The CMO Survey by Deloitte is conducted bi-annually by Duke University and the recently released 28th edition provides “insights into the latest trends impacting the world of marketing and how marketers are engaging with the ever-changing landscape.”
Today we’re looking at the top 5 takeaways from the survey.
- Marketing Budgets and Spending on the Rise
Despite lingering uncertainty about the economy, marketing budgets have risen to 11.8%, a return to pre-pandemic levels. This is the first time in the last decade that marketing budgets broke 10% and increases in marketing spending are expected over the next year in every category.
- Marketers Managing Customer Privacy and 3rd Party Data
3rd party cookies will be phased out by 2023, leaving marketers concerned about how they can engage customers and manage privacy concerns. Marketers expect the use of 3rd party data to decrease, and 58.3% of marketers say their companies are strengthening their privacy strategies.
- The Role of Marketing in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Efforts
Marketing spending or DEI initiatives has increase by 10.8% compared to a year ago. The most impactful Dei marketing initiatives include increased employee acquisition and/or retention, improved brand reputation, and improved relationships with stakeholders.
- The Impact of Influencer Marketing and Spend
There is consensus that social media spend will increase at a faster pace, reaching 23.5% of marketing budgets over the next five years. Marketers are also noting the importance of influencers, especially in consumer packaged goods and consumer services.
- Marketing Jobs Are Up
Companies are reporting an average increase in marketing job growth of 12.2% in the past year. The Great Resignation is cited as top-of-mind, and many marketing leaders are devoting additional budget to training and development. 59.2% of marketers said they were building capabilities themselves through training & hiring new employees with needed skills. Of note is that companies who have revenue between $100-499 million said that their marketing teams grew by 19.4%, significantly higher than the average for all companies.
Finally, digital marketing activities will continue to lead the way. Investment in digital marketing activities has increased in the last year, with most of the companies investing in data analytics (78%), website optimization (74%), and digital media and search (71%). These figures align to the rapid acceleration of digital transformation that happened during the pandemic, with increases projected for the foreseeable future.
Read the full report here.
