Marketing consulting firm Effective Brands has released its latest research report, "Marketing 2020." The report surveyed over 10,000 Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) across 92 countries, examining their views on the current state and future of the industry. Campaign Asia-Pacific highlighted the perspectives of Asian CMOs from this report and compared them with trends in other regions.
Regarding the most preferred KPI (Key Performance Indicator) for measuring marketing effectiveness, "Consumer Engagement" was the top choice in Asia (49%). Globally, however, it ranked fourth at 37%, trailing "Marketing ROI" (52%), "Revenue Growth Rate" (40%), and "Market Share" (39%). Conversely, only 32% of Asian CMOs evaluated "revenue growth rate" as a KPI, lower than the global average of 40%. This suggests Asian CMOs tend to prioritize long-term brand-building efforts more than their counterparts in other regions.
Furthermore, while data-driven marketing strategies are prioritized in Asia compared to other regions, resistance to data-centric approaches was also evident. Seventy-five percent of Asian CMOs stated their compensation is tied to KPIs, compared to 57% globally. Additionally, 65% of Asian CMOs stated "brand KPIs are linked to company performance," compared to 56% globally. Asia also outperformed globally in areas like "utilizing brand equity measurement results for operations" (48% Asia vs. 40% global) and and "established methods for measuring brand equity" (Asia 45%, global 39%). This indicates a stronger focus on data analysis in Asia. However, 29% of Asian CMOs felt that "strategies based on data and KPIs can hinder creativity," exceeding the global average of 14%.
Effective Brands, which conducted the survey, noted that the trends observed in Asia stem from "information overload," pointing out that "while big data is a hot topic, if not properly analyzed, the sheer volume of data becomes a burden for companies, preventing it from effectively driving creativity or consumer engagement."
Additionally, the survey revealed the marketing challenges Asian CMOs believe will increase in importance over the next five years: "Brand Positioning" (72%), "Consumer Understanding" (69%), "Segmentation" (67%), "Customer Service" (59%), and "Pricing Strategy" (53%). Furthermore, only 27% of respondents in Asia and 22% globally stated that their internal marketing personnel receive adequate training, indicating a relatively low figure and highlighting challenges in talent development.
