Almost half of marketers admit that inefficient MarTech and AdTech platforms waste time, budget and effort, following a new report which revealed the amount of digital waste produced by the marketing and advertising industry.
New findings have revealed the sustainability double standards of the industry, as the report, conducted by Investis Digital (iDX), found that only 17% of companies said their different technology components work together ‘extremely well’.
The average company admitted they use up to six different systems.
Some 47% of marketers in the report agreed that poorly-used MarTech and AdTech platforms ultimately leads to increased levels of digital waste and carbon emissions caused by data centres and energy consumption.
The consequences extend beyond simply financial waste, with Investis Digital’s yearly digital waste being equivalent to the global CO2 emissions from the aviation industry – a sector that represents over 2% of the world’s total CO2 emissions.
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One internet search results in the emissions of 0.2 grams of carbon, meaning an office of 100 people searching 50 terms a day will generate 250kg of carbon a year.
“In the continuous attempt to evolve digital strategies, businesses are pouring significant amounts of money and overhead into MarTech, AdTech, content and people,” said Investis global CEO Myles Peacock.
“But they lack the correct governance and overarching connected content framework to join everything together, creating significant waste throughout the ecosystem, as well as mixed end results. Forecasts suggest that businesses will spend an astounding $4.7 trillion on marketing by 2025, with one-quarter of that spend going to MarTech specifically.”
“Marketing and communications only work when they’re seen by the audiences that need to see them, and then acted upon. The rest is pollution,” concluded Peacock.
The report, which surveyed over 250 marketing and IT leaders at companies with over 500 employees, follows recent data about the expanding needs of the digital sector and the resulting levels of digital waste.
According to Forbes, a digital economy will require 50% more power by 2030, with computing workloads expected to increase eightfold in the next nine years, and data storage needing to increase by a factor of 30 over the same period.
