Wrike Survey Reveals Creative Professionals Need to Embrace Emerging Technologies

Less than Half Use Automation; Artificial Intelligence Identified as Top Trend to Impact Output

San Jose, Calif., July 26, 2018 -- Wrike, the collaborative work management platform for high-performance teams, released a report today that explores the current state of creative teams; the dynamics between managers and individual contributors; challenges; and the perceived impact of technology on work. Wrike’s Creative Survey Report found that only 45 percent of creative professionals leverage automation and 85 percent of the respondents cite Artificial Intelligence (AI) as the number one trend that will impact creative output over the next two years.

The report also revealed the top challenges creative managers and individual contributors face today:

• All creative professionals agree that systems-based processes, like submitting detailed creative briefs (28 percent), and having the right tools in place to review and approve projects (15 percent) are the biggest challenges with collaborating with other departments.
• Individual contributors struggle with unrealistic expectations (71 percent), not having enough time to be creative (61 percent), and tracking versions of content and feedback (41 percent).
• Conversely, managers stated managing collaborative work with other departments (85 percent) and effectively utilizing team resources (79 percent) as their top challenges, which explains why respondents rated “I feel like I am being used to my potential” a 5.9 on a scale from 1 to 10 with 10 being the strongest level of agreement.

“Digital transformation affects so many different functions across an organization and creative teams are at the center of its impact,” said Wrike CEO and Founder Andrew Filev. “They face myriad marketing channels and stakeholders who require creative content be delivered in almost real-time. Unfortunately, creatives are saddled with too many disparate tools for communicating and it’s now painstakingly difficult to just get things done. But modern work management technology, with tools that establish more process-driven workflows and leverage templates and automation, can allow creatives to get back to what they really want to be doing: being creative.”

These challenges are impacting business - over 90 percent of companies experience project delays and 44 percent shared that half or more of their projects are delayed - but this does not need to be the case. Creative teams around the globe leverage Wrike’s dynamic request forms for creative briefs, templates, and automation capabilities to streamline processes and communications, reducing time wasted on routine, administrative tasks, and improving collaboration. Wrike’s Proofing and Approvals feature eliminates version control issues and expedites project completion. The platform also provides a holistic view into projects for managers, empowering them with the insights they need to optimize their resources and workflow, and increase productivity.