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Dive summary:
- According to Dentsu Creative’s CMO 2024 report shared with sister publication Marketing Dive, global CMOs have renewed their confidence in creativity: 83% believe creative ideas can transform businesses.
- The annual global survey of 950 CMOs and 25 CEOs in the United States found that 79% of respondents believe marketing is a key driver of business transformation and 81% believe creativity is more important than ever to their business.
- Additionally, more CMOs see generative AI as an enhancement to their business rather than a threat, the report said. More than three-quarters of respondents would be interested in training AI on the look, feel and tone of their brand.
Dive Overview:
CMOs are confident in the value of their role. More than three-quarters of respondents to Dentsu’s annual survey said marketing is a key driver of business transformation. Yet leaders face increasing pressure on how to anticipate trends, invest in innovation and keep up with the current pace of AI.
For example, 88% of CMOs agree that it’s more important than ever for brands to integrate into corporate culture, but nearly as many (74%) don’t know how to engage in meaningful and strategic ways. Similarly, 79% of CMOs feel challenged in anticipating behavioral shifts and creating products and propositions that align with them. As a result, 79% of CMOs plan to invest more than 10% of their budget in innovation, and 56% will invest more than 20% in innovation over the next 12 months.
“What we’re hearing from clients, and our research confirms, is that they need and value creativity more than ever. But it’s a new kind of creativity, business-driven creativity that impacts every aspect of their organization, from communications to commerce to sustainability,” Abbey Klaassen, global brand president of Dentsu Creative, said in a statement.
CMOs are therefore counting on this creativity to drive business results within their organizations. Nearly 85% of CMOs in the United States agree that marketing is considered a driver of business transformation within their organization, and 79% believe that every touchpoint, from communication to commerce, must tell the brand story.
Additionally, more CMOs see generative AI as an enhancement to their business rather than a threat. In last year’s survey, more than two-thirds of CMOs doubted that AI could create content that would evoke emotion. This year, that percentage has dropped to less than half.
CMOs still face additional challenges, including giving up control over their brand stories and assets. While more than three-quarters (77%) of CMOs believe brands should be built in collaboration with other brands, platforms, and creators, 60% are concerned about giving up that control. As a result, CMOs are turning to their agency partners to help navigate this uncertainty. Seventy percent of CMOs want their agencies to deliver what they need to transform their business, not always what they want.
