Serviceplan: "CMO Barometer" surveyed for the first time for Switzerland only

Rarely has a look at the mood among CMOs been more exciting than today: What has the pandemic situation and its consequences done to brands, advertising and everyday life in marketing departments? What focus will decision-makers have in the coming year when it comes to reaching consumers? Four key insights can be gleaned from the responses of the 48 CMOs in the "CMO Barometer".

Pandemic has greatly accelerated developments in the field of digitalization

Although data-driven marketing, CX and sustainability communication are among the most important trends, marketing in 2022 will be dominated by the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic and digitalization. The use of digital technologies in marketing is unavoidable and is gaining in importance due to the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. In general, CMOs are also expected to focus more on the digitalization of marketing and improving the CX compared to the previous year.

Brand and changing management requirements come more into focus

The development and maintenance of brands is seen as a central part of the CMO's repertoire of tasks in 2022. This will be accompanied by new challenges due to the coronavirus, such as changing management requirements and working models. The human factor is becoming more important again.

Creativity remains an important driver

CMOs want company-oriented, creative ideas at all levels. They expect their agency partners to be up to date with the latest trends.

Sustainability has established itself as a megatopic

Although sustainability is not at the top of the list, it is still one of the three most important topics. One might have thought that this trend would be a lower priority during the pandemic. However, the opposite is true: many companies have noticed that it is mainly consumers who are asking them to act on sustainability issues.

"A strong brand was, is and will remain the goal of all CMOs. However, the way to achieve this is changing constantly and ever faster," says Pam Hügli, CEO and Partner at Serviceplan Suisse. "Our job is to combine factors such as creativity, relevance and empathy with hard facts gained through digital technologies. The ability to optimally combine these two worlds is a strong driver for a successful brand."

Peter Schäfer, Chief Strategy Officer at Serviceplan Suisse, adds: "The results show that the human factor is becoming more important again. During the pandemic, CMOs have realized how important it is to integrate 'humanity' back into business. Customer relationships and customer loyalty have regained significance. But internal topics such as teamwork, employee management and new collaboration models are also high on the agenda."

The "CMO Barometer" is an annual study by Serviceplan Consulting Group and Facit. It is based on an online survey of marketing managers from companies of all sectors and sizes in the DACH region. The study was conducted exclusively for Switzerland for the first time. 48 Swiss CMOs took part in the current survey. The detailed results of the "CMO Barometer" with a classification of the results by experts from the Serviceplan Group and other CMO voices are available at in the presentation.