Marketing chiefs will have adopt three essential “super-powers” in the year ahead – analytical skills for interpreting customer data; creative leadership to stay agile amid rapid changes; and an understanding both data and emotional cues in consumer behaviour – or risk becoming “irrelevant”.
That is one of the key takeouts from the annual CMO Barometer 2025, published by Serviceplan Group in partnership with the University of St Gallen (HSG) in Switzerland, which quizzed 835 marketing decision-makers across 11 countries.
This year respondents come from Austria, Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, the UK, and the United Arab Emirates.
For CMOs, the challenges of 2024 were anything but routine. With consumers uneasy due to economic instability and crises, and companies recalibrating strategies, it is clear that marketing success now requires agility.
Perhaps unsurprisingly artificial intelligence features heavily, with its promise of automation and predictive capabilities, CMOs anticipate new paths to efficiency in 2025.
Serviceplan Group chief executive Florian Haller said: “CMOs are under tremendous pressure to deliver stronger results with leaner budgets. AI-driven solutions are a natural outcome of this drive for efficiency. But it’s essential that we maximise AI’s potential beyond efficiency alone and explore its role as a creative and inspirational tool.”
Among the other key findings is the stable economic sentiment but pessimistic trends. A majority of CMOs (51%) expect the economy to stay roughly the same in 2025, but fewer predict budget increases, a dip from last year’s optimism.
Meanwhile, nearly half (48%) of CMOs rank AI and marketing automation as their most critical focus for 2025, underscoring the push for automated processes and deeper customer insights.
Despite the surge in AI adoption, however, CMOs stress the need for foundational leadership and vision to succeed. Leadership and team-building abilities were cited as top priorities by 38% of respondents, along with the “three essential superpowers”.
In addition, tomorrow’s CMO needs vision and must communicate across all levels without marketing jargon to build acceptance for marketing. On an operational level, it is essential to manage the big picture alongside a strong team of experts.
Looking to agency partners, CMOs are clear: creative, proactive solutions are top of mind, with a significant 71% expecting agencies to bring fresh, “out-of-the-box” ideas.
Serviceplan Group CMO Felix Bartels concluded: “Agencies must act as proactive leaders, using new technology to drive innovation and creativity. In today’s intense market, CMOs need that level of creative support more than ever.”
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