September2022

This29thEditionofTheCMOSurveyexamineshowmarketersareapproachingstrategies,spending,andorganizationinapost-Covidenvironment.Resultsshowthatsomeaspectsofmarketinghavechangedquiteabitoverthelastthreeyears,whileotheraspectsthatwerechangeddramaticallyduringCovidhavereturnedtopre-Covidlevels.

OptimismfortheU.S.economyhit57.2(outof100)—upfrom50.9attheheightofthepandemicinJune2020andtheall-timelowof47.7inFebruary2009duringtheGreatRecession,butdownfrom66.8reportedinFebruary2022.Customers’continuetoprioritizeproductqualityastheydidthroughoutthepandemic,butlowpricehasnowemergedasaprioritygiveninflationarypressures.Thepandemichaschangedtheuseofchannels—marketersareusingalargernumberofchannels(65%)andareusingsocialchannelstosell(41%).Only10.5%ofmarketersreporttheirformerface-to-facechannelsarenowalldigitaland50%reporttheircompaniesarereturningtooropeningupface-to-facechannels.

Thepandemic’saccelerationofdigitalmarketinginvestmentshaspushedmarketingbudgetsasapercentofcompanybudgetsuptothehighestlevelinCMOSurveyhistory.Thislevelalsocorrespondstothegrowingimportanceofmarketinginorganizations,whichhasincreasedinmorethanhalfofallcompaniesduringthepandemic.Marketingbudgetsasapercentofrevenuesreverttopre-pandemiclevels,reflectingthe12.3%growthinrevenuesoverthelastyearfromthe0.3%increasereportedinFebruary2021attheheightofthepandemic.

Marketersreport10.4%growthinmarketingspendingoverthelastyear,butpredictthislevelwilldecreaseandstarttrendingtowardthepre-Covidlevelof5.8%growthinthenextyear.Brand,CRM,andinnovationinvestmentsfollowthesamepattern—allgrowing,butrevertingtolevelsclosertopre-Covidlevels.Traditionaladvertisingspendingreturnstonegativegrowthaftertemporaryliftsacrossthelasttwosurveys,restartingadecade-longdecline.Mobilespendingasapercentofmarketingbudgetsisflatat13.7%andhasreturnedtopre-pandemiclevels(13.5%)afterclimbingtoahighof23%duringthepandemic.Spendingonsocialmediahasalsobeenflatat14%-15%ofbudgetsoverthelast18months,comingoffaJune2020Covidsplurgewhenspendingreached23.2%ofmarketingbudgets.

Spendingonmarketinganalyticsasapercentageofthemarketingbudgethitanall-timehighof8.9%afteradecade-longlevelof6%-7%.Marketinganalyticsisnowbeingusedinnearlyhalfofallmarketingdecisions,risingfrom38%justbeforethepandemic.Companieshavealsomadeprogressachievingacontributionfrommarketinganalyticstocompanyperformance.Marketershaveinvestedinbuildingtheirknowledgeresourcesthroughthepandemic—nearlydoublinginvestmentsindevelopingknowledgeabouthowtodomarketingandtriplinginvestmentsinmarketingresearchandintelligence.Theseinvestmentshavepaidoffwiththequalityofallmarketingknowledgeresourcesrisingduringthisperiod.Marketresearchhaschangedduringthepandemic,withmorecompaniesstudyingonlineconsumerbehavior(63.3%)andusingmorevideointerviews(57.8%).Only18%aredoingmoretextanalysis,whichissomewhatsurprisinggivenitsavailabilitytomostmarketers.

Thesizeofmarketingorganizationsgrewby15.1%inthelastyearbutisexpectedtodropto7.3%growthinthenextyear,revertingclosertogrowthratesreportedbeforethepandemic.Workfromhomeisnowprevalentacrossindustriesandeconomicsectors,with57.5%ofmarketersreportingtheirteamsworkingfromhomeatleastsomeofthetimeand48.7%workingfromhomeallofthetime.Overall,marketingleadersareconfidentinteamproductivityinbotharrangements,with50%reportingnochangeinworkerproductivitylevels.Marketingleadersaremoreworriedaboutcompanyculturewithmorethanathirdreportingthatworkingfromhomehasweakenedit.Inaccordwithaweakenedculture,45%ofmarketingleadersreportthatyoungmarketersaresocializedlesswithinthecompany.

Marketingleaderswereinvitedtoattendboardmeetings(4.9ona7-pointscalewhere1=notatall,7=veryhighly),with63%ofmarketersreportingparticipationlevelsabovethemidpointofthescale(5ormore).Thesenumbersshowthatmarketinghasareasonablystrongseatatthetableinmanycompanies.ThepercentageofmarketingleaderswhoreporttheircompanieswouldusetheirbrandstotakeastandonpoliticallychargedissuesreachedaCMOSurveyhighat30.2%ofcompaniesupfromthepre-Covidlevelof18.5%.Whenaskedaboutactionstoreducethenegativeimpactofmarketing-related

activitiesontheecologicalenvironment,levelsshowincreasesfromlastyearbuthavenotyetreboundedtopre-Covidlevels,exceptinchangestothebrand.

AllthreereportscontainothertopicsandmetricsthatIhopeyouwillfindusefulasyounavigatethispost-Covidenvironment.

ChristineMoorman

?ChristineMoorman

T.AustinFinch,Sr.ProfessorofBusinessAdministrationFuquaSchoolofBusiness,DukeUniversity

FounderandDirector,TheCMOSurvey?

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September2022

AboutTheCMOSurvey?

MISSION

29thEDITION

SPONSORS

Tocollectanddisseminatetheopinionsoftopmarketersinordertopredictthefutureofmarkets,trackmarketingexcellence,andimprovethevalueofmarketinginorganizationsandsociety.

TheCMOSurveyisanobjectivesourceofmarketinginformationandanon-commercialservicededicatedtothefieldofmarketing.

?ChristineMoorman

FoundedinAugust2008,TheCMOSurveyisadministeredtwiceayear.Questionsrepeattoobservetrendsovertimeandnewquestionsareaddedtotapintomarketingtrends.

This29thEditionofTheCMOSurveyincludesquestionsabouthowmarketinghaschangedinapost-Covidera,includingmarketingleadership,spending,jobs,marketinganalyticsandresearch,channels,andDE&I.Theimpactofinflationarypressuresonmarketingisalsoexamined.

Sponsorsforthe29theditioninclude

DeloitteLLP,DukeUniversity’sFuqua

SchoolofBusiness,andtheAmerican

MarketingAssociation.

SponsorssupportTheCMOSurveywith

intellectualandfinancialresources.

SurveydataandparticipantlistsareheldinstrictconfidenceandarenotprovidedtoSurveysponsorsoranyotherparties.

3

4

?ChristineMoorman

September2022

SurveyMethodologyandReports

SURVEYREPORTSADMINISTRATIONSAMPLE

ToplineReport

offersanaggregateviewofsurveyresults

HighlightsandInsightsReport

shareskeysurveymetrics,trends,andinsightsovertime

FirmandIndustryBreakoutReport

displayssurveyresultsbysectors,headcount,andsales

Interpretiveguide:

?M=Average

?SD=Standarddeviation

?B2B=Business-to-Businessfirms

?B2C=Business-to-Consumerfirms

?Emailcontactwithfourfollow-upreminders

?TheSurveywasinfieldfromJuly12-August4,2022.

?2937marketingleadersatfor-profitU.S.companies

?273respondedfora9.3%responserate

?95.6%ofrespondentsareVP-levelorabove

September2022

SurveyParticipants(n=273)

ECONOMICSECTOR

12.1%

42.3%

26.1%

19.5%

B2BProductB2BServices

B2CProductB2CServices

?ChristineMoorman

INDUSTRYSECTOR

Technology[Software/Platform]

Manufacturing

ProfessionalServices/Consulting

Healthcare

ConsumerPackagedGoods

Banking/Finance/Insurance

Retail/Wholesale

Energy

Transportation

Communications/Media

Pharmaceuticals/Biotech

ConsumerServices

Mining/Construction

RealEstate

Education

20.2%11.8%11.0%10.7%9.9%9.6%9.2% 3.3%2.9%2.6%2.2% 1.8% 1.8% 1.5%1.5%

5

Fewerthan5050-99

100-499 500-9991,000-2,4992,500-4,999

5,000-9,999Morethan10,000

September2022

SurveyParticipants(n=273)

NUMBEROFEMPLOYEES

16.5%

8.5%

11.0%

9.6%

5.1%

8.5%

17.3%

%INTERNETSALES

0% 1-10%11-49%50-99%

100%

37.9%

29.9%

18.0%

7.7%

6.5%

?ChristineMoorman

SALES

REVENUE

16.5%

11.3%

23.5%

13.9%

22.6%

6.0%

7.5%

7.9%

3.4%

<$10Million

$10-25Million

$26-99Million

$100-499Million

$500-999Million

$1-2.5Bilion

$2.6-5Billion

$5.1-9.9Billion

7.5%

3.5%

$10-49Billion

Morethan$50+Billion

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September2022

28thEditionTopics

MacroeconomicForecastsCustomersandChannelsMarketingSpendingManagingDigitalMarketingReturnsSocialMediaandMobileMarketingMarketingJobsMarketingLeadershipMarketingandDiversity,Equity,andInclusionMarketingAnalyticsMarketingKnowledgeMarketingPerformance

?ChristineMoorman

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14

18

31

36

41

46

55

59

73

77

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September2022

MacroeconomicForecasts

OptimismfortheU.S.economyhit57.2(outof100),downfromthe66.8reportedinFebruary2022,butupdramaticallyfrom50.9attheheightoftheCOVID-19pandemicinJune2020andtheall-timelowof47.7inFebruary2009duringtheGreatRecession.TheHealthcaresectorismostoptimistic(62.6),likelyduetotheboomexperiencedduringthepandemic.

OptimismregardingtheU.S.economy’scurrentquarter(Q32022)comparedtolastquarter(Q22022)alsoshowsweakening,withonly12.1%ofmarketersreportingtobe“moreoptimistic”and66.3%“l(fā)essoptimistic.”O(jiān)ptimismcomparedtothelastquarterlevelshavenotreachedthelowobservedinJune2020(85.3%lessoptimistic).Thisdeclineinoptimismrelativetothepreviousquarteralignswithinflationsurges,ongoingsupply-chainissues,loomingfearsaboutthejobmarket,aswellasrecessionaryfears.

Amajorityofcompaniesreportthatinflationarypressuresaredecreasingmarketingspendinglevels(42.3%),butalmostjustasmany(41.0%)noteneitheranincreaseordecrease.Just16.7%reportinflationarypressuresareincreasingmarketingspendinglevels.Severalsectorsappeartobeinsulatedfromtheseeffects.CompaniesintheEducation(100%),Energy(66.7%),Transportation(57.1%),andProfessionalServices(54.2%)sectorsaremorelikelythanaveragetonotfeelthepinch.Marketingleadersinthelargestcompanies($10+Binsales)reportmarketingspendingreductionsduetoinflationwhilemarketersinthesmallestcompanies(<$10Minsales)reportincreasesinmarketingspending.Inflationarypressuresaremostlikelytoraiseprices(65%ofcompanies)while40%reportstrengtheningtheirvalueproposition.Only13%reportmakinglayoffs,pointingtothecontinuingtightlabormarket.

MACROECONOMICS

CUSTOMERS/CHANNELS

SPENDING

DIGITAL

SOCIAL/MOBILE

JOBS

LEADERSHIP

DE&I

ANALYTICS

KNOWLEDGE

PERFORMANCE

?ChristineMoorman8

40

30

20

September2022

OptimismfortheU.S.economyplummets

RateyouroptimismabouttheU.S.economyonascalefrom0-100with0beingtheleastoptimisticand100beingthemostoptimistic.

100

90

80

69.6

70

60

66.366.862.7

50.9

57.2

50

10

0

Feb-20Jun-20Feb-21Aug-21Feb-22Sept-22

?ChristineMoorman

EconomicSector

B2BProduct:60.3

B2BServices:59.3

B2CProduct:48.6

B2CServices:56.7

Insights

OptimismfortheUSeconomyisbelowhistoricaveragesacrossmostsectors.Healthcare(62.6)andManufacturing(62.3)arethemostoptimistic,whileBanking/Finance/Insurance(45.9)andConsumerServices(46.3)aretheleastsanguine—likelyduetothebankingindustry’spredictionsofarecessionandConsumerServices’responsetoconsumersshiftingawayfromrelying

ononlineservices.

9

66.3%

55.3%

39.7%

37.2%

30.6%

22.6%

30.1%

22.0%

32.7%

29.6%

37.4%

30.0%

7.8%

September2022

U

nce

rtaintyabouttheeconomyreturnstoearlypandemiclevels;previousoptimismdampenedbyinflation

AreyoumoreorlessoptimisticabouttheU.S.economycomparedtolastquarter?

85.3%

32.6%

21.7%

12.1%

6.9%

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

Feb-20Jun-20Feb-21Aug-21Feb-22Sept-22

MoreOptimisticNoChangeLessOptimistic

?ChristineMoorman

EconomicSector

MoreOptimistic

Less

Optimistic

B2BProductB2BServicesB2CProduct

B2CServices

60.8%

65.6%

78.0%

65.4%

14.7%

13.1%

8.0%

7.7%

Insights

OptimismabouttheeconomyhassunknearlytolevelsnotseensincetheheightofthepandemicinJune2020.Pushingthistrend,B2CProduct(78.0%)andcompanieswithatleast50%ofsalesthroughtheInternet(75.0%)aremorelikelytobelessoptimisticabouttheeconomy.

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September2022

Howinflationisinfluencingmarketingspending

41.0%

NOIMPACT

frominflationarypressures

16.7%

INCREASING

marketingspendinglevels

42.3%

DECREASING

marketingspendinglevels

?ChristineMoorman

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September2022

Companyandindustrydifferencesineffectofinflation

EconomicSectorIndustrySector

InternetSalesRevenues

Employees

?ChristineMoorman

ReduceMarketingSpending

B2CServices(61.5%)

ConsumerServices(75.0%)ConsumerPackagedGoods(57.7%)

Communications/Media(57.1%)

11-49%(53.7%)

$10+Billion(60.9%)

1,000-2,499(58.3%)

10,000+(58.3%)

Increase

MarketingSpending

B2BServices(21.3%)

Pharma/Biotech(40.0%)

ConsumerServices(25.0%)

ProfessionalServices(25.0%)

100%(35.3%)

<$10Million(29.7%)

<50(26.3%)

Noeffecton

MarketingSpending

B2BProduct(45.5%)

Education(100.0%)

Energy(66.7%)

Transportation(57.1%)

0%(56.6%)

$500-999Million(46.7%)

<50(52.6%)

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MarketingActivity

%Reporting

Higherprices

64.9%

Strongervalueproposition

40.0%

Strongerbrandbuildinginvestments

26.8%

Moreautomatedmarketing

26.3%

Lowerinnovationlevels

19.0%

Morepromotionalactivities

18.5%

Addnewchannels

16.1%

Addnewmarkets

15.1%

Marketingemployeelayoffs

12.7%

September2022

Inflationputspressureonpricingandvalueproposition;employmentlevelsunaffected

Whichaspectsofyourmarketingactivitieshavebeeninfluencedbyinflationarypressures?

?ChristineMoorman

Insights

EchoingdampenedoptimismfortheUSeconomy,marketingactivitiesarealsobeinginfluencedbyinflationarypressures.Nearlytwo-thirdsofcompaniesreporttheyhaveraisedpricesasaresultofinflationarypressures.B2CProductcompanies(73.5%)arethemostlikelytoreporthigherprices.Intermsofindustrysector,notsurprisingly,anoverwhelmingmajorityofConsumerPackagedGoodscompanies(84.0%)reporthigherprices.Inconjunctionwithraisingprices,companiesalsorealizetheneedtostrengthentheirvaluepropositionsandbrandbuildinginvestments.CompaniesintheEnergysectorleadthepackonbothofthesefronts(71.4%foreachquestion),perhapsduetoconsumers’warinessofskyrocketinggasprices.Employeelayoffsarenotbeingusedbymarketerstocontrolcosts,pointingtotightlabormarkets.

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September2022

CustomersandChannels

Marketersreportthatsuperiorproductquality(rankedasthetoppriorityby30.0%),excellentservice(18.5%),andlowprice(17.2%)willbetheir

customers’topprioritiesinthenextyear.Thesefindingsmirrorthoseobservedoneyearago,withtheexceptionoflowpricebreakingintothetopthreepriorities,whereasitwasrankedin5thplaceoneyearago.Thisislikelyduetoinflationarypressurescausingcustomerstobecomemuchmorepriceconscious.Theemphasisonsuperiorproductqualityisatrendfirstobservedsincetheonsetofthepandemic,andisespeciallytruewithintheB2CProductsectorwhereproductqualityincreasedasthetoppriorityfrom7.4%pre-pandemicto39.3%inFebruary2022andcurrentlysitsat36.0%.

Divingoneleveldeeper,asimilartrendemergeswhenrestrictingtoConsumerPackagedGoodscompanies,whereproductqualityincreasedfrombeingidentifiedasthetoppriorityby0.0%ofCPGcompaniesinFebruary2020to52.0%justtwoandahalfyearslater.InFebruary2020,45.5%ofConsumerPackagedGoodscompaniesidentifiedsuperiorinnovationastheircustomers’toppriority,apercentagethathascontinuedtoslidethroughoutthepandemicanddroppedto4.0%inthissurvey.Thistrendalignswithconsumersleaningintotried-and-truebrandsduringtheirstress-inducedpandemicshopping,pushingcompaniestoshiftfundingawayfrominnovationandintocoreproductlines.

Consideringhowthepandemichaschangedmarketers’useofchannels,65.1%ofmarketersreportanincreaseinthenumberofchannelsusedoverthelastthreeyears,includingaddingadirect-to-consumer/customerchannel(30.9%).Halfofallmarketersstatetheyarestartingtoreturntooropennewface-to-facechannels.B2BProductsandServicesweremostlikelytoreturntooropennewface-to-facechannels(both58.6%).Infact,face-to-facechannelsarealiveandwellacrosstheboard,withonly10.5%ofmarketersreportingthatformerface-to-facechannelshavebecomedigital.B2CServicesaremuchmorelikelythanaverage(27.3%)toconvertformerface-to-facechannelstodigital,likelybecausemoreconsumershavegrownaccustomedtotakingcareofservicesonlineduringthepandemic.Forty-onepercentofmarketersreportnowusingsocialchannelstosell.Despiteconsumerpopularity,only1.3%reportintegratinggamingintochannelstosell.

MACROECONOMICS

CUSTOMERS/CHANNELS

SPENDING

DIGITAL

SOCIAL/MOBILE

JOBS

LEADERSHIP

DE&I

ANALYTICS

KNOWLEDGE

PERFORMANCE

?ChristineMoorman14

September2022

Customerscontinuetoprioritizesuperiorproductquality

Rankyourcustomers'topthreeprioritiesoverthenext12months.(%reporting1stpriority)

?ChristineMoorman

Insights

DuringtheCOVID-19pandemic,companiesshiftedtheirfocusawayfromtrustingrelationshipsandsuperiorinnovationtosuperiorproductquality,atrendthathascontinuedinthissurvey.ThiswasparticularlytrueforB2CProductcompanies,36.0%ofwhichrankedsuperiorproductqualityastheircustomers’toppriority.Thistrendalignswithconsumersleaningintotried-and-truebrandnameproductsandservicesduringtheirstress-inducedpandemicpurchasing.Asin-personexperiencesreturn,excellentserviceagainbecamealargerpriority.

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?ChristineMoorman

September2022

HowCovidhaschangedchannels

Whichstatementsreflecthowyourchannelstrategyhaschangedoverthelastthreeyears?

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?ChristineMoorman

September2022

Industryheterogeneityinchannelstrategychanges

B2BProduct

B2BServices

B2CProduct

B2CServices

Increased

numberof

channels

Returnedto

face-to-face

channels

Usingsocial

channels

tosell

Facetoface

havebecome

digitalchannels

Addeddirectto

consumer

channel

65.7%

58.6%

28.6%

28.6%

10.0%

58.6%

58.6%

44.8%

20.7%

6.9%

73.2%

31.7%

61.0%

39.0%

9.8%

54.5%

36.4%

45.5%

45.5%

27.3%

September2022

MarketingSpending

Thepandemic’saccelerationofdigitalmarketinginvestmentshaspushedmarketingbudgetsasapercentofoverallcompanybudgetsuptothehighestlevel(13.8%)inCMOSurveyhistory.Thislevelalsocorrespondswiththegrowingimportanceofmarketinginorganizations,whichhasincreasedinmorethanhalfofallcompaniesduringthepandemic.Ontheotherhand,marketingbudgetsasapercentofrevenuesreverttopre-pandemiclevels.Thisshiftreflectsthesoaringrevenuesthatmarketersreportoverthelastyear—growing12.3%overthelastyearfromthe0.3%increasereportedinFebruary2021attheheightofthepandemic.

Marketingbudgetsremain,onaverage,4.4%smallerthanR&Dbudgets—growingfrom7.2%smallersixmonthsago,againpointingtotheincreasedimportanceofmarketing.Thereisconsiderablevarianceinthisrating,however,with20.5%ofcompaniesspending50%ormoreonmarketingthanR&Dand25.3%spending50%ormoreonR&Dthanmarketing.

Marketersreport10.4%growthinoverallmarketingspendingoverthelastyear,afigurethatisflatcomparedtoFebruary2022,butdoubletheincreasereportedoneyearago.Marketerspredictthatthisfigurewilldecreaseandstarttrendingtowardthepre-Covidlevelof5.8%growth.DigitalmarketingspendinggrowthhasacceleratedsinceTheCMOSurveystartedtomeasureitinFebruary2021(+11.5%)toahighinFebruary2022(+20.2%),resultingindigitalmarketinginvestmentsaccountingfor57.9%ofmarketingbudgets.Thisgrowthhasalsostartedtoflattento15%andisexpectedtodropto10.1%inthenextyear.

Brand,CRM,andinnovationinvestmentsinnewproductorserviceintroductionsareallexpectedtogrow,butreverttolevelsclosertopre-Covidlevels.Interestingly,weobserveashifttowardbrandinginvestmentsinthispost-Coviderawithmarketersexpectingtospend9.6%moreonbrandinginthenextyearand6.8%moreonCRM.ThesenumbersarethereversefromFebruary2020ratingswhenmarketersexpectedtospend9%onCRMand7.1%onbranding.Innovationinvestmentsdroptopre-Covidlevelswithmarketersreportinga5.6%increaseinnewproductintroductionsanda4.3%increaseinnewserviceintroductions.Traditionaladvertisingspending(-0.7%)showsadownwardturnafterliftsinthelasttwosurveys,restartingadecade-longdeclineinthesebudgets.

MACROECONOMICS

CUSTOMERS/CHANNELS

SPENDING

DIGITAL

SOCIAL/MOBILE

JOBS

LEADERSHIP

DE&I

ANALYTICS

KNOWLEDGE

PERFORMANCE

?ChristineMoorman18

11

10%

September2022

Marketingbudgetsasapercentofoverallcompanybudgetsrisetoall-timeCMOSurveyhigh

Marketingexpensesaccountforwhatpercentofyourcompany’soverallbudget?

15%