Wunderkind Report Reveals CMO Insights on Omnichannel Marketing Budget, Increased Revenue Potential in Brand-Customer Relationship

1st Annual Survey of Top B2C Ecommerce Brands Explores Data Awareness, Resource Allocation, DE&I and Post-Covid Retail Lessons

NEW YORK, September 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — With the height of the global pandemic and the initial appearance of the supply chain crisis in the rearview mirror, new research from prodigyone of the leading performance marketing channels delivering personalized messages for the biggest brands, publishers and advertisers, shows that almost all CMOs (94%) view the past two years as a watershed moment for marketers. marketing.

As part of its first annual edition CMO State of the Union report, Wunderkind sought to understand how e-commerce organizations exceeding $3 million of annual online revenue reflect the impact and lessons of the post-pandemic era and predict the way forward in today’s tumultuous retail market.

The Not So Silver Lining

Although the pandemic, supply chain issues and inflation have proven to be trying for brands, CMOs are showing they are extremely resilient. Despite the decline of brick-and-mortar retail over the past two years, CMOs have spotted growth areas and accelerated the development of omnichannel solutions.

Research shows that 73% of CMOs have met or exceeded revenue projections and 55% have been able to increase their overall marketing spend over the past two years. However, while 79% have moved more of their marketing spend online, only a third believe this change will last and 71% of CMOs plan to reduce their marketing spend online in the future.

“CMOs are now at a crossroads. Innovation must continue in order to communicate the right message, retain consumers, increase revenue and achieve digital maturity,” said Richard JonesChief Revenue Officer at Wunderkind. “While legacy technology has helped brands begin to reshape their marketing strategies, it has also created seas of disparate data and tools that don’t speak to each other, ultimately preventing brands from unlocking additional tangible revenue streams. “

Marketing Technology: Unlocking Competitive Advantages

With the impending deprecation of third-party cookies, it becomes even more imperative for brands to leverage first-party data as a cost-effective marketing strategy to build customer loyalty. While many companies have leveraged creative solutions to manage customer expectations, the report shows that without understanding how to fully leverage the technologies brands have invested in, CMOs could be leaving money on the table.

Specifically, resource allocation, internal knowledge, measurement, and the use of first-party data are among the biggest areas of opportunity. Wunderkind discovered that:

• While 67% of CMOs rely on their own employees to adapt existing technology to get the value they need, only 9% believe their technology strategy greatly improves their marketing performance.
• 96% of brand marketers believe there is a knowledge gap in their technology
• 90% believe there is a lack of resources that prevents them from succeeding
• Nearly three-quarters of CMOs rely on social media and search engine metrics to measure marketing ROI, while less than half rely on customer experience metrics
• 60% of CMOs feel prepared to move away from cookies, but 40% believe there is still work to be done

The report also indicates that some brands remain too dependent on external channels and third-party data to target, retarget and acquire new customers. In fact, while first-party data has been ranked as having the least positive impact on marketing results, the conundrum remains that if marketers cannot recognize a customer for who they are and where they finds, it becomes incredibly difficult to effectively scale one-to-one messages through proprietary marketing channels.

Diversity and inclusion remain a priority

Amid growing pressure on brands to personalize their communication and use the right channels to authentically reach their audience, they are also experiencing continued demand to reflect high-profile external issues such as social justice, diversity and sustainability. . The report finds:

• Diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) has the greatest impact on consumer marketing (37%) when it requires leadership team involvement in marketing strategy
• Other external factors impacting marketing teams are social issues (33%), environmental issues (32%) and governance/compliance (26%).
• These issues were significantly more pronounced for executives, citing DE&I (65%), governance/compliance (64%), environmental issues (50%), social issues (49%) as their top pressures.

Highlighting a potential disconnect between how brands deal with macro-external issues from a corporate reputation perspective versus a holistic omnichannel marketing approach, the takeaway is that brands need to keep their customers in touch. ‘spirit.

“While many retailers are weathering the turbulent landscape, the fact remains that many marketers’ reliance on the status quo – from legacy technology and resources to third-party data – is preventing their organizations from unlock much-needed new revenue streams,” said Michael OsbornePresident at Wunderkind. “Wunderkind is a leader in helping major global brands not only unlock first-party data as cookies depreciate, but also seize the opportunity in a powerful performance marketing channel that also adds value for customers in a holistic brand experience.”

The survey was first revealed at WUNDER, an invitation-only conference hosted by Wunderkind with high profile speakers and attendees from brands including Rag & Bone, JLo Beauty, Casemate, Washington Commanders and Spartan. The full “CMO State of the Union” report can be downloaded here.

Report methodology
The Wunderkind CMO State of the Union was established as an annual survey to take the pulse of the CMOs of leading B2C brands. Commissioned by Wunderkind, the research was conducted online by Savanta Feb-April 2022 among 107 Director+ level professionals in the US and UK working in organizations with more than $3 million in online revenue per year and in the following roles: executive, marketing, finance, information or operations. Qualitative interviews were also conducted with senior executives at VP level and above in companies $20 million + online revenue.

About Wunderkind
Wunderkind is a leading performance marketing channel that tailors individual messages to the biggest brands, publishers and advertisers. Digital businesses use Wunderkind to remember site visitors who are better than ever, enabling them to deliver high-performing personalized messages on websites, through email and text, and in one-to-one ads. scale that is not possible otherwise. Disc wonders $5 billion annually in directly attributable revenue for major e-commerce brands such as Uniqlo, Hugo BossHelloFresh and Conde Nast, often ranking among the top 3 revenue channels in their own analyses. Learn more by visiting the Wunderkind website.

Media contact
KCSA Strategic Communications
Wunderkind@kcsa.com

SOURCE The Prodigy