Marketing budgets are expected to grow by around 20% over the next 12 months, despite recessionary fears of budget cuts and reduced funding.
The latest research from digital marketing consultants ConsultMyApp revealed that marketing budgets are not always first to be cut during a market downturn, with investment in the sector planned to continue throughout 2023.
In fact, the data revealed that more than three-quarters (77%) of CMOs are planning on increasing their marketing spend over the same period. This investment comes despite almost half (44%) of MCOs expecting a recession to impact their business negatively.
While just over a third (36%) of CMOs plan to hire internally, the outlook remains more positive for agencies, as more than half (52%) are planning to outsource their marketing over the coming year.
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The services most likely to be outsourced include marketing platform implementation and migration (32%), digital strategy and consulting services (32%), SEO (31%) and data integration, analytics and insight (27%).
The 250 CMOs who took part in the research also indicated they would be investing in brand building (42%), new service introductions (42%), traditional advertising spend (41%) and web/mobile web marketing spend (38%).
ConsultMyApp founder and ceo Mike Rhodes said: “Any sign of a recession usually sends jitters through the marketing industry – particularly for those working agency-side. So, it’s encouraging to see an upbeat outlook from CMOs, with ongoing investment in key services like martech platform implementation and digital consulting services.
“Having said that, ahead of any economic downturn, it’s always vital for CMOs to review their entire marketing stack, to see what’s working and delivering, and what isn’t. Making sure marketing budgets are being utilised effectively and delivering consistently strong ROI is critical in these uncertain times.”
