactive execution and spend more time on the work that drives growth. Read the full report here: https://www.optimizely.com/field-notes/guides/the-marketers-survival-guide