Brand leaders stand strong on brand investment

Three-quarters of CMOs report that the past six months have been more stressful for brand management than the pandemic, but the great majority say they have invested in brand building this year. 

That’s according to research commissioned by brand management platform Frontify, which surveyed 450 CMOs across the US, UK and DACH* regions. This found that around half have had to cut external agency support (46%) and departmental budgets (45%), with knock-on effects on brand-building initiatives. Price increases also posed additional challenges (47%).

Why brand investment matters

Despite difficult economic conditions and budget cuts, there’s a widespread understanding that brand building has to carry on: 87% of CMOs reported investing in brand building this year, with a further 88% stating that it’s especially important to invest in brands during a recession.

Takeaways 

• CMOs believe brand distinctiveness (47%) is the most important to create brand resilience in challenging times, closely followed by having a strong performance team (41%), and strong links between customer insights and brand (40%). 
• 83% of marketing leaders have hired a chief brand officer in the last two years. 
• Half of marketers (51%) have invested in rebrands and brand refreshes in the past two years; 79% of CMOs say their brand refresh has been successful, but there are concerns about creating extra work for branding teams (41%) and an increased risk of branding errors (40%).
• Social media marketing is being prioritised as the most effective channel for brand building (26%), followed by direct marketing (18%).

* Germany (D), Austria (A) and Switzerland (CH) 

Sourced from Frontify