What can we learn from the CIM’S CMO75 report?

read

by georgetc

One of the most prominent issues currently facing this country is the cost of living crisis which, if following logic, would imply marketers are in for a tough time as consumers cut back on spending in non-essential areas.

However, the glass half full in me likes to take the positives from a report recently published by the Chartered Institute of Marketing and here are the key take-aways for me:

• 60% of Chief Marketing Officers saw budgets grow in 2022 and 53% can see that continuing in 2023, with an anticipated increase of 11%-20%

• 73% are worried about skills shortages, with many looking to upskill their existing teams over the next 12 months

• International marketers reported optimism three points higher than those working for domestic brands

Yes, negatives can be read into all 3 of these points:

• Why is there 7% that don’t expect a similar budget increase to 2022?
• How can organisations manage the skills shortage that is stretching their capacity to deliver further work?
• Will international brands want an agency with local knowledge to work on their behalf?

However, I think the positives outweigh these and offer plenty of reason for optimism right now. The budget increase is an obvious one, but the other two provide a strong case for a more proactive new business strategy, as other agencies become more stretched to deliver to their clients both domestically and internationally.

The CIM’s report was from an in-depth qualitative survey conducted across 75 senior marketers.

Let’s consider this on a wider scale, just using our own model as an example to demonstrate how agencies pursuing new business may benefit this year:  Alchemis engage with thousands of senior marketing decision makers on behalf of our agency clients each month. Our agency clients are from a broad spectrum of marketing disciplines, from creative, digital, research, experiential, production and anything you can think of in between. If we project that 53% budget growth and apply the 73% experiencing a skills shortage (and therefore needing additional outsourced help), we would expect to see an increase in opportunities for these agencies to generate new business in 2023… so top up my half-full glass!

If you would like to explore how your agency can harness new business opportunities even during difficult market conditions, please get in touch.