A new report confirms what Mark Ritson has been shouting about for years: training in marketing makes you better
The gut-feel gurus and self-taught savants can finally sit down and bow out. In a landmark study from Ipsos, new data reveals that formally trained marketers are more capable, with better career progression and greater measurable impact in their role.
Released today, Marketing Anchors: The case for capability in an era of transformation proves once and for all that “marketing knowledge is not a theoretical concern – it is a competitive advantage.”
Surveying 1,226 marketing practitioners across the UK, US, Canada and Australia, participants completed a 10-question ‘Marketing Anchors’ assessment, developed with our own professor Mark Ritson.
The questions are not designed to criticise or ‘catch out’ participants, but to gauge the level of basic knowledge that any working marketer should have to be effective in their role. For example: brand positioning, the 4Ps and distinctive brand assets.
These are the marketing fundamentals – or Marketing Anchors – defined in this report as “the enduring principles that explain how brands grow and how marketing creates commercial value.”
Astonishingly, only 35% of participants met the basic knowledge threshold (7 out of 10 questions correct).
68% of participants couldn’t correctly identify the 4Ps. While 65% couldn’t distinguish between quantitative and qualitative market research methods.
Marketing training is (by far) the biggest differentiator
Digging into the results to understand what is driving the capability gap, marketing training emerged as the clearest differentiator.
In the context of the report, ‘formally trained’ includes a marketing degree, professional certification or a structured online marketing course like The MiniMBA in Marketing.
Formally trained marketers are four times more likely to reach the benchmark, with 40% achieving it compared with 9% of those without formal training.
Breaking it down even further, level of marketing education was – by far – the biggest contributing factor in how well participants understood the marketing anchors. Formal training is 10x more important than years of marketing experience.
Formal training is 10x more important than years of marketing experience
Survey participants were also asked to self-report on career progression, organisational behaviour and business priorities.
Training creates a 28ppt gap in marketers’ confidence in their marketing ability. 86% say they are delivering measurable impact, compared with 68% of marketers without formal training.
The training advantage also plays out in lived experience. 77% report steady career progression versus 54% of marketers without formal training.
Key takeaways for individuals and businesses
For businesses, the data presents both a warning and an opportunity. The Marketing Anchors capability gap uncovers a real danger at the heart of businesses today.
For example, market research was one of the weakest areas in the benchmark assessment, yet 87% of marketers reported confidence in interpreting data. When marketing teams are expected to move at pace, this gap in fundamental knowledge leads to poor decisions and real business consequences.
The report concludes that formal marketing training “sharpens professional standards ... It provides the frameworks that clarify decision-making, the shared language that improves alignment and the conceptual grounding that allows institutional knowledge to build rather than fragment.”
training sharpens professional standards
For individuals, marketing training brings not just greater confidence and impact in your current role, but a long-term investment in yourself.
70% of trained marketers expect to still be working in marketing in ten years’ time, versus 41% of marketers without formal training.
They also report higher levels of motivation and happiness with their career progression. So, for those in it for the long haul, formal marketing training is – empirically – a no-brainer.
Download the full report now: Marketing Anchors: The case for capability in an era of transformation
Or find out more about MiniMBA in Marketing training for yourself and for your team.
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