Brandwatch Report: Marketers' Insight Gap
Analysis based on 12 articles · First reported Mar 17, 2026 · Last updated Mar 19, 2026
The release of 'The Marketer of 2026' report by Cision===Brandwatch, a Cision company, highlights the growing 'insight gap' in marketing, where data access doesn't equate to audience understanding. This event is likely to increase demand for integrated consumer intelligence platforms and AI-powered tools, benefiting companies like Cision===Brandwatch and Cision that offer such solutions.
Cision===Brandwatch, a Cision company, released 'The Marketer of 2026' report on March 17, 2026, revealing a significant 'insight gap' in modern marketing. The report, based on a survey of 1,028 marketing professionals and an analysis of 750,000 online industry conversations, indicates that only 25% of marketers truly understand their audiences despite unprecedented data access. It highlights a shift in the marketer's role from campaign execution to decoding audience behavior and informing strategic decisions. Key challenges include predicting behavior, interpreting cultural shifts, and turning data into actionable insights. The report also emphasizes the central role of AI and automation in marketing, with 84% of marketers considering them important skills. Amy Jones, CMO at Cision, stressed that competitive advantage will come from translating fragmented signals into insight and action, not just collecting more data. The findings suggest a growing need for integrated consumer intelligence platforms to unify audience data and transform signals into strategic insights, with marketers reallocating time from traditional activities to AI workflow management and data analysis.
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