These offerings are designed to give insights, advice and peer-based inspiration. The offering is open to corporate marketing, finance and procurement decision-makers, agencies, media channels and the marketing supply chain ecosystem.

The offerings include: 

  • a four-part webinar series with KPMG in May, titled 'Marketing Mandate 2020: Pivot Your Plans, Optimise Your Spend'. These presentations and discussions explore strategies for maximising returns from prior investments, effectively managing assets and agencies and improving plan and spend agility.
  • new thought leadership studies to define a new customer-intuitive enterprise model, help companies achieve topline and bottom-line growth through data-driven analytics around 'Customer Economics' and map routes to recovery through more effective omni-channel channel digital engagement and commerce.
  • savings of $400 on the cost of using the CMO Council's online decision support center and research library by giving unlimited access to all marketers, agencies, academics and students valuable peer-based knowledge and insights for just $95 a year, and
  • a knowledge transfer and agency search service partnership with the 4As, an organisation that serves more than 600 member agencies across 1 200 offices. Collectively, these firms help direct more than 85% of the total United States advertising spend.
According to a recent CMO Council audit of its members, most CMOs also feel relatively confident about their company's ability to manage through the global economic downturn. Nearly 60% expressed moderate confidence in their company's contingency, containment and recovery plans, while 31% are extremely confident.

However, many CMO Council members are facing up to some harsh budget realities. Nearly half of marketers surveyed by the CMO Council are bracing for marketing spending cuts. Another 26 percent don’t know what’s going to happen to their funding.

Compounding the challenge and complexity facing the marketing and media sectors are new indicators of spend constraints and resource reductions ahead, notes the CMO Council.

Big brand advertisers are seeking to walk back spending commitments they made to broadcast and cable TV networks, reveals The Wall Street Journal. Ad buyers estimate that roughly $1-billion to $1.5-billion in commitments for third-quarter ad spending could be canceled.

Digital media powerhouse Google has announced it intends to cut marketing budgets by as much as half for the second half of the year, as well as initiate hiring freezes, reports CNBC.

Key findings from the Q1 2020 Bellwether Report issued by the United Kingdom-based Institute of Practitioners in Advertising reveal that:
  • total marketing budgets declined at the fastest rate since the global financial crisis in Q1
  • the Coronavirus pandemic caused broad-based cuts to all forms of marketing activity, with market research and events the main casualties, and
  • ad spend forecast to shrink in 2020, but recovery set for 2021 onward.
McKinsey estimates that consumers might cut back as much as between 40 and 50 percent of discretionary spending, which translates to roughly a 10% reduction in GDP.

In B2B, nearly 50% of companies have cut their short-term spending and a similar portion expect to reduce their long-term budgets as well.

For more information, visit www.cmocouncil.org. You can also follow the CMO Council on Twitter.