How do you discover what marketers want from their agency partners and incorporate that into your new business program? How do you know what keeps them up at night, what they anticipate the future will bring, or how they assess their agency's performance? I seek to answer these and many other questions to make my clients more relevant and competitive. And that helps them break through the clutter to engage with prospects more often and more effectively. I collect and post the most important and informative reports, thought leadership, surveys, and other press available across the web that guide my process. I make them available as I find them for agencies to access here. Check back often to keep your business development program on the leading edge of all the changes happening each day. Let me know if I've missed anything.

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Widespread agency layoffs, restructurings and leadership shuffles, as well as high CMO turnover and staff cuts that occurred last year, are all signals that more accounts will shake loose in 2024. More reviews to come as clients fiercely loyal to the people working on their accounts get fed up with the high turnover at agencies. Meanwhile, CMOs jumping to other companies are prone to launching a review. Read what it all means.

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Bain & Company’s eighth annual review recognizes 97 high-growth US consumer products brands. These brands are doing things well but given their growth mindset may be open to agencies who can help them do even better. You can also use these brands as inspiration for your clients in similiar categories. Take a look and learn from the leaders.

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Companies that make the decision to put marketing at the core of their growth strategy outperform the competition, both B2C and B2B companies. They are twice as likely to see revenue growth of 5% or more than those that don’t (67% to 33%). Yet their research also showed that few CEOs recognize the potential for marketing as a growth accelerator.

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Dentsu Creative Trends 2024. See what creative forces may shape our marketing in 2024. Centered around the theme of “The Road Not Taken.” Spoiler alert! All the imagery in the report—aside from case studies—has been created using Generative AI.

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Teamwork.com has compiled their 2024 State of Agency Operations Report which you can download from their site and while you are there, read their top agency predictions for 2024 based on that research.

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Accenture Life Trends 2024. As they put it, we create these trends every year as a window into the interplay between people and their behaviors and attitudes to the world around them—be it business, technology, or other societal shifts.

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Marketing Dive rounds up 8 predictions for 2024. How winners and losers could shake out in retail media, streaming TV and social commerce. This article includes Specific is the new broad, Agency identities in flux, A new approach to transparency, and others. Dig in to find conversation starters for your prospecting.

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Butler/Till is out with their annual Trends Report. They analyze macro-trends year-round in collaboration with their employee-owners and research, technology, publisher, and client partners to collectively produce the report. Take a look and see if you agree what will be trending in the new year.

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From Adweek, What Agencies Need to Know About the 4A's 2024: Look Ahead Report. The latest version of the report, released today, hones in on the biggest threats facing agencies right now. Subjects like Changes to the pitch process, More confusion over privacy laws, Adapt to AI or risk losing relevance, and others provide more good conversation starts for your prospecting.

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Ad-spending market continues to recover, though 2024 presents mixed picture. One source predicts 2024 will tick up from 2023 by 1.7% while another suggests a decline by .5%. Another believes digital pure play will be up 9.4% next year. Connected TV will also continue to prop up the otherwise flagging TV sector, bolstered by an influx of streaming services running conventional commercials in the quest for profit. It’s a mixed bag for sure. See how Marketing Dive interprets it.

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According to the Economist, revenue in the advertising industry increases by 5%. Digital advertising will make up almost half of this spending. Magnifying this will be retailers’ efforts to sell slots for electronic ads displayed in their stores and on their websites, in the hope of offsetting a slowdown in consumer spending. Fading inflation will cause retail sales to rise by 2% in real terms in 2024, about twice as fast as in 2023. The Economist digs into many different sectors to make their predictions.

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eMarketer’s 5 charts that marketers need to prepare for in 2024. From retail media to AI, creator economy to CTV, they suggest that these represent the top trends to leverage in the new year. And then there is the so-called cookie-pocalypse. Nearly 50% of advertisers and publishers are embracing first-party data activations as they prepare for the cookie’s crumble. Read why eMarketer believes these are the top trends to watch.

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Ever wonder if your clients are different or unique from your agencies peers? Want to know what services you might pitch right now? 16 Forbes Agency Council members dive into what their clients have requested the most over the past year. Whether it’s a specific tactic, a viral internet sensation or an emerging media platform, read on to see if you agree.

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Spencer Stuart shares their 19th annual CMO Tenure Study, tracking the coming and going of CMOs and their C-suite counterparts. The average tenure of the top 100 advertisers, all B2C,  was 3.3 years. The average tenure for Fortune 500 B2B CMOs is 4.4 years, compared to 4.1 years for Fortune 500 B2C CMOs. Read more about the latest crop of CMOs.

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Sales and marketing alignment should have been solved years ago. MarketingWeek says the number of organizations that have done a good job aligning amount to only 16%. What’s worse, they say, is that marketing its self is not aligned. The lack of coordination between top of funnel and bottom is only 5%. Can you help brands achieve greater alignment?

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The latest Future of Media Agency Models report by the WFA and MediaSense highlights some startling insights. Only 1 in 10 brands believe their current agency model fits their future needs. 24% said they believe the current agency model is “unfit for future purpose.” A quarter plan to consolidate media, creative, data, and technology. We should be worried.

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According to the latest RSW/US Agency New Business Report, 58% of agencies report that getting new clients is harder or a lot harder in 2023. Why is it harder? Top three reasons Fewer opportunities 61% Prospect budgets too small 55% Harder to break through 47% Download the free report and see why you are going to need some help winning new clients in 2024.

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Steve Boehler was running an agency workshop, and once again the question came up, what matters to senior executives that rely on their agencies to help drive success? He shares with us a few examples of what he has heard from agency all-stars over the years.  … and the clear theme emerges. Hi blog post is a must-read for agency leaders and BD pros.

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As marketers face increased scrutiny over their operations, we identify five predictions marketing leaders must incorporate in their strategies in 2023 and beyond, to drive results and regain the confidence of business leaders. From managing misinformation to ensuring effective first-party data collection, these are the trends that marketers and advertisers can no longer afford to ignore. Take a look and align your messaging and positioning to lead the charge

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Though tightened advertiser budgets have spurred a sense of dullness, bets on buzzy tech, experiential displays and major refreshes seized the moment. A few big swings felt more impactful over the past six months. But looking ahead to the second half, a posture of prudence is poised to endure as resources remain strapped and concerns over a divisive landscape lead to risk aversion. Learn how to navigate the second half flip-flop in your business development

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The ANA and the ANA Global CMO Growth Council have developed a first-of-its-kind talent resource. The 2023 Marketing Capabilities Framework provides marketing leaders with an industry-wide playbook to elevate modern marketing talent, ultimately driving growth for their organizations and our industry. It also provides ad agency business development pros a framework for how to get the attention of marketers looking for the right talent.

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Ad Age’s 2023 list of Leading Women reflects a rapidly evolving marketing landscape and leadership that’s embracing emerging tech as a tool to better connect consumers and drive meaningful change. Agency and Brand Marketers provide great insights into what’s driving the ever-evolving marketing landscape and can drive your strategy and outreach to engage.

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Pfizer is shifting gears with its agency roster as a new marketing chief makes his mark. The New York-based Big Pharma, which has made tens of billions of dollars from its COVID-19 drug and vaccines over the past two years, is looking for new ways of splashing that cash in marketing. Better keep an eye on this historic event as the richest brand deploys the biggest agency heavy weights to take on the world.

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A new survey from Gartner delves into the CMO mindset in a tough economy. The tough economy is creating choppy waters for CMOs as they map out their budgets. But an annual report from Gartner found that while most marketers are under pressure to cut costs, some areas, including social advertising, are still growing. Find out where the money is and go get it.

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Barkley has been kind enough to share their research on brand purpose and what that means in 2023. According to the press release, Barkley released its annual State of Purpose Report.  This year’s research includes a companion piece,   Start Here: A Guide For Creating Sustainability Actions With Purpose , a step-by-step guide to help brands identify and map the material issues that can impact their business and further develop their sustainability strategy. This is worth a read.

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R3 is out with a great report for anyone targeting CPG. The world’s leading CPG brands are fortifying their businesses by restructuring for efficiency and building the strength of household brand names. R3’s CPG Transformation 2023 report looks at the top line and long-term growth strategies of twelve consumer packaged goods companies which presented at this year’s Consumer Analyst Group of New York conference.

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Propeller Group has produced a new playbook for business development offering key insights on the marketer priorities for 2023. This knowledge will help you to understand the changing landscape in which marketers are operating and the nuances in the discussions around the big issues they are grappling with. Armed with these insights you will be well-placed to advise current and future clients and better shape the services and solutions you offer.

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Ad Age’s annual Agency Report shows how business revved up and companies staffed up. Now, they're counting on the hot field of business transformation to alleviate effects of a possible recession. 2022 US revenue growth 9.9%. All time high employment, promotional and experiential lead the pack, up by 23.7%. Decent growth yet shy of the 13.5% of 2021. What should we expect in 2023?

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Drift talked to 13 marketing leaders and is sharing the lessons they have learned from CMOs and marketing trailblazers featured as special guests on their podcasts. Within each chapter, we’ll let you in on their marketing secrets – and share links to their full episodes for even more marketing insights. Definitely worth a read and the podcast is a treat as well.

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PSFK just released Marketing Trends Snapshot 2023, Using their AI trends-research tool, TREND GOD. They found that the most entrepreneurial brands are fostering innovation, disruption, and purpose-driven marketing while leveraging experiential marketing, digital transformation, and data analytics to enhance brand image, boost customer engagement, and create a more agile marketing ecosystem. Download the report.

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Sam Bradley at The Drum examines the approach to new business that agencies are taking in 2023. Should your agency prioritize winning new clients, or focus on building up your existing roster? He asked experts across industries around the globe to share their new business approaches so you can benchmark yours. See what your competitors and peers are doing in the face of economic uncertainty.

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CMOs struggle to strengthen customer connections in the age of AI. To add to this is the need to collect first-party data to deepen customer relationships and loyalty. Gartner Marketing Predictions for 2023 provide a look forward to the future of marketing where marketers will build strengthened loyalty and brand connection with customers. Download their eBook and see if you can leverage any of these trends to prospect for new business.

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Deloitte knows what trends will have the biggest impact on CMOs in 2023. They polled 1,015 C-suite executives with titles such as chief marketing officer, chief customer officer, chief revenue officer, chief digital officer, chief growth officer, and others, along with 23 executive interviews. You can use these trends to shape your outreach strategy and engage prospects on the subjects most important to them.

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To ensure agencies will be agile enough to pivot and evolve as needed, proactively identifying the trends that promise to have a major effect on the industry this year is key. Here, 15 members of Forbes Agency Council explore trends they expect to impact their work and the ways agency leaders can prepare to leverage these insights. From A Return To Brand-Building Activities to A Growing Interest In Virtual Influencers, read what your peers in the Forbes Agency Council are predicting will be meaningful trends in 2023.

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Winmo has compiled a list of 23 new business statistics for the new year to show managers and their teams exactly which old-school systems still work — and the current research and trends to guide strategies. Every time we think we have a handle on our new business strategies, a long successful tactic burns out and is replaced by a new theory. And that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. As industry pros, we should always be adapting our approach to prospects to reach more contacts and close more deals. Check these out.

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PWC’s latest report provides insight into the challenges Health services companies will face and clues to how your agency can help find ways to develop stronger relationships with consumers and improve the patient experience, rethinking traditional workforce and business models, and continuing to invest in technology and innovation to be well positioned for what’s next. No matter which role payers and providers choose to play, here are six pivotal issues that are critical to remaining competitive and leading in 2023.

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This year Brand Keys asked 463 CMOs and brand managers, “What keeps you up at night?” The unrelenting demands for ROI, profits, and ongoing competition, capped with Work-From-Home ultimatums, are just a few of marketers’ nightmares, according to the fourth annual Marketing On My Mind survey. 27% are new to the list this year. Find out what problems you need to solve in order to get the attention of your prospects.

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The economy weighs heavy on the minds of your prospects. Most economists predict a recession in 2023. But recession indicators like high unemployment remain absent. Inflation remains a factor as well. The rise in consumer prices hit a 40-year high of 9.1% in June and have since cooled off a bit, but companies forecast that they’ll raise salaries by 4.6% next year. YouGov has a tool you can use to better understand consumer sentiment on the economy and why marketers are worried.

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Catapult has a helpful ebook with insights into the CPG market and what agencies should know in order to win new clients in 2023. For example, the #1 consumer behavior brands are watching is Downtrading. Brands will have to find ways to convince consumers to trade up not down. If you know how to help communicate premium  value you can get CPG brand marketer’s attention if the present day economic woes continue. Download their ebook and find the answers.

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In a crowded race, standing apart can be a tall order. Luckily, some of the magic lies in simply being authentic and staying open-minded, writes EP+Co’s Kat Shafer. Here’s some advice from someone who’s tried it all and then some: 5 tips for winning the pitch, from a chief client officer. Kat says, “a perfect formula for guaranteed results just doesn’t exist.” She does have some great tips that will help.

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E.J. Schultz, Jack Neff and Adrianne Pasquarelli from AdAge share their take on the sentiment at the annual ANA Masters of Marketing Conference this October. CMO anxieties revealed at the conference include improving multicultural marketing, protecting against budget cuts, taking creative risks, the rise of retail media—plus big Cannes changes coming. Access the article here. but may require a subscription. Click below to get my take on the ANA conference.

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Businesses need to move forward, and agencies can’t afford to shelve new business efforts. Business development is every bit as important as it ever was. Does the post-COVID-19 era require a new approach to business development or will things completely return to normal? We think the answer is “yes”: some things have changed, and others will remain the same. Lindsay O’Neil, Director at Mercer Island Group shares her take on pitching in this new environment.

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Insider Intelligence’s Paul Verna breaks down the current ad spend environment and what we can expect in the remaining months of 2022 and into 2023. In August, ad spending dropped for the third month in a row. But the outlook for spending isn’t so cut and dry. “If you start at that pre-pandemic point and you plot a curve to where we are now, we're actually not doing so badly,” our analyst Paul Verna said on a recent “Behind the Numbers” podcast. A good read to help guide your planning.

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We all have felt the impact of data privacy as it gains ground across the globe, establishing new protections for consumers and erecting higher hurdles for businesses. While the world’s largest tech companies are making consumer-centric changes with an outsized impact – from Google’s deprecation of third-party cookies to Apple’s increasingly privacy-focused iOS changes – legislatures around the world are also making waves and your prospect has too much at stake not to know. Concerns like this are a good door opener.

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The work from home to back in the office debate rages on. Marketing leaders are trying to figure out what works best for their team, their in-house agency, and their overall success. Betsy Vereckey has written an interesting take for MIT. As Americans continue to work from home in the wake of the pandemic, executives are trying to figure out the ramifications of the new normal. Does working in an office help boost innovation and creativity? Your prospect is struggling with this very issue.

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Winning new business is hard but according to RSW/US, it has become more difficult for agencies this year. Your agency is growing slower because business development is getting harder. Last year showed very positive signs for agencies in part because the pandemic was ending and many companies were anxious to make up lost ground and budgets were returning. Unfortunately 2022 is is a different story. According to the research, only 28% of agencies said it was more difficult to obtain new business in 2021 than the previous year. This year, 43%. Download and dig into the RSW/US 2022 Agency New Business Report.

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McKinsey’s latest Consumer Pulse research conducted in July 2022 shows that there’s more pressure than ever on consumer confidence. But despite a general feeling of pessimism, there are signals of hope in consumer behavior. It reveals the complexity of US sentiment and behavior during these uncertain times, as the pandemic becomes endemic and inflation is top of mind. Amid the dark economic mood of this summer, there are glimmers of hope. The implications are clear: focus on resiliency and cost but also make intentional bets for longer-term growth. Seek to understand the nuanced sentiments and behaviors among consumers. Take a look.

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The Growing Independence of B2B Buyers. Research by B2B marketing agency Considered Content has revealed two-thirds of buyers in medium and large businesses are now self-serving more information before making any contact with vendors. And more than half (53%) would prefer to buy without any interaction with sales at all. Does that translate to marketing execs and agency search? Ultimately, you should be making the research-to-purchase journey as painless as possible. Because where buyers encounter friction, their first instinct is not to struggle through it, it’s to go elsewhere. See what Jason Ball, founder of Considered Content, thinks.

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The bellwether of ad spend health is by far the tech giants. With a headline like this one, you would think everyone should cut back. Not so says Chris Sutcliffe at The Drum. We’ve all seen the news. Twitter revenue down, Snapchat doomed, TikTok is struggling, and Amazon took a big hit. Despite it all, many predict a good end to the year. You should know who’s going to come out on top and turn that into vision and leadership as you prospect.

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How the CMO Role Has Evolved — And What's Next. The role of CMO has evolved rapidly moving toward more centralized responsibility for the success of the company. An increasing number have P&L, customer service, recruitment, internal communications and other previously non-CMO responsibilities. Knowing what’s on your prospect’s plate and mind is important intelligence to break through and engage. Kelly Blum at Gartner does a nice job of defining the role and what’s to come.

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There is no denying that we are in an ad spend downturn. Seb Joseph does a good job of walking us through a tale of two narratives by defining the current state of the ad business. Read this to better understand the current mindset of your prospects and their outlook for the rest of the year depending on which side of the ad economy they are on. It’s a paradox. One side forecasts growth while the other is cutting back. Which side are you selling to?

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Although widespread adoption of the metaverse may take some time, leading brands are already rewriting the rules of marketing. In December, Facebook rebranded itself as Meta, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg declared his ambition to “help bring the metaverse to life.” A month later, Microsoft said that its proposed acquisition of gaming giant Activision provided “building blocks for the metaverse.” the metaverse is best characterized as an evolution of today’s internet—it is something we are immersed in instead of something we look at. See what McKinsey has to say and how you can use it to open more doors.

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Countless surveys show a growing number of consumers are motivated to buy from brands doing more than just making money. That can mean protecting the environment or fighting for social justice or confronting other issues seen as standing in the way of progress. But with U.S. shoppers paying 8.6% more for everyday goods and services in May 2022 compared to May 2021—a rate of inflation unseen in 40 years—evidence suggests priorities are shifting from brand purpose to price. Are you promoting brand purpose at a time when value is the trend? Sorry, you may need a subscription to Adweek to read the article or email me.  

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According to new research from Oracle and author-podcaster Gretchin Rubin, 91% of people prefer brands to be funny, yet 95% of business leaders fear using humor in consumer interactions. 90% of people are more likely to remember ads that are funny and 72% of people would choose a humorous brand over the competition. Despite this, only 20% of brands report using humor in offline ads. No surprise, consumers are willing to put a premium price on happiness, with 53% saying they wish they could buy happiness. Read the Dive insight and see if humor might give you an angle on your prospecting.

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Only about a third (34 percent) of chief executives have great confidence in their CMOs, while 56 percent believe their CMOs are committed to themselves more than their CEO and board of directors and 70 percent of CEOs believe their CMOs would save their own rear end before considering the CEO. To make matters worse, only 5.5 percent of CMOs are responsible for approving new digital engagement technologies. This is the environment in which CMOs must perform and it’s never been worse.

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Forbes is out with an Entrepreneurial CMO list. If you are you looking for CMOs who are the greatest risk-takers, aren’t beholden to the status quo, are resilient, adapting to change and driving it, fueled by curiosity, creativity and an ability to test, learn and connect dots in real time, these 50 prospects should be on your list. They were selected based on qualitative analysis and consideration from marketing industry leaders and Forbes editors, because their entrepreneurial spirit and actions are helping transform not only their brands but marketing, commerce and, culture itself.

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Long-term research from Kantar shows that ad creative accounts for 49% of driving ROI. So to leverage advertising most effectively, as much focus should be on what you say as on how much you spend—or where you spend it. The problem is that historically, creativity defies measurement. The good news: Measuring creative impact—and even calculating it in advance—is no longer a matter of guesswork or subjective opinions. New AI-fueled systems can predict creative effectiveness and enable higher ROI.

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Take a look at Nielsen's 2022 Global Annual Marketing Report to understand the priorities for marketers this year. As they describe it, Future-focused strategies for brand building and customer acquisition. For example, Global marketers say their brands are emphasizing purpose, but Nielsen data shows that 55% of consumers aren’t convinced that brands are fostering true progress. Global marketers are united in stating that building brand awareness is their top objective. Brands need to leverage an array of channels to reach the widest audiences.

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Forrester has a great collection of opinion pieces on CMO trends in their blog that are full of insights you can use to strike up conversations. The chief marketing officer (CMO) role is more difficult than ever, in a world where tried-and-true tactics are aging out and their replacements are hard to pin down. Read insights that help CMOs thrive in the Age of the Customer. Topics like Employer Branding Is Marketing’s New Frontier, Top Five Most Critical CMO Priorities For B2C Brands, and A Path To Growth: Key Insights And 2022 Trends For B2B CMOs, to name just a few.

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According to the 28th edition of “The CMO Survey,” marketing spending grew by 10.3% over the last 12 months—its highest rate of increase in more than a decade—and is projected to rise by 13.6% over the next 12 months, returning to pre-pandemic levels. Amid this growth, the role of the CMO is becoming increasingly complex as marketers assume more responsibility and face challenges such as integrating customer data and proving the value of marketing investments. Read what are the top priorities of CMOs and how you can use them to connect.

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Great post from Stephen Boehler, Mercer Island Group about the secret to winning Ad Age Small Agency of the Year. He says, ‘Given the importance of the award to building a small agency’s reputation, many small agency owners and leaders have asked us: “what do we need to do to win?” Over the past few years we’ve thought a great deal about this question and noticed something: there is no definitive guide about how an agency should go about the mission of wining Small Agency of the Year. Until now.’ Enjoy!

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According to Michael Bürgi at Digiday, U.S. ad spend will break $300 billion this year. “IPG’s Magna unit, one of the three principal advertising prognosticators among the agency holding companies, revised its growth estimate of total 2022 U.S. ad spend to be a slightly more sobering 11.5 percent compared to last year. That estimate would still put spending at $320 billion — marking the first time U.S. ad spend is expected to break $300 billion, but one percentage point less than the 12.6 percent it had forecast before Russia’s invasion.”

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Read Gartner’s top 6 marketing predictions for 2022 to understand what your prospect is facing and how you can help. Download Forging New Connections for a more thorough dive into their top predictions and additional marketing trends they see on the horizon. Understand the consequences of marketing digital transformation on privacy, flexible workplace, employee advocacy, AI, virtual influencers, and social commerce. Get predictions and new marketing trends, and action steps to prepare for the future of marketing.

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When Apple changed its email privacy settings you saw the result in your emailing results. This article from Carolyn Nye at PracticalEcommerce spells it out clearly, so you can adjust your expectations.  Apple iPhones are roughly 48% of the U.S. smartphone market. And in 2022 most email opens are on a phone — upwards to 75%. Thus approximately 36% of all U.S. email recipients (48% x 75%) could be using iOS 15. The unknown is how many iOS 15 users have enabled Mail Privacy Protection. However, Apple’s description — “Protect Mail activity. Hide IP address and privately load all remote content” — likely entices most users to opt-in.

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According to Forrester, in 2022, business leaders will invest in technology and refocus business strategies. AI adoption and tech spending will accelerate. Tech companies will jump into adjacent markets, equally capitalizing on opportunity and sowing confusion. Greenwashing will wash away as sustainability becomes a must-have. 2022 is a year to be bold. The old ways of working no longer work. The future is up for grabs. Leading firms will use the crucibles of 2020 and 2021 to forge a path to an agile, creative, and resilient tomorrow. Worth considering as you chart your new business strategy this year.

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Matthew Lieberman, chief marketing officer at PwC shares his view with AdAge on what 5 things are most important to CMOs in 2022. He says 2022 is going to be a big year too, but in different ways. From my vantage point at a firm that regularly surveys other chief marketing officers about their thoughts and plans, here are my marketing predictions for this year. Focus on purpose, use tech better, adopt real-time planning and win the war for talent, also make sure you’re always giving your team the respect, understanding and creative space that they deserve. Understand how your agency can speak to the overarching issues in 2022.

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Hannah Bowler, Journalist at The Drum interviewed Jane Wakely, chief marketing officer at Mars to better understand her take on brand purpose. She believes embedding purpose into Mars’s core strategy will give it a competitive advantage amid industry-wide talent shortages. Like other big brands, Mars is undergoing an in-housing strategy. The business is in the process of deciding what its “strategic competitive advantages” are and looking at what aspects of its strategy it’s better to “own and shape” itself. She is not alone. Reach out if you can help.

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Andrea Leigh, Forbes Councils Member shares her predictions on 5 - 2022 consumer trends. She says it’s been an incredible year of change for consumers and businesses alike. Consumers prioritized personal safety, dealt with illness, job loss and lack of available products and services. As vaccination rates increase worldwide, what consumer trends will emerge through the rubble? Having a good grasp on what lies ahead can help businesses see around corners and plan effectively to address the post-pandemic consumer. Read on for five upcoming consumer trends.

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Kari Alldredge and Anne Grimmelt advise that companies must get better at anticipating and responding to new consumer needs and preferences. For many consumers around the world, a return to normalcy feels so close, yet so far away, in light of the alarming spread of COVID-19 variants. Although it’s unclear what the next 12 to 24 months will bring, what’s almost certain is that consumers won’t simply revert to doing exactly what they did in 2019. An edited transcript of the podcast conversation with executive editor Monica Toriello lays it all out for you.

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Chief Marketer’s Kaylee Hultgren looked at interviews from Brands on Fire and Marketers on Fire features to share excerpts from executives like Susan Somersille Johnson, CMO, Prudential Financial, Bruno Cardinali, CMO, Popeyes, Frank Boulben, Consumer Group’s Chief Revenue Officer, Verizon, and others on what trends they’re seeing in the marketplace this year that warrant a marketer’s full attention. Check out these insights from some of the top executives in the industry to keep in mind while prospecting in 2022.

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David Aaker wants you to be aware of these three branding trends in 2022 so you can pique your prospects interest in your outreach. Over the past year, he has observed three accelerating branding trends that are affecting nearly every business. The brand leaders of tomorrow are going to be riding these waves rather than swimming against them. Check out David’s predictions and see if you agree and can make use of them in your new business strategy.

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Do you know what your future client needs to know about the post-covid consumer? Forrester says, ‘Weary Consumers Seek Immediate Happiness And Comfort.’ Lingering fear around physical and financial health, along with tempered optimism for a post-pandemic recovery, will compel consumers to find brands, products, and experiences that provide an immediate — even if temporary — sense of happiness, comfort, and relief. Here are a few insights you can put to good use.

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Read Mercer Island Group's Steve Boehler's key takeaways and download the whole report.. Salesforce recently released their 7th annual State of Marketing research report. This eagerly awaited research covers the opinions of 8,200 global marketing leaders. The research is filled with interesting data and trends – and you can get a free copy from Salesforce at the link provided later in this post. And I will liberally share several of the tables from this fine report in this article.

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Olivia Morley at AdAge shares a few key insights from this IHAF research. In-house agencies are getting bigger. 47% of them said their team’s size increased in the last 14 to 16 months compared to 38% who said their team remained the same size and only 15% who said their team decreased in size. Plans for expansion were already in place before Covid-19, but also correlate with thousands of furloughs and layoffs at ad agencies last year.

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Check out Forrester’s take on B2B planning for 2022. CMOs preparing for 2022 face a situation unlike any they have ever encountered. These organizations balanced investments across existing and new customers, took a customer-first approach to developing genuine and empathetic relationships, and measured performance against aligned corporate and functional goals. Understand two of the key priorities they must address.

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What can agencies expect in 2022? In this Marketing Dive summary, Forrester predicts agencies will embrace changes forced by the pandemic and try to innovate on fronts like staffing, digital media and the metaverse. While the hangover from the pandemic will continue, one bright spot could be how many of the adjustments made over the past two years become less of an everyday hurdle.

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There is a lot in this report by Dr. Dave Chaffey, co-founder of Smart Insights covering subjects like customer experience, digital maturity, AR, VR, micro-influencers, shoppable content, hyper-personalization strategy, case studies and examples. Find out the latest trends and innovations driving marketing strategy in the 2022 marketing trends for consumer brands guide.

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Always packed full of good insights for agencies about agencies, this year's survey and the resulting RSW/US 2021 Agency New Business Report are once again taking place in a strange time. Their hope is the key findings and implications of the study presented in this report provide value to you as you develop your plans for the remainder of 2021 and into 2022.

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Great talking points to engage brand marketers. Consumers in the United States are no longer making decisions based solely on product selection or price; they’re assessing what a brand says, what it does and what it stands for. They support companies whose brand purpose aligns with their beliefs. And they reject those that don’t, with one in five walking away forever. Check out how Accenture sees it and the benefits a marketer gains with a purpose-lead brand. 

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Once again consumers are returning to earlier behaviors out of fear and caution of the delta variant. Marketing Dive taps Berkeley Research Group, Numerator, Wells Fargo, and Forrester to weigh in on what you should know when proposing a brand or campaign reset. After waning this year, troublesome uncertainty is gaining strength, as the delta variant of the virus spreads and immunization rates in many areas falter. "As a result, Americans have generally become more cautious." In the meantime, many consumers are falling back into their cautious pandemic ways.

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Another take on purpose and brands from Deloitte and how authentically leading with purpose is changing the nature of business today. Companies witness higher market share gains and grow on average three times faster than their competitors, all the while achieving higher employee and customer satisfaction. Today’s consumers often identify with a brand’s purpose, seeking to connect at a deeper level even as the brand reciprocally aligns with who they are and who they want to be.

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Agencies, market thyselves! This Digiday article interviews a couple of agency leaders to explore how independent shops are taking different routes to advertise their superpowers. Every agency contacted by Digiday for this story cited LinkedIn as an outlet for outreach. But there’s also more competition out there, feeding a need to raise one’s visibility. And since the pandemic forced everyone to work from home, the big shops’ ability to tout lavish conference rooms and massive resources was sidelined, since everyone looks pretty much the same on Zoom.

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B2B International (a Merkle B2B company) published the results of its 2021 B2B Marketing Monitor study based on a survey of 301 marketing, insight, customer experience and business strategy decision makers at B2B organizations. 75% of the survey respondents said they were optimistic about the business outlook for their organization, 69% said they were optimistic about the economic outlook for their industry and 53% said they were optimistic about the economic outlook within their country.

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Trend Hunter is the world’s largest trend platform, relied on by hundreds of brands to predict and create the future. So far, they have completed 10,000 custom trend reports, which led to the insights in this report, and includes 10 industry-related collections for Tech, F&B, Retail, Eco, Social Good, Fashion, Health and more. Also a special section on business and marketing. Post-crisis, consumer needs evolve by the minute. Download the free report and start plotting your way in to the marketing decision makers with fresh new insights.

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From Deloitte and the WSJ. CMOs may strongly believe that their brand is a financial asset and that shifting to transactional tactics will erode the brand’s ability to enhance the lifetime value of customers. What they need is hard evidence that shows how brand investment can lift every part of the company. How can CMOs prove the value of brand and justify their marketing budgets? A Deloitte Digital analysis of more than 24,000 brands and their consumers uncovered four metrics that can help CMOs defend the contribution of marketing to the bottom line.

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From Forrester CMO Shirley Macbeth. Today, as CMOs, we need to play a key role in our business' transformation, as our remit has broadened beyond the traditional marketing functions. We need to reestablish the marketing function as doing more than demand generation, advertising, and promotion. Forrester’s research shows the strong correlation and interconnectedness between brand experience, customer experience and employee experience. Driving and connecting these three attributes is critical for business transformation and growth.

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From HBR. Marketers are desperately seeking to understand consumers post-covid. The pandemic upended a marketer’s playbook, challenging the existing rules about customer relationships and building brands. One year in, there’s no going back to the old normal. Here are 10 new marketing truths that reveal the confluence of strategies, operations, and technologies required to drive growth in a post-Covid-19 world. If you want to speak ‘today’ language to your prospects, this article provides some interesting contrasts to consider.

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CMOs always have big plans to innovate and evolve their organizations, and 2021 is no exception. When it comes to strategic planning, the path to tomorrow is never a straight line. Marketers are under intense pressure to deliver positive results despite increasing competition, economic uncertainty and geopolitical upheaval. Faced with these conflicting demands, our CMO Strategic Priorities Survey 2020-2021 polled 381 marketing leaders on their challenges and objectives for the year. Their responses surfaced five priorities to act on, from budgeting realities to societal issues.

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This report documents the notable achievements of creative teams who turned on a dime last year and kept excellence flowing. Most companies doubled down on investing in their in-house agencies, as teams’ adaptable support was needed for creating COVID-19 responses and executing formulated marketing plans. Digital demands surged forcefully, while the volume of print design showed a major decrease. One-third of in-house agencies experienced contraction and resourcing remand the top challenge. Through it all the strong versatility of in-house agencies proved resilient.

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Deltek, in partnership with Campaign, surveyed over 300 agency professionals revealing that teams and talent are key preoccupations right now – and that many feel that their agency could be managing these better. The bottom line is a top priority for agencies in 2021. The most important focus, for more than three-quarters (77%), is new business; followed by profitability (58%), efficiency (52%) and cash flow (51%). Getting the right team in place is also a strong concern: 46% are concerned about diversity and equality, and the same number are focused on talent strategy.

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Grappling with COVID-19 ultimately hasn't made the day-to-day of being a CMO any easier. In this article, marketing executives from the Gap, Chipotle, General Mills and more share how they are fortifying their businesses as the timeline for a true reopening becomes clearer. Many will try to meld real-world experiences with freshly acquired digital skill sets, while preserving a focus on community and empathy brought to the fore during the darkest days of the pandemic.

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For the past three years, Setup has conducted a Marketing Relationship Survey to take the pulse on how Companies and Agencies operate and work together. To help us navigate the atypical times of 2020, we also conducted three shorter COVID-impact surveys to identify trends for Brands and Agencies. We’re excited to share the results of these efforts to provide insight and perspective on the current state of Agency-Client relationships.

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Summer is coming – and with economies beginning to open up again, a flurry of major pitches in the air and consumer behavior all over the map, what are clients asking their agency partners for most often? The Drum asked more than a dozen top leaders to share the most common client refrains. See what David Angelo, Ruth Bernstein, Mark Penn, Emma Robertson, Bill Kolb, and many others have heard from their clients and apply it to your prospecting.

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Want to know what marketers and agencies are thinking heading into 2021? The 2021 RSW/US New Year Outlook survey was completed by senior level Marketers and Marketing Agency executives during December 2020. Topics include “biggest challenges facing marketing agencies” as seen through the eyes of marketers and agencies, spending and investment expectations, the growth of specialty agencies and in-house agencies, and the importance of data and analytics.

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Are you going after the winners or the losers in 2021? It’s clear that in 2020, strong brands have become stronger as a result of the COVID effect, which has accelerated digital transformation trends, such as cloud-based tech and streaming, across sectors, reinforcing the dominance of technology first brands. As the pandemic and wider social outrage exposed fault lines in society and polarized people further; we see a similar divergence in the Best Global Brands with 43% of brands growing, and 57% declining in value (vs 29% declining in 2019).

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Where do you find specific opportunities to capitalize on in 2021? The Winmo team has paid close attention and we’ve seen several categories skyrocket — both stimulating the ad economy and representing fertile ground for prospecting. Here are the insights that Winmo customers have access to on a daily basis, packaged into actionable nuggets detailing: eight key brands in four of the fastest-growing industries, decision-maker contact information to get in the door,
opportunity analysis tailored to different seller types, spend details, audience demos, and insight to fuel your outreach, and more. Take advantage of early indicators to get in with these brands ahead of major campaign planning.

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Digital Specilization

R3's latest new business league rankings find that agencies that have invested in digital specialization are now reaping the rewards. Brands and marketers are looking for agencies with the skills and people to take advantage of current digital trends.

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350 CMO's Opinons on new Markting Trends

LoSingular takes the opinions of 350 industry leading CMOs on the coming trends in marketing technologies. Singulars calls the emerging trends of digital marketing and brand empathy "holistic marketing," and points to the connection between consumer and brand as the way forward.

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Sales Craft in 2021

Chief Executive lays out important strategy points for directing a marketing agency in 2021. Themes of a strong digital presence and sticking to principles are found throughout. Chief Executive recommends staying close to your customer base, in both presence and values.

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Ad Age 2020 Top Marketers of the year

Ad Age's annual ranking of the best marketers follows a theme of disruption. The best performing marketers of 2020 took full advantage of new digital media, and turned the challenges they faced into opportunities. Insights into how these marketers think and how they see the world will help you model and target your prospects.

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21 Marketing Industry Statistics from Winmo

Winmo has compiled 21 easy to understand statistics on how marketers performed through the challenges of last year. These statistic give several interesting points of learning about marketers that you can use to improve your outreach strategy in 2021.

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Agency Acceleration Webinar Series

Talk about marketing and agency brainpower, in 2020 SharpSpring brought together some of the top industry experts to share their advice on how to be more successful in 2021 and beyond. Hear from Seth Godin, Ann Handley, Karl Sakas, Shama Hyder, Drew McLellan, and many more in these short 15-minute on-demand webinars.

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Forbes' Inclusive Trends for 2021

Forbes' looks back over the social causes and movements the influenced consumers in 2020, and how marketers responded. They predict that consumers will demand more accountability from brands, going beyond what a brand says to see if their actions line up. Understanding the power of social causes can provide guidance on how your agency should better align with the trends. 

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2021Trends from 21 Experts

Hubspot's 21 marketing experts lay out a plethora of emerging trends in the marketing space. There is a heavy focus on digital marketing as well as virtual platforms and events. The article makes a point of saying the feature and programs for interactivity that have been promised to consumers are fast becoming a necessity.

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MarketingDive Looks at the Effects of a Volatile Year

MarketingDive takes an indepth look at the challenges the marketing industry, as well as the world at large, faced last year. Their analysis shows that brands will have to work hard to reach consumers in the coming year. Brands will need to show their customers that they are a force for good in 2021.

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WARC Marketer's Toolkit

The WARC Marketer's Toolkit offers a number of solutions to problems facing the industry in the coming year. They advise marketers to be more adaptable and more ready to reach consumers where they already are. Customers will want to shop online, and their goods sent to them, and feel safe while working with a brand.

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Deloitte 2021 Insights

Deloitte sets out a course for C suite decisions in 2021. Purpose, Agility, and Trust top their list of core priorities for the coming year. However, Deloitte reminds executives to be aware of market disruptions and new ecosystems. 

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2021 Trend Report

Trendhunter sets out several specific examples of new and innovative marketing techniques that they expect to grow over the next year. Greater use of technology and digital space, and branding focused around responsible products are among Trendhunter's top picks.

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RSW/US New Business Report

The 2020 RSW/US New Business Report lays out clearly the issues agencies have had over the last year. 2020 was a difficult year fo agencies             to come by new business, primarily due to COVID. However, RSW/US has compiled data on the strategies that have been most effective even   when adaption is necessary.

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The Future 100

Wunderman Thomspon's The Future 100 sets out what priorties should be for the Marketing industry in 2021. The report notes the people in 2021 will be searching for security, safety, and above all optimism. Their research shows that consumers care about how companies are handling the COVID pandemic, and reflects a growing skeptism of social media and a desire for the digital space to be reigned in.

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ADWEEK Survey

This Adweek survey has some promising results for the marketing industry. Most of those questioned have positive things to say about their marketing agencies, and there is great opportunity on the horizon in the marketing industry.

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Deloitte CMO Survey: Special Edition Report

This survey of 274 senior-level marketers highlights the varying levels of success of organizations in weathering the pandemic’s storm. Marketers are reporting plummeting levels of optimism about the US economy previously only seen during the Great Recession of 2008, with B2B companies reporting higher levels of optimism than B2C companies. Marketers, however, are more optimistic about their own organizations than the overall economy (68.8 out of 100 versus 50.9).

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iab on COVID's impact on Advertising

iab finds that there is a growing divide between traditional media and digital media spending. Tradition media spending saw a decrease in 2020 as compared to 2019, whereas digital media spending has grown. With many ad-buying budgets still in flux, iab reflects on market uncertainty.

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Forrester's forecasts for CMO's

Forrester's cautions that CMO's will need to find new ways to reinvent and reestablish their roles in 2021. The digital marketing platform is positioned to be propelled by current economic challenges. Forrester tells CMO's they must find ways to improve user experiences and diversify their teams.

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Dentsu 2020 CMO Study

Want to know what CMOs are thinking and doing? Take a look at this survey for ideas on how to approach CMOs and what to say. According to a recent global survey by Dentsu, fielded in May that includes 200+ U.S. CMOs or similar marketing decision-makers, the results are pretty consistent with other surveys from Gartner, McKinsey, Deloitte, 4As, and others. I'm sure there will be many additional reports and opinions to consider as more data comes out during the remaining months. What I find useful in Dentsu's survey, among other things, is a distinction between marketers surveyed; those who feel prepared for the changes this year (48%), and those who feel unprepared (52%). There are notable differences in these groups, including budgets, priorities, and needs worth considering as you plan how to get your prospect's attention.

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AdAge-Kantar 

Details about service offerings and messaging that will resonate with what brands and marketers are doing and will likely continue to do. AdAge predicts an increase in digital marketing spending, as consumers respond to covid with a desire for safety and certainty. AdAge points to the ongoing pandemic and changing lifestyles, as well as growing distrust in third party cookies as driving forces in increased digital spending. At the same time, consumers want to feel confident about where they spend their money. AdAge concludes that optimism, familiarity, certainty, and originality will be the keys to success in 2021.

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Gartner Annual CMO Spend Survey

See what CMOs are planning to spend and where they will put their money to know where your best opportunities are. Gartner's yearly CMO spending survey finds many CMO's optimistic about the 2021 fiscal year. This is in spite of many marketing budgets being cut in 2020. Gartner advises that there is an opportunity to build market leadership by investing in adaptive and flexible plans. However, they caution to be prepared if more budget cuts come.

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Cella 2020  In-House Creative Survey

Cella's 2020 creative industry survey finds creative teams moving into the digital world. Cella reports more money being spent on social media and motion graphics, and a greater use of development processes. However, the creative industry continues to suffer from a lack of qualified talent to hire from.

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4A's findings on Agency Growth

4A's top three primary growth drivers to agency success are Agency Positioning, Vertical Offerings, and New Agency Design. The top three client facing capabilities that agencies planned to invest in were identified as Brand Strategy, Creativity, and Digital Transformation. 4A projects with those principles, and other outlined, agencies can find growth in 2021.

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TrendHunter 2020 Trend Report

Trend Hunter's 2020 report relfects a strong move towards tech. Consumers want things faster, easier, and more convenient. Trends also reflect a move towads easy of use, with voice functions and IoT.

 

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