We are almost a year into the COVID-19 pandemic. Amidst the tragic human loss and suffering, we have witnessed a year full of transformation and challenge for the field of marketing. Digital transformation was thrust upon companies as they sought new ways to reach and engage with their likely remote customers. This necessity inspired the rewiring of many go-to-market models and the introduction of powerful new digital interfaces. Marketing, as the function and process responsible for managing customers and the firm-marketplace interface, was placed at the center of many corporate initiatives—72% of marketing leaders responded that the role of marketing in their companies increased in importance during the last year. This importance was further heighted by the social and political upheaval experienced in the United States. Transformation required rethinking many aspects of business to more effectively approach and survive our changed world.  

This 26th Edition of The CMO Survey provides the marketing profession with an understanding of how marketing activities, spending, jobs, and performance have been influenced by the upheavals of the past year. This Edition offers forward-looking insights regarding digital investments, managing new social and political demands on companies, shifting customer behavior, and managing growth during these uncertain times. Drawing on the power of The CMO Survey’s longitudinal view of marketing, we develop leadership lessons applicable across periods of crisis and into the future. This Edition of the survey also involved a pilot study of U.K. marketing leaders in conjunction with the London Business School (see results at https://cmosurvey.org/results/). 

I hope these benchmarks will be useful to you and your company as you navigate this historic period. Special thanks to all of the marketing leaders that gave their time and good will to make these insights possible.