Unveiling the Surprising Statistics That Will Reshape the Role of CMOs and Gendered Cost of Living

CMOs risk becoming ‘corporate figureheads’

The majority (69%) of senior and executive-level marketers believe that CMOs are at risk of becoming mere "corporate figureheads" without the actual power to bring about change. Nonetheless, 91% of survey respondents express confidence in the capability of the CMO in their respective organizations to influence the financial success of the business.

According to 80% of marketers, CMOs have a higher chance of achieving success when they provide diverse experiences, perspectives, and merits.

In terms of their own businesses, marketers tend to have a positive outlook, as 80% trust their company's leaders to lead them in the right direction. Additionally, 76% agree that most of their team members are enthusiastic about the future of the business.

Despite the overall optimism, many marketers express significant concern regarding their company's short-term approach. Approximately 45% of them agree that their company has compromised core values in order to achieve short-term wins.

Most marketers think marketing skills have ‘completely changed’ over past decade

Research conducted by the Chartered Institute of Marketing reveals that an overwhelming 79% of marketing professionals affirm that the skillset demanded for their role has undergone a complete transformation in the last ten years.

A significant number of marketers express a lack of confidence in their ability to fulfill these new requirements, as 19% believe they possess only a portion of the necessary skills for their role.

Regarding technology skills, the study reveals a disparity between marketers' confidence and their actual proficiency levels across the industry. Except for marketing theory, email, ecommerce, and lead generation, confidence levels consistently surpass actual abilities. Notably, the content marketing, usability, and social media skills areas exhibit the widest skills gap.

The research reveals that marketers at various levels have enhanced their skills in the past year. Surprisingly, individuals in assistant and graduate-level roles have experienced a decline in proficiency in four out of twelve skill areas. The only domain that has shown notable improvement is social media, with a significant increase of 9%.

Overall, marketers of all seniority levels have witnessed substantial growth in social media (8%), ecommerce and lead generation (5%), and email marketing (5%).

Source: Chartered Institute of Marketing

Women feel more impacted than men by cost of living crisis

The cost of living crisis is having a greater impact on women than men, with 45% of women reporting feeling financially worse off compared to this time last year. In contrast, only 35% of men express the same sentiment.

In terms of cutting back on expenses, women tend to be more proactive than men. Nearly half (46%) of women have reduced their spending on clothing and accessories in the past year, while only around one third (33%) of men have done so.

When it comes to future plans, the majority of women (51%) are intending to scale back on non-essential purchases, whereas less than two in five (39%) men express similar intentions.

Consumer spending is projected to increase by 6.5% to reach £1.73trn in 2023, according to Mintel. However, the growth is largely attributed to the rise in prices. This is in contrast to the remarkable 15% growth observed between 2021 and 2022.

In response to the strain on their discretionary spending, consumers have modified their takeaway behavior. Only 24% of British consumers now order home delivery or takeaway once a week or more in 2023, compared to 30% in 2021.

Source: Mintel

IPA Bellwether presents mixed picture for marketers

According to the latest IPA Bellwether report, total marketing budgets across all channels saw a net increase of 5.3% in the third quarter of 2023. However, this figure is lower than the 6.4% growth experienced in the second quarter and represents the weakest level of budget growth since the fourth quarter of 2022.

Meanwhile, there has been an upward trend in those revising their budgets for 'main media', which are typically utilized for brand building. In fact, a net balance of 7.4% of companies have reported an increase in their main media budgets this quarter. This signifies the strongest growth within this category in the past year and a half.

This is in stark contrast to the factors driving growth in the previous quarter, where sales promotion expenditure reached unprecedented levels. However, during the most recent quarter, more marketers were reducing their sales promotion budgets rather than increasing them, leading to a net balance of -1.5%.

According to S&P Global, co-authors of Bellwether, they predict that UK ad spend will decrease by 0.6% in the 2023 calendar year and by 0.4% in 2024. This decline in spend is a result of the downgraded growth expectations for the UK economy as a whole. Previously, there was a forecast for modest growth of 0.4% in 2024, but now it is expected to decline by 0.1% next year.

Consumer confidence falls across the board

All the measures of consumer confidence in GfK’s October Barometer have fallen as the wider UK economy stalls.

The combined measure of confidence, known as the overall index score, decreased by nine points to reach -30. Particularly concerning is the major purchase index, which dropped by 14 points to -34, indicating a lower likelihood of consumers making significant purchases.

In addition, the public holds a pessimistic view of the overall economic situation for the next 12 months. There was an eight-point decrease, yielding a score of -32. However, this is comparatively more positive than the October 2022 measurement of -61.

As a result, confidence in people's personal financial situation has decreased by six points, bringing the score to -8.

Although it is not included in the overall index score, the savings index has decreased by two points and currently stands at 25.

Source: GfK