The Role of the CMO:

Marketing Strategies for 2010

November 2009
About the Survey
The survey was fielded between October 13, 2009 and November 13,
2009 among four separate audiences:
• Attendees of the 2009 Annual CMO Summit;
• The Forbes Advisory Panel, an opt-in panel of senior executive Forbes subscribers
surveyed regularly on business trends, ideas and issues;
• Forbes.com users, a subscriber database consisting of business decision-makers
who have registered on the Forbes website; and
• Marketing executive members of ExecuNet, a membership-only networking and
career organization for executive leaders
Forbes subscribers (members of the Advisory Panel and Forbes.com)
received the survey via email; ExecuNet respondents were invited to
participate in the survey via the Marketing Roundtable, a moderated
members-only group of senior marketing executives
A total of 114 responses were received; 72 were Forbes-affiliated and 42
were members of ExecuNet

2
 More than half of respondents’ media budgets are less
than $1 million; nearly one-quarter are $5 million or
more
Approximate size of total media budget
Total respondents

Estimated
average budget
approximately
$5.2 million

Q1. What is the approximate size of your total media budget? N=114
 Of those with budgets of $5 million or more,
one-third have between $10- and $20 million;
3 in 10 have more than $30 million
Respondents with marketing budgets of $5 million or more
N=27

Q1. What is the approximate size of your total media budget? N=27
 One-third of respondents expect their marketing
budgets to increase in 2010; 6% anticipate an increase
of 20% or more
Expected change in marketing budget, FY10 v. FY09
Total respondents

Decrease

Increase

Q2. Compared to fiscal year 2009, to what extent do you expect your organization’s marketing budget to decrease, stay about the same or increase in fiscal year 2010? N=114
 6 in 10 respondents with marketing budgets of $5
million or more anticipate budget increases in 2010;
11% foresee increases of 20% or more
Expected change in marketing budget, FY10 v. FY09
Total respondents v. Respondents with $5MM+ budgets

Decrease

Increase

Q2. Compared to fiscal year 2009, to what extent do you expect your organization’s marketing budget to decrease, stay about the same or increase in fiscal year 2010? N=114, N=27
 Social media, SEO, online display on branded sites, PR and WOM
are the top areas total respondents expect to receive a higher
percentage of marketing spend over the next 6 months (blue);
traditional media – most notably, print publications – will see the
biggest declines (red)
Plans for allocation of marketing spend over the next 6 months,
Increase in allocation (blue) vs. Decrease in allocation (red)
Total respondents

Q3. How do you see your organization’s marketing spend allocation changing over the next six months? N=114
 Respondents with $5MM+ marketing budgets are far
more likely to plan to increase marketing spend on
paid search, television and online display on portals,
while total respondents are likelier to look to WOM
Plans for allocation of a higher percentage of marketing spend over the next 6 months
Total respondents v. Respondents with $5MM+ budgets

Q3. How do you see your organization’s marketing spend allocation changing over the next six months? N=114, N=27
Respondents are least likely to spend any current
marketing dollars on traditional media: TV, radio,
outdoor and print newspaper
Media types for which there is no currently marketing spend allocation
Total respondents

Q3. How do you see your organization’s marketing spend allocation changing over the next six months? N=114
 Total respondents are far less likely to allocate any
marketing budget on a much wider range of media
types than are those with $5MM+ budgets; WOM is
the sole exception
Media types for which there is no currently marketing spend allocation
Total respondents v. Respondents with $5MM+ budgets

10

Q3. How do you see your organization’s marketing spend allocation changing over the next six months? N=114; N=27
 Respondents with $5MM+ budgets tilt more toward
measurement and accountability over the “Big Idea” as
the most important aspect of a marketing campaign;
total respondents are more evenly split
Most important aspect of marketing program

Total Respondents $5MM+

11

Q4. Which of the following is more important to your marketing program? N=114; N=27
 Advertising, research and PR are the top areas
falling under the purview of marketing, followed
distantly by internal communications and CSR
Areas falling within responsibility of marketing group
Total respondents

12

Q5. Which of the following areas fall within your responsibility as Chief Marketing Officer? (Please select all that apply) N=114
Respondents with $5MM+ budgets unanimously count
advertising as a marketing responsibility, and 9 in 10 also point
to market research; PR, internal communications and CSR follow
distantly, at a significantly lower rate than for total respondents
Areas falling within responsibility of marketing group
Total respondents

13
 Social media seen as the single-most promising form of new media
that will be a useful tool for marketing in an unaided question,
followed distantly by mobile applications; respondents with
$5MM+ budgets tilted heavily toward social media and mobile
applications
Most promising or experimental new form of media seen as a
useful tool for marketing initiatives in the coming years
N=72, N=21

Media type Total Respondents $5MM+

Social media/networking
Mobile applications
Measurement/analytics
Search engine marketing
Behavioral targeting
31 11
9 6
6 1
5 1
3 1

14
Q6. What do you feel is the single-most promising or experimental new form of media that will be a useful tool for your marketing initiatives in the coming years? (open-ended) N=72; N=21
 Total respondents’ primary concerns about tracking consumer
behavior focus on getting a return on their investment
(effectiveness and usefulness), far more so than government
regulation and consumer privacy issues
Level of concern about aspects of tracking consumer behavior for data mining purposes
Total respondents

15

Q7. How concerned are you about tracking consumer behavior for data mining purposes when it comes to each of the following? N=114
 Marketing executives with $5MM+ budgets were notably less
concerned with nearly all aspects of tracking consumer behavior,
with the exception of privacy issues

Level of concern about aspects of tracking consumer behavior for data mining purposes,
“Extremely Concerned”
Total respondents v. $5MM+

16

Q7. How concerned are you about tracking consumer behavior for data mining purposes when it comes to each of the following? N=114; N=27
 Demographics, Total Respondents
Title Company Size Company Revenue

65% VP or above One-quarter of respondents from Average company size

enterprise-sized companies approximately $1.7 billion

Q8. Which of the following best describes your title? N=114

Q9. Which of the following ranges most closely represents the total number of employees in your organization worldwide? Your best estimate is fine. Please select one response only. N=114
17
Q10. Which of the following categories represents your organization’s enterprise-wide annual revenue (across your worldwide organization, including all of its branches, divisions, and subsidiaries)
for your most recent fiscal year? Please select one response only. N=114
 Demographics, $5MM+ budget

Title Company Size Company Revenue

78% VP or above 6 in 10 respondents from Average company size

enterprise-sized companies approximately $4.5 billion

Q8. Which of the following best describes your title? N=27

Q9. Which of the following ranges most closely represents the total number of employees in your organization worldwide? Your best estimate is fine. Please select one response only. N=27
18
Q10. Which of the following categories represents your organization’s enterprise-wide annual revenue (across your worldwide organization, including all of its branches, divisions, and subsidiaries)
for your most recent fiscal year? Please select one response only. N=27
Questionnaire
1. What is the approximate size of your total media budget?
2. Compared to fiscal year 2009, to what extent do you expect your organization’s marketing
budget to decrease, stay about the same or increase in fiscal year 2010? Please select one
response only.
3. How do you see your organization’s marketing spend allocation changing over the next six
months?
4. Which of the following is more important to your marketing program?
5. Which of the following areas fall within your responsibility as Chief Marketing Officer? (Please
select all that apply)
6. What do you feel is the single-most promising or experimental new form of media that will be a
useful tool for your marketing initiatives in the coming years? (open-ended)
7. How concerned are you about tracking consumer behavior for data mining purposes when it
comes to each of the following?
8. Which of the following best describes your title?
9. Which of the following ranges most closely represents the total number of employees in your
organization worldwide? Your best estimate is fine. Please select one response only.
10. Which of the following categories represents your organization’s enterprise-wide annual
revenue (across your worldwide organization, including all of its branches, divisions, and
subsidiaries) for your most recent fiscal year? Please select one response only.

19