Growth in marketing spend, DE&I investments slow: report

Marketing budgets, like many of us, have had a tough year. But CMOs are feeling good about 2024, according to the latest CMO Survey from Deloitte, Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, and the American Marketing Association.

The prior edition of the biannual survey clocked softening spend, and six months later, researchers found little shift in that trend. Economic optimism is on the rise, though, and the industry is continuing to experiment with new developments like generative AI.

No surprise: Marketing spend increased by about 3% from last year, according to the survey, which was conducted this summer among more than 300 marketing leaders in the US. That reflects a 75% drop in the growth rate from last year, which was about 10%.

• The percentage of company budgets dedicated to marketing is down to about 11%. It sat at about 12% as of the last survey, both close to pre-Covid levels.
• Marketing budget as a percentage of overall revenues fell to about 9% from about 11% in the spring.

Looking up: Almost half of marketers (49%) were more optimistic about the US economy than they were in the last survey, and spend is taking less of a hit due to inflationary pressures than it was in the first half of the year.

• Last survey, nearly 30% said they were feeling more optimistic about the economy.
• Roughly one-quarter (23%) said they feel less optimistic this time around. About 41% said the same last quarter.
• In the spring, 52% said they were decreasing marketing spend due to inflationary pressures. As of this summer, that share fell to about 45%.

Talk tech of the town: It’s been the year of AI in marketing. About 94% of respondents said they started using it within the past three years, including about 60% who said they started using it less than a year ago. Marketers are largely using AI for content-related tasks, per the survey, and less so for tasks like media buying and targeting.

DE&I decline: While use of AI in marketing seems to be on the rise, spend on DE&I initiatives has experienced a drop. Leaders in the industry reported growth in this area slowed to about 2% this quarter, compared to a growth rate closer to 11% a year ago. That’s a 79% decrease.