Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) are increasing their spend on digital channels as the COVID pandemic has scuppered many 2020 offline campaigns.

As a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic, one-third of CMOs (33%) now rank brand strategy as one of the top three strategic priorities – a big jump from 2019, surpassing analytics, personalization and marketing technology.

This is an interesting U-turn in trends as people look for safety and trust in their chosen brands as well as good online experience.

According to analyst Gartner’s CMO Spend Survey 2020, 74% of CMOs say they will spend more on digital advertising. While budgets have been hit in 2020, with 28% of CMOs stating they have cancelled media buys, marketers remain confident on the outlook for paid media in the next 12 months.

“CMOs should tread lightly with their expectations for paid media in the months ahead, as solid investments are likely to weaken,” said Ewan McIntyre, vice president analyst for Gartner for Marketers.

“Marketers remain stoic in the face of adversity and are significantly out of step with other members of the C-suite. We are seeing a significant number of CEOs and CFOs building scenario plans that include a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“CMOs should plan for future budgetary pressures now, rather than gamble on budgets bouncing back.”