The 2024 Deloitte CMO Survey Shows Need for Smarter Deployment of Resources

The Fall 2024 CMO Survey paints a clear picture of a market defined by tight budgets, heightened scrutiny, and a struggle to maximize technology investments. Here are three key takeaways from the report.

1. “Do More with Less” Is the Mandate

CMOs are operating under immense pressure to control costs, which puts any excessive overhead under the microscope.

• Marketing Is the First to Be Cut: When profits are lower than expected, executives are more likely to focus on cutting expenses (46%) than growing revenues (33%). Crucially, marketing is disproportionately impacted, with executives cutting marketing expenses over other areas 44.6% of the time.
• Budgets Are Shrinking Relative to Revenue: Marketing spend as a percentage of company revenues fell to 7.7% in Fall 2024, its lowest level in over three years.

This environment directly favors the use of smaller, more efficient agency partners.

2. Expertise Trumps Tool Ownership with MarTech

Companies are spending heavily on technology, yet struggling to leverage it effectively. This is arguably the most compelling argument for an external, integrated partner.

• Tools Underperform Expectations: A staggering 54.9% of marketing leaders report a gap between the actual payoff of martech and their hopes for it.
• Underutilization Is Widespread: Only 51.5% of martech tools purchased are actually being utilized in company operations.

MarTech complexity and the inability of internal teams to fully utilize their tool stack create massive sunk costs. A strategic agency focused on measurement and analysis can step in immediately, building on your internal skill set to make the technology work to drive business results—not just manage the tools.

3. The Digital and AI Mandate: Navigating Disruption with Agility

The pace of change, driven by digital transformation and AI, requires a partner who can be proactive and flexible.

• AI for Efficiency: Marketers report that the use of AI in marketing is resulting in lower marketing overhead costs, down 8.9% from Spring 2024.
• Focus on Digital: While overall spending growth is slowing, digital marketing spending continues to increase, up 11.1% in Fall 2024.
• Increased Need for External Strategy: Nearly a quarter (24.7%) of marketers are concerned that pursuing digital opportunities has drawn attention away from marketing strategy fundamentals.

An efficient agency doesn’t just manage digital campaigns; it serves as a strategic partner that applies that growing digital budget effectively, ensuring that AI-driven efficiencies translate into better performance—not just lower costs. They bring an objective, veteran-level perspective to keep the focus on strategy as the digital landscape shifts.