Survey on the impact of teleworking on advertising operations

More than half of respondents said their work productivity had improved, with strategic design work ranking high in both the areas of work where productivity had improved and decreased.

XICA Co., Ltd. has conducted a survey on the actual impact of teleworking on advertising operations as the 16th installment of its original advertising survey and research report, and is now announcing the results.

Background of this survey

What impact is the introduction of teleworking having on advertising operations?

In response to requests from the government and local governments to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, many companies are being forced to introduce teleworking.
In this situation, an increasing number of advertising and promotion staff responsible for corporate marketing and promotional activities are shifting from office work to teleworking.
This time, we surveyed 217 advertising and promotion personnel who are currently working remotely to find out what impact the introduction of telework is having on the productivity of advertising work.

Survey results summary

More than half of advertising and promotion staff say their work productivity has improved through teleworking

1. In advertising work, more than half (52.0%) of respondents said that productivity had improved as a result of teleworking, significantly exceeding the percentage of respondents who said that productivity had decreased (26.7%).

2. As for the reasons for increased productivity, many people cited things like "commuting time is now zero" and "there are fewer unnecessary meetings," which suggested time and communication were more efficient than in office work.

3. On the other hand, the reasons given for the decline in productivity included poor communication, restrictions on the scope of work, and inadequate work environments, such as "it takes too much time to communicate, which slows down decision-making," "there are restrictions on the customer data that can be taken outside," and "the network environment, equipment, and supplies are not in good condition."

4. When asked about changes in productivity in specific advertising tasks, "strategic and tactical design" was most frequently cited as the task for which productivity had increased, while "implementation plan formulation" was most frequently cited as the task for which productivity had decreased.

Summary of survey results

1. Impact of teleworking on advertising productivity

We investigated how teleworking has changed the productivity of advertising work compared to office work, and obtained the following results.

In advertising work, more than half (52.0%) of respondents said that productivity had improved as a result of teleworking, significantly exceeding the percentage of respondents who said that productivity had decreased (26.7%).

These results suggest that the majority of people working in advertising have adapted to teleworking and view it favorably.

When asked why productivity had increased, many people cited the following reasons: time and communication had become more efficient than in office work.

Some reasons for increased productivity

Time Efficiency

• "With no commute time, I now have more time to work."
• "Because I can now be more flexible with my time, I've been able to use it more efficiently."

Streamlining communication

• "There are fewer unnecessary meetings."
• "I can now concentrate better because I don't get phone calls or have colleagues talk to me."

Other opinions

• "I no longer feel fatigue or stress caused by commuting on crowded trains."
• "I feel safer working from home"

On the other hand, the reasons given for the decline in productivity included poor communication, restrictions on work scope, and inadequate work environment.

Some reasons why productivity has declined

Communication problems

• "It takes time to check advertising materials, making it difficult to place ads in a timely manner."
• "Communication takes time and decision-making is delayed."
• "Everything that used to be done with simple verbal communication in the office is now handled by email or phone."

Restrictions on scope of work

• "There are restrictions on the customer data that can be taken out, which inevitably stops business."
• "It's still a paper-based culture, so teleworking can't be completed."

Inadequate work environment

• "We don't have the network environment, equipment, or supplies."
• "My children get in the way and I can't do what I want. It's difficult to do housework, childcare and work in the same space."

Other (unfamiliarity with remote work)

• "Web conferences don't proceed smoothly."
• "I can't stay motivated"
• "Staying at home makes me physically and mentally exhausted"

2. Changes in productivity in specific advertising tasks due to telework

We investigated the productivity of each advertising work process to determine which tasks in the specific advertising work process have been particularly affected by teleworking.

Improved productivity

We surveyed advertising and promotion personnel who responded that teleworking has improved their productivity in advertising placement work about the specific tasks for which they have seen increased productivity, obtaining the following results.

Work with reduced productivity

We surveyed advertising and promotion personnel who responded that their productivity in advertising work has decreased due to teleworking to find out the specific tasks for which productivity has decreased, and obtained the following results.

"Strategic and tactical design" was most frequently cited as an activity for which productivity had increased, while "implementation plan formulation" was most frequently cited as an activity for which productivity had decreased. However, for these two activities, responses were concentrated in both the areas of activities for which productivity had either increased or decreased.

Many people cited "being able to concentrate on formulating plans" as a reason for increased productivity, while "it's difficult to share information" and "frequent video conferences take time" were cited as reasons for decreased productivity. Although we did not survey the number of people on a team involved in advertising work this time, we suspect that the amount of communication due to team size is one factor that determines whether productivity in advertising work increases or decreases.

Regarding measures to improve productivity when working remotely, many respondents called for improvements to the work environment, such as "I want the company to provide equipment (monitors, etc.) so that we can work in a more comfortable environment" and "I want a stable internet environment to be created."

reference:Defining the business process for advertising

• Strategy and tactical design (numerical planning, target setting, appeal setting, channel setting)
• Execution plan formulation (creative design, media selection, schedule setting)
• Advertising and operation
• Reviewing the results of advertising and operation, and updating strategies and tactics based on the review
• Reporting to superiors and management

Survey overview