CMO Barometer: Stagnating economic situation puts CMOs under pressure
The newly published CMO Barometer shows that only two out of five Swiss marketing managers expect the marketing budget to remain the same in 2025 - optimism is waning. This development is boosting the rise of AI - and is pushing the topic of "sustainability" out of the top 5 topics in marketing.
While more than half of advertisers in Germany expect the economic situation to remain unchanged in 2025, around 40% of CMOs in Austria and France fear that the situation will deteriorate. Only the Netherlands and the Middle East have a positive outlook on the economic situation. Against the backdrop of less optimistic economic and budget developments, it is hardly surprising that AI and marketing automation clearly emerge as top personal topics in the coming year - both in Switzerland and at Europe & Middle East level.
The focus of advertisers in 2025 will be on topics relating to increasing efficiency and technical and functional solutions. The change in focus has contributed to "sustainability" being pushed out of the top topics in marketing and is therefore no longer represented in the top 5 ranking. In the future, alongside the buzzword "AI", topics such as "emotional brand building" and "content creation" will also emerge, particularly in Switzerland. Creativity, both in the message and in its distribution, is in demand and is seen as the key to future success.
This success requires human skills and CMOs will need even better management and leadership skills in the future in order to strategically pursue a visionary goal with a strong team. At the same time, the entire team must remain adaptable and flexible. In a complex (marketing) world, team development and trust are becoming key aspects. The focus here is on strategic competencies and brand management skills, followed by digital competencies including AI.
"The trend will be towards voice search, as this is increasingly in line with user behavior, particularly with regard to smartphones. AI remains a big topic," says Dr. Maria Comos-Birmanns, Head of Marketing and Communication at Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences Switzerland. Inga Niemeyer, Head of Marketing at Baloise, writes: "Tight budgets and resources require marketing activities to be focused on clearly defined goals and topics. Increasing efficiency and effectiveness is a top topic in the coming year".
Read all the study results on Switzerland in detail here.
The CMO Barometer is an annual study in which around 800 top marketers from the most important companies in the DACH region and eight other countries are surveyed. The data is collected in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, BeLux (Belgium, Luxembourg), the Netherlands, Spain, France, Italy, the UK and the Middle East. The study was conducted by the Serviceplan Group for the sixth time, for the fourth time in Switzerland and for the second time in cooperation with the University of St.Gallen (HSG).
