60% of CMOs had budgets increase this year and expect further boost in 2023

The CMO75 report surveyed 75 chief marketing officers and marketing directors across the globe to gauge optimism in the industry.

After a strong sector bounce-back in 2021, the past 12 months have been fraught with economic challenges, including record-breaking inflation, a cost of living crisis and the ongoing war in Ukraine. However, the research suggests marketing budgets managed to stay healthy with only 18% of marketers reporting cuts.

The CMO75 report is more optimistic than Warc’s doom and gloom survey published in November, which revealed 36% of marketers were to rein in spend.

The CIM asked marketers how they thought the sector was performing against pre-pandemic conditions, with 53% believing the industry to be stronger than in 2019 and only 27% thinking it was weaker.

Chris Daly, who is chief executive of the CIM, said: “The coming year will test the resilience of our industry, but it is clear the majority of professional marketers see a silver lining in the storm clouds.”

Budgets are also on course to grow in 2023, with 53% expecting a boost to their pot. Of those expecting higher budgets, the anticipated increase is between 11% and 20%, which is much lower than the 21% to 30% budget increases that occurred in 2022.

The main reasons given for smaller budget growth in 2023 were the cost of living crisis (29%), the challenge of attracting and retaining customers (25%) and changing consumer behavior (11%).

Although optimism in the marketing sector was two points higher than last year, marketing bosses revealed major staffing concerns. Three quarters (73%) are worried about skills shortages, 72% are concerned about recruitment and 61% about staff retention.

The report revealed that marketing bosses were likely to be upskilling themselves in data analysis, digital marketing and management skills over the next 12 months.

“As we move deeper into the decade, professional marketers are no longer accepting data and assurances at face value, but rather training themselves to establish a higher degree of professional judgment on business critical decisions which can unlock growth,“ said Daly.

The past year has been a turbulent one for social media platforms, including the fallout from Elon Musk’s Twitter buyout. Asked about their thoughts towards social sites, 65% of marketers said they believe social media isn’t regulated enough while 56% felt a duty to protect clients and customers on social platforms.

International marketers reported their optimism to be three points higher than those working for domestic brands, showing a lag in domestic growth.