Key Takeaways

• “In 2023, marketers are expected to deliver profitable growth from their digital bets – all the while attempting to dodge the inevitable impacts of a recession.”
• “Despite real constraints, CMOs are stuck in a ‘cycle of more’ that involves more technology investments, expanding operational remits and an unrealistic focus on customer obsession.”
• “Gartner research finds that catalytic experiences, which change customers' understanding of their own needs and make them feel more confident moving in a new direction, can help markets do less and get more.”
• “Catalytic experiences provide the greatest boost to commercially productive behaviors, such as referring other customers to the brand.”
• “Gartner research shows one catalytic digital experience matters even more than having a large number of memorable brand interactions and rating all of them as high-value.”
• “Catalytic marketing leaders exhibit unusual levels of clarity, connectedness and courage to create a flywheel of commercially productive behaviors.”

More information is available in the Gartner press release, “Gartner Says Catalytic Marketing Allows CMOs to Drive Profitable Growth Amid Macroeconomic Pressures.”

Key Takeaways

• The State of Marketing Budgets in 2023: “Marketing budgets make up 9.1% of total revenue for 2023, down from 9.5% in 2022.”
  
• “Flat growth and declining return are squeezing spending. CMOs are faced with an environment where budget growth has stalled, marketing’s costs have risen, and yield has declined.”
  
• Marketing Strategy: “The majority of marketing leaders believe they lack the budget and resources to fully execute their strategy this year. Likewise, they report being asked to do more with less when supporting enterprise profitably and growth.” 
  
• Marketing Channel Allocations and Priorities: “Flat budgets mean channel tradeoffs, as CMOs adapt to complex journeys and a changing media mix. More than half (50.5%) of CMO’s paid media budget goes to consideration and conversion, while 27.6% goes to brand awareness and 21.3% to customer loyalty/advocacy.”
  
• “Social advertising is the top digital channel investment for 2023 (11.8% of budget), while digital out-of-home the last (5.9%). For offline channels, event marketing remains the largest area of spending at 16.3% while SMS/push notifications the least at 5.2%.”
  
• Gambling on Tech: “Despite the enterprise pressure to decrease marketing tech costs, almost two-thirds of CMOs indicated they planned to increase associated investments as the allure of newer technologies such as generative AI take center-stage. Roughly a quarter of their overall budget is dedicated to marketing technology in 2023.”

More information is available in the Gartner press release, “Gartner Survey Reveals 71% of CMOs Believe They Lack Sufficient Budget to Fully Execute Their Strategy in 2023.”

Key Takeaways

• Play to Win: “Playing to win means budgeting to win. Cutting ad budgets is a classic penny wise, pound foolish scenario. Firms that increase advertising in this environment can enjoy higher sales and market share.”
  
• Do Fewer Things Better: “When a media plan has so many parts it becomes impossible to focus. A streamlined media plan focuses more on audience reach and impact, less on shiny objects.”
  
• Update the Strategy Playbook: “Ensure that the positioning, value proposition, brand story and creative placements resonate with winnable audiences.”
  
• Mind the Long Game: “Buyers willing to make scaled, guaranteed commitments directly to ad sellers will likely find opportunities for efficiency.”
• Re-Frame Media’s Value: “To put the ad strategy and budget on the right footing for financial conversations, marketers need numbers: market sizing, cost per acquisition, incrementality measurement.”

Key Takeaways

• Start with the big business questions: “The ability to effectively communicate value is grounded in an understanding of how the business at large thinks about value.”
  
• Think in terms of marketing value vectors: “Value is qualitative and quantitative, not just dashboards and KPIs – although those things are still important. Marketers must find the understated, or unstated, value marketing provides and tell a story of ROI.” 
  
• Value creation prioritization: “Marketers must think about where these narratives need to land: Who is the audience? What headwinds and pressures do they face? This allows them to think about what outcomes to communicate.” 
• Distilled story of marketing: “Think of the 3-5 core value stories that need to be communicated, and how they will evolve over time with respect to business needs, audience and other factors.”