What marketing leaders need to know
We surveyed 425 marketing decision makers, including 103 CMOs, across industries, company sizes, and regions to show how forward-thinking marketing leaders are incorporating AI into their critical infrastructure.
C-suite perspectives
Insights on the $500K+ investments that are reshaping marketing operations
Exclusive workflow insights
See how top performers structure their days with SME interviews and diary studies
Modern marketer skills
Data and creative skills are now both must-haves to drive results
Budget allocation frameworks
A matrix companies can use to weigh budget against speed, quality, and personalization
Organizational design principles
For teams that refuse to choose between creativity and efficiency
Regional insights
Differences between how US and EMEA counterparts think and work
While CMOs claim to be all-in on AI, budgets reveal hesitation
See what the data reveals about how marketers are actually learning to work alongside machines.
The optimism–execution gap is the new marketing fault line
While 96% of CMOs are “prioritizing AI,” only 65% of companies are making meaningful investments of $100K+. The winners will be those who stop treating AI as an experiment and start finding ways to incorporate it into their infrastructure.
Where smart marketing leaders are placing their bets
Well over half of teams are planning to spend over $100K on AI in the next 12-36 months. But making the investment is just the beginning. Successful teams are treating AI as a meaningful part of their infrastructure rather than a side project.
Data analysis is a new must-have marketing skillset
Creativity without data is guesswork; data without creativity is irrelevant. Data analysis and interpretation are now the top-ranked marketing skills at 46%. The future belongs to marketers fluent in both, what we have dubbed ‘evidence-based creativity.’
Speed vs. quality is a false choice
Elite teams are proving that adaptability is survival – scaling personalization, speed, and excellence at once. 42% of marketers define success by content quality and consistency, while 40% demand fast execution. A composable approach is the only way to make “both/and” more than a buzzword.
The optimism–execution gap is the new marketing fault line
While 96% of CMOs are “prioritizing AI,” only 65% of companies are making meaningful investments of $100K+. The winners will be those who stop treating AI as an experiment and start finding ways to incorporate it into their infrastructure.
Where smart marketing leaders are placing their bets
Well over half of teams are planning to spend over $100K on AI in the next 12-36 months. But making the investment is just the beginning. Successful teams are treating AI as a meaningful part of their infrastructure rather than a side project.
Data analysis is a new must-have marketing skillset
Creativity without data is guesswork; data without creativity is irrelevant. Data analysis and interpretation are now the top-ranked marketing skills at 46%. The future belongs to marketers fluent in both, what we have dubbed ‘evidence-based creativity.’
Speed vs. quality is a false choice
Elite teams are proving that adaptability is survival – scaling personalization, speed, and excellence at once. 42% of marketers define success by content quality and consistency, while 40% demand fast execution. A composable approach is the only way to make “both/and” more than a buzzword.
" 42% of marketing leaders identify AI as their top opportunity while 41% struggle with tool adaptation, signaling that AI adoption focuses on fundamentally restructuring how marketing work gets done rather than just adding capabilities."
Where we go from here
AI isn’t a magic wand! Marketers need to go beyond experimentation and transformation and work on optimizing capabilities, processes, and ways of thinking.
Make data fluency non-negotiable
Invest in developing analytical capabilities across teams.
Stop experimenting, start systematizing
Move beyond ad-hoc experimentation to systematic implementation that includes IT.
Optimize, don't accumulate
Optimize and integrate existing technology stacks rather than continuously adding new tools.
