Optimistic on Economy, CMOs See Budget Growth

If you're a marketer optimistic about the economy and planning to boost spending this year, you're like the CMOs of top U.S. companies. The CMO Survey found that chief marketing officers at Fortune 1000 and Forbes Top 200 companies are more optimistic about economic prospects so far this year than they've been since the start of recession in 2008, per a recent MarketingProfs report. The surveyed CMOs also expect marketing budgets to grow by 8.7% on average in 2015, the biggest increase since 2012. The digital marketing spend is expected to lead budget growth, forecast to rise by 14.7% this year, compared with an expected 1.1% drop in traditional advertising spend. Mobile marketing continues its charge, with mobile forecast to triple its share of marketing budgets from the current 3.2% to 9% in the next three years. Meanwhile, social media hovers at an average 10% of marketing budgets, even though the majority of surveyed marketers admit that they can't quantify results and have poor integration of social with overall marketing strategy. For details, see http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2015/27218/how-cmos-feel-about-the-year-ahead