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Marketing leaders’ optimism about the U.S. economy lost strength, as a three-year-high in confidence levels recorded last spring was dampened by election uncertainty and lingering inflation worries.

The 32nd edition of The CMO Survey examines reoccurring questions related to marketing spending and performance, marketing leadership, and marketing jobs. In addition, managing marketing technology, generative AI, growth, and sustainability are special topics covered in this edition.

AI bolsters marketing returns, weaker Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion investments and impact, and brand activism shifts to hot-button societal issues are among the results of the Fall 2023 edition. Results are based on a sample of 316 marketing leaders at for-profit U.S. companies, 96% of whom hold positions of VP-level or higher.

Results from the 30th edition of The CMO Survey indicate that inflation and economic uncertainty are harming marketing spending as the C-suite retrenches and cuts costs. While more than half of marketers reported a 10.4 percent increase over the previous year in the September 2022 survey, this group is reporting just 2.9 percent growth over the last 12 months, on average. Survey respondents included 314 marketing leaders at for-profit U.S. companies, 97 percent of whom are VP-level or higher.

In this webinar, Christine Moorman, Founder of The CMO Survey and the T. Austin Finch Sr. Professor of Business Administration and Suzanne Kounkel, Chief Marketing Officer of Deloitte discussed findings from the latest editions of the survey to offer marketing leaders insights on the opportunity to take a leadership position at this pivotal post-pandemic moment. Topics included managing digital marketing returns, marketing and DEI, marketing and the C-suite, and brand political activism.