Only 26% of marketers in the U.S. have formal marketing training, according to marketing professor and columnist Mark Ritson. In the UK, over half (53.8%) of marketers have no marketing-related qualification at all. And Australia’s not exempt — according to the Australian Marketing Institute and ADMA, a significant portion of our marketing workforce also lacks formal education, leading to a growing capability crisis as the industry evolves faster than most can keep up.
In any other profession, this would be alarming — but in marketing, it’s not just normal, it’s rewarded. Not having a degree is a flex. And I don’t even blame it.
Because the truth is, most marketing degrees don’t teach the science-backed principles that actually grow brands. The latest science is still absent from most curriculums. That gap between real marketing knowledge and what’s being taught (or not taught) is part of the problem.
You wouldn’t hire a plumber, electrician, doctor or lawyer without any training. So why trust someone untrained to tell you how to invest your money, your reputation, and the livelihoods of you and your staff?
I suspect it’s because most people don’t really understand what marketing is — including most marketers. At the same time, starting a side hustle or launching a brand has never been easier. Anyone can do it. And many do.
Because it’s so common — and because every business needs some kind of marketing — business owners take what they can get. But branding and marketing aren’t casual tasks. They’re complex, strategic processes that operate within shifting environments and affect how people make choices — and how businesses grow.
It’s no wonder marketers aren’t trusted. In many organisations, they’re not even consulted — not by founders, not by the C-suite. They’re the last to be asked and the first to be blamed. Over time, marketing becomes an afterthought instead of a driver. Strategy gets handed to sales. Creative gets outsourced. And the person who should be shaping how the business grows gets reduced to colouring in someone else’s plan.
Every new venture requires investment. And like any investment, the goal is to generate a return. That’s what good marketing is supposed to help with. Marketers with a deeper understanding of the science and systems behind it are simply better at delivering that return — because they know what to focus on, and what compounds.
Compounding effect
The marketing practices that genuinely grow a business — building mental availability, improving search visibility, creating distinctive assets — don’t give instant results. But over time, their effects multiply.
It’s like owning property. Every ad impression, customer interaction or recognisable asset adds equity. You might not see the payoff right away, but you’re building something — brand equity — that gets stronger the longer you stick with it.
Cut corners, neglect good brand practices, or rely too heavily on short-term performance marketing, and you undermine the compound effect. In many cases, you may be resetting the clock or just preventing your returns without any idea how much incredible value or market power you could have had.
That’s why long-term consistency beats short-term tactics. Performance marketing can’t carry a brand on its own. The real value is built quietly, through systems, memory, and time.
The effect on Australians
The impact of all this? If good marketing is rarely taught or practiced, poor marketing fills the vacuum.
Businesses become over-reliant on salespeople. Agencies fall back on what’s trendy. Startups copy tactics from LinkedIn influencers. No one checks if it works — they just keep doing it.
This creates confusion for businesses, frustration for customers, and leaves everyone vulnerable to shiny gimmicks and scams. Over time, industries underperform. Trust erodes. People settle for less.
Even in sectors that rely on public trust — like charities — marketing is often poorly guided. Hundreds of millions in donor dollars are poured into lotteries, lead-buying schemes, and unethical door-knocking, with little accountability and no real long-term strategy behind it.
And that hits all of us — not just the marketers. It affects how whole categories grow, how consumers behave; it weakens our economy and prevents shared value between people and businesses (our society).
so, What can we do about it?
This won’t change if we keep waiting for someone else to fix it. We can’t assume politicians will grow a backbone — they’ll regulate the surface-level stuff, like invasive door-knocking, but the sickness runs deeper. It’s systemic. And we know shareholders and boards have accepted it as business as usual. That’s why the shift won’t start at the top. It starts with those who care enough to choose better.
We built Shepherd® to fix this — and now we’re inviting you to help fix it too.
If you’re a business owner, marketing manager, or founder who’s sick of the noise, confusion, and waste… we’re ready to work with you. Our new service packages are built to give you clarity, confidence, and marketing systems that actually work — backed by science, not guesswork.
If you’re a community leader, industry group, or local organisation trying to support your business ecosystem — we want to partner with you. Through Growth Hub, we’ve created a way for entire communities to access better marketing foundations, templates, guides, and tools — all designed to scale capability, not complexity.
We’ve also launched an affiliate program so that partners who share these tools with their network can get paid while raising the standard.
This isn’t just about fixing one brand at a time. It’s about creating a new normal — where better marketing is accessible, scalable, and trustworthy again.
If you’re ready to be part of that shift, we’d love to work with you.
Let’s rebuild it — together.
