PALO ALTO, Calif. (Dec. 3, 2012)—Despite a varied and mixed outlook for the global economy, chief marketers report positive outlooks for their roles and functional areas. Nearly 70 percent received a salary or bonus in 2011, and 73 percent expect the same at the end of this year depending on the performance of their businesses, reports the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council.

The compensation insights—which look at salary, bonus, commissions, options, equity, and other perks and privileges—are based on the CMO Council’s sixth annual “State of Marketing” audit. A comprehensive 55-page report of this quantitative online research contains a detailed and diligent assessment of marketing planning, budget allocation, organizational development, and group operational effectiveness worldwide.

Reflecting a more competitive market, more than 50 percent of marketers increased 2012 budgets in contrast to 22 percent who have seen budget reductions; some 24 percent had no change in spend over 2011. Hiring new talent is anticipated by nearly 50 percent of marketers, while 19 percent expect to shed staff. Nearly 60 percent expect to make an agency change, with social marketing, web design, and PR firms topping the list of those to be cut; lack of innovation and value-added thinking is the primary reason for a switch.

The multi-regional benchmark report serves as a valuable resource and reference tool for the CMO Council’s 6,000-plus members worldwide. These members control more than $300 billion in annual aggregated marketing spend. It is the most rigorous and comprehensive report of its kind in the marketing sector. Survey findings provide peer-level input and consensus on critical strategic marketing issues and priorities, as well as insights into actions and intentions in the year ahead.

This 2012 report gained input from more than 550 heads of marketing, communications, and customer engagement in North America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Nearly 65 percent of these marketers report to the president, chief executive officer or chief operating officer, and a further 15 percent report to regional and business division chiefs. More than 30 percent of respondents represent companies with more than $1 billion in annual sales; 11 percent have between $500 million and $1 billion in sales; and another 30 percent come from companies with revenues between $50 million and $500 million. Nearly 60 percent of respondents globally held executive officer titles, with the balance at the director level.

Key findings surrounding job outlook, compensation, professional development, challenges, and strategic priorities include:

• Only 11 percent of chief marketers believe their job is at risk; however, 38 percent believe they are not fairly compensated compared to 39 percent who are satisfied with their current compensation.


• The majority of chief marketers (77 percent) globally earn a base salary of $100,000 to $349,000, and 42 percent anticipate a bonus, with another possible 31 percent based on performance; many also enjoy perks, privileges, expense accounts, equity, and stock options in their compensation packages.


• CMOs believe furthering personal leadership and motivational skills is the best way to advance their careers; on the other hand, increasing collaboration with sales and/or channel organizations is their top professional priority in the coming months.


• Many find organizational cultures frustrating and undermining marketing success; but insufficient budget is the biggest source of aggravation.


• Top-line revenue growth and market share gains remain senior management’s top mandates for marketing; an overwhelming 82 percent of marketers believe this is an attainable goal in the current global economy.

Topics explored in the 45-point “State of Marketing” audit included:

• Top marketing group accomplishments in the preceding year


• Senior management mandates and requirements for marketing


• Areas of CMO responsibility and budget control


• Size of marketing budgets and outlook for marketing spend


• Allocations of marketing budgets across both operational and functional areas


• Headcount changes and talent sourcing and management priorities


• Digital marketing progress, direction, and metrics for measuring ROI


• Agency
  performance evaluation and change intentions


• Professional and personal development priorities for CMOs


• Compensation from both a base salary and incentive standpoint


• Variations and insights into regional market challenges, complexities, and dynamics


• Factors influencing regional marketing strategies and mix allocations


• Emerging market growth potential and prioritization criteria


• Approaches to maximizing marketing value and effectiveness


• Procurement of marketing automation solutions and benefits being realized


• Organizational and operational changes and transformation projects

A complimentary executive summary of the report can be sourced online, while the full report can be purchased for $199. For CMO Council members who are premium content subscribers ($495 annually), the full report is available at no cost.  To download the complimentary executive summary or to purchase the full report with expanded executive summary, charts, graphs and detailed breakdowns of findings, please visit: www.cmocouncil.org/thought-leadership/reports/249/download

About the CMO Council

The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council is dedicated to high-level knowledge exchange, thought leadership and personal relationship building among senior corporate marketing leaders and brand decision-makers across a wide-range of global industries. The CMO Council's 6,000 members control more than $300 billion in aggregated annual marketing expenditures and run complex, distributed marketing and sales operations worldwide. In total, the CMO Council and its strategic interest communities include over 20,000 global executives in more than 110 countries covering multiple industries, segments and markets. Regional chapters and advisory boards are active in the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East, India and Africa. The Council's strategic interest groups include the Coalition to Leverage and Optimize Sales Effectiveness (CLOSE), LoyaltyLeaders.org, Marketing Supply Chain Institute, Customer Experience Board, Market Sense-Ability Center, Digital Marketing Performance Institute, GeoBranding Center, and the Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience (FAME). More information on the CMO Council is available at www.cmocouncil.org.

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Media Contact:

Crystal Berry

Director, Marketing Programs and Communications

cberry@cmocouncil.org