The Association of National Advertisers asked senior marketers in the corporate world about their companies’ marketing structure, and MarketingVox highlights the findings. When marketers were asked if, over the past two years, their marketing function has become more or less centralized, this was the breakdown:

• 49% reported more centralization
• 22% reported more decentralization
• 30 percent say it’s stayed the same

And when they were asked whether the structural changes have improved or worsened their marketing department’s abilities, these were the results:

• 48% reported an improvement
• 17% reported a worsening
• 36% reported no change

While this tells me something about trends and satisfaction, absent the second set of findings being segmented by the first set of findings, it tells me little about whether centralization or decentralization is proving more effective.

But the good news is that our next issue of The Lawlor Review will examine centralization and decentralization directly from the perspective of higher education marketers. Stay tuned!