Key challenges 

• Marketing budgets climbed from 6.4% of company revenue in 2021 to 9.5% in 2022, but still lag behind prepandemic spending.

• Marketing channels adjust as post-lockdown customer journeys recalibrate and CMOs seek to balance awareness and performance. Digital channels account for 56% of marketing spend, while offline channels rebound.

• Sixty-one percent of CMOs report they lack the in-house capabilities to deliver their strategy, yet spending on in-house labor is static. Meanwhile, CMOs go back to basics, prioritizing brand and campaign capabilities.

Recommendations 

CMOs accountable for marketing strategy and spending decisions should: • Use data from Gartner’s CMO Spend and Strategy Survey to benchmark your marketing budget with your industry and peers.

• Assess how your marketing channel spending priorities measure up against respondents to this year’s survey.

• Review how you fund marketing’s key resources and capabilities. Start by looking at how your investments in people, agencies, technology and media compare with our benchmarks.