Few could have predicted how 2020 would turn out. The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the business landscape and presented marketers with a challenge for which there is arguably no existing playbook.

This year’s dentsu CMO survey was undertaken in May-June 2020. This was a pivotal inflection point where brands were gauging the success of their emergency measures whilst starting to think about how to move forward in the new normal. In this research we identify the best practices that will be implemented by leading marketers as they look to steer their brands towards recovery and future growth.

As the dust settles, numerous questions confront today’s CMO: If marketing budgets are under threat, how can we balance protecting the business and safeguarding the brand?

How can we align our brand with changing consumer sentiment? To what extent will shifts in consumer behaviour be permanent? What type of strategies should my organisation be pursuing to position for growth?

It sounds clichéd, but we believe that out of a challenge comes opportunity. Why? Because CMOs are on the front line of managing the crisis within their organisations. They represent the conduit between the consumer and the boardroom. They set the tone of messaging both internally and amongst consumers. They can situate themselves at the centre of new product and service development, or the creation of pioneering channels to market.

In this report we suggest that while today’s recovery phase is a step into the unknown for all CMOs, it also represents a moment for CMOs to reassert their role in the boardroom, take control of the agenda and position their brand for growth.