Dentsu Creative’s global survey of 950 chief marketing officers reveals a new era of empowerment worldwide, driven by confidence in creativity. Marketing is seen as a vital business transformation tool by 79% of respondents, with 83% believing in the transformative power of creative ideas. Additionally, 81% emphasize the increasing importance of creativity to their business. Innovation is recognized as crucial, with 56% of CMOs planning over 20% budget allocation towards it in the next year.
CMOs emphasize a new, omnipresent creativity across all business areas, striving to predict trends and innovate products. Marketing’s crucial role now centers on providing internal insights. Challenges lie in storytelling on emerging platforms and integrating brands into culture effectively. Collaboration with other brands is deemed important, yet concerns about control persist among CMOs.
Trust in Generative AI to boost creativity and innovation is growing, viewed more as a co-pilot than a threat. From 67% to 49%, CMOs now doubt AI’s ability to create moving content. Majority (77%) is open to training AI on brand identity. CMOs feel more confident in AI’s potential and less worried about job replacement.
“What we’re hearing from clients, and our survey confirms, is that they need and value creativity more than ever. But it’s a new kind of creativity; creativity that is business-driven, making an impact across every aspect of their organization from comms to commerce to sustainability. In parallel, we see new attitudes to AI emerging, where it’s not a threat to human creativity but a way of giving human creativity superpowers — exponentially increasing the pace and possibilities of personalization, real-time responsiveness, and relevance,” said Abbey Klaassen, Global Brand President, Dentsu Creative.
Harsha Razdan, CEO, South Asia, dentsu said, “In a world where creativity is no longer a nice-to-have but a must-have, CMOs are driving the future with flair and fearlessness. At dentsu, we’re not just watching this transformation from the sidelines; we’re crafting the playbooks and remixing the rules. This year’s report is the ultimate guide to conquering the Marketing X Tech X Consulting frontier. Embrace the chaos, think audaciously, and lead the charge.”
Amit Wadhwa, CEO, South Asia, Dentsu Creative added, “The 2024 CMO Report unveils how creativity and tech are reshaping the marketing landscape. Storytelling remains crucial, with generative AI emerging as a creative ally. While others strive to keep pace, Dentsu Creative is setting new benchmarks, crafting solutions that redefine how brands engage and resonate.”
In its fifth year, the annual study provides insights into CMOs globally, helping them benchmark against peers and develop creative, experience, and innovation roadmaps. The CMO Report was formed by decoding responses to 45 questions posed to CMOs across sectors in multiple countries. Dentsu Creative’s Global Chief Strategy Officer decoded these responses and identified eight key themes to offer an industry toolkit, urging agencies to challenge briefs and drive transformative change.
Pats McDonald, Global CSO, Dentsu Creative commented, “Brands and businesses are now in the era of sudden change. Changes we’ve anticipated for years are now accelerating dramatically and reaching critical tipping points accelerated by new behaviors, new technologies, and new possibilities. We can’t reach new customers in old ways or make new work with old tools. Brands today will be built at the intersection of culture, commerce, and community; in a world where stories are shoppable, and stores are stories. The challenge for brands will be to engage communities in thoughtful and collaborative ways, enabling scale, relevance, and authenticity.”
1. From Omnichannel Creativity to Omnipresent Creativity
In a fast-changing world, where growth is harder to come by, CMOs need creativity in every aspect of their business, not just communications. 82% believe creativity has more potential than ever to unlock growth.
2. From Share of Voice to Share of Culture
In a world where attention has shifted, brands will scale in new ways, integrating with culture, content, and entertainment. 88% of CMOs agree it is more important than ever for brands to be part of culture.
3. From Controlling to Conducting
CMOs recognize that brands today are built through ecosystems of connected talent, partners, and creators: 77% acknowledge that in the future, marketing will be a collaboration between brands, creators, and platforms.
4. From Seamless Experiences to Distinctive Experiences
As product advantages are swiftly copied, brands will build differentiation through connected and distinctive brand experiences. 75% of marketers agree that every touchpoint can and must tell the brand story—from comms to commerce.
5. From Insight to Foresight
CMOs face pressure to act not only as the voice of the customer but the voice of the future, anticipating trends and desires before they arise. 79% are challenged to use data and insight to predict future products and propositions.
6. From AI as Competitor to AI as Co-Pilot
As AI matures, CMOs are reappraising its potential as a collaborator and co-creator rather than a threat to human creativity. The percentage of CMOs agreeing that Generative AI will never make content that moves us declined 18 percentage points year on year.
7. From Innovation at the edges to Innovation at the core
As the pace of change accelerates, clients are investing significant proportions of their budget in innovation, no longer a niche or a nice-to-have. 79% of marketers are planning to invest more than 10% of their budget in innovation, 56% more than 20%.
8. From Taking Briefs to Transforming Business and Changing Society
With uncertainty on the horizon, the role of marketing as a driver of growth becomes ever more important. CMOs want agencies not just to answer briefs but to help them transform their businesses through the power of creativity: 70% agree they want their agency to bring them what they need, not always what they want. In parallel, in a volatile world, CMOs want to ensure their marketing activities are a force for good: 78% agree, “I want my marketing activity to impact people, impact business, and impact society.”
