UK Marketers' Confidence for 2023 Grows Despite Dim Hopes for Economy

The confidence of marketers in the U.K. appears to be growing despite the economic turmoil being experienced around the world, with the majority having seen their marketing budgets grow this year. According to The CMO 75 Report released by the Chartered Institute of Marketers (CIM), there has been a rise in marketing budgets for 59% of those interviewed this year, with 18% having seen a decline. Over half (53%) said that they expected to see their budgets grow by an average of between 11 and 20% next year, which would be lower than the 21-30% experienced in 2022. The report recorded a rise of two points in confidence for the industry next year, despite confidence in the prospects of the U.K. economy dropping by 16 points in comparison to last year’s report. There was an increase in confidence of five points from those working with international brands, with a view that the U.K. is behind most of the the global economic outlook. Ad Spend Growth Dims as CMOs Try to Keep the Lights On Almost a third (29%) of those who expected to see a decrease in their budgets claimed that was due to the cost of living crisis, while a quarter (25%) said it was down to the challenge of attracting and retaining customers. Just over a tenth (11%) said it was down to changes in customer behavior. The results for the report came from 20-minute interviews conducted with 75 marketers from the U.K. during the second half of this year. Marketers' concerns Skill shortages were also found to be a concern of marketers, with 73% highlighting those, followed by recruitment (72%) and staff retention at just under two-thirds (61%). Chris Daly, chief executive at the CIM, said that the coming year would “test the resilience” of the marketing sector but added that the majority could also see “a silver lining” ahead. “With household budgets under pressure from rising costs, and wages shrinking due to inflation, brands have the opportunity to benefit from both those trading down from premium offerings or looking for affordable luxuries to compensate for compromised lifestyles.” he continued. “Attracting and retaining these new customers will be key, as will negotiating sufficient resources from the wider business to unlock much-needed growth.” It was also found that 64% felt that the amount of regulation around social media was too little and that over half (56%) felt the social platforms should do more to protect clients and customers. Daly also highlighted questions raised “about marketing’s role in the world” this year as a result of the ethics of major brands sponsoring the World Cup in Qatar, a country whose human rights record has been heavily criticized. “As we move deeper into the decade, professional marketers are no longer accepting data and assurances at face value, but rather training themselves to establish a higher degree of professional judgment on business-critical decisions which can unlock growth,” he added. Earlier this week, research from IAB Europe and Microsoft discovered that marketers were increasingly turning to Retail Media partners in order to improve their consumer engagement opportunities. The research claimed that 90% of more than 800 buy-side stakeholders planned to work with a retailer in 2023 as they aimed to beat the erosion of the third-party cookie set to take place in 2024.