European-Wide CMO Research Shows UK Not Interested in Sustainability in 2023

New research from fully integrated agency group UNLIMITED and our international partner Serviceplan Consulting Group, has brought to life what is on the CMO agenda for 2023, as part of the annual CMO Barometer study.

The UNLIMITED Human Understanding Lab team interviewed 82 UK CMOs, combined with Serviceplan’s 388 CMOs across eight European countries, to understand what brands are prioritising as we head into 2023.

The key CMO Barometer research findings were as follows:

- When asked how important sustainability will be in 2023, it was considered the most important marketing trend across all countries surveyed - except for the UK which marked it as the lowest priority (only 70.73% of UK CMOs deemed it a top concern).

- Developing excellent customer experience ranked the number one priority for CMOs in 2023 (particularly Switzerland) but was the lowest priority for UK CMOs

- Encouraging team spirit in hybrid teams came second as a priority task. However, the UK disagrees and was rated last as a priority.

- Other trends CMOs consider a priority in 2023 include Emotional Brand Building (number 1 in Germany) and Content Creation (notably in Austria, with 90.5% of CMOs selecting it).

When asked how important the following marketing trends will be in 2023, the survey revealed the metaverse, NFTs and Gaming came lowest on priority lists for CMOs. Specifically, Gaming ranked the lowest in Belgium (18.2%) and highest in Italy (42%), NFT’s and the metaverse ranked the lowest in Switzerland (24.1%) and highest in the UK (58.5%)

Simon Collister, PhD, director at UNLIMITED’s Human Understanding Lab, said: “There is a clear opportunity for CMOs to step up to the sustainability agenda. While priorities vary across markets, the ultimate goal is understanding where and how to play. The Human Understanding Lab has deep insight and a ‘Six Step’ approach to help move consumers from wanting to live sustainably to actually doing so. Using behavioural and neuroscience we can help CMOs unlock the potential opportunities identified in this report.”

Tim Bonnet, president at UNLIMITED, said: “The CMO Barometer research is the perfect way to encapsulate the importance of international perspective for brands - we’re thrilled to partner with Serviceplan Group on this major study, as it presents valuable insights for brand leaders here in the UK and context for our own teams on how we can best support pan-regional brands in getting cultural priorities and mood into their strategy and comms.”