With a new year comes new challenges, but also business opportunities as leaders and marketers set their sights on embracing trends and solutions that can set them up for success.

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Curated through surveys and in-depth conversations with more than 1,000 C-suite executives, Deloitte’s “2023 Global Marketing Trends” report offers guidance through uncertainties that business leaders may face, while presenting meaningful approaches to consider which may help propel businesses forward with new business opportunities. The report focuses on four topics: financial uncertainty, sustainability, creativity and tech trends to watch. Listed are a few key recommendations marketers can consider going into 2023:

  • Invest in digital technologies, platforms, new markets and customer personalization.
  • Improve sustainability efforts within internal marketing practices and establish long-term commitments.
  • Make more room for creativity by bringing the rest of the organization along for the ride.
  • Consider laying the foundation for metaverse or blockchain adoption.

Why this matters

Amid fluctuating and uncertain economic indicators of 2023, marketers are focusing on investments and business opportunities that can help their organizations be resilient in the face of rapid change. As new platforms disrupt existing digital marketing models and slipping consumer confidence requires focused attention on customer loyalty and innovating new growth opportunities, the “2023 Global Marketing Trends” report offers inspiration and motivation to help bring considerable, creative and lasting impact. Marketers, business leaders and C-suite executives can glean insights from the report as they set their sights on what 2023 holds for the business. The report outlines solutions curated directly from leaders and CMOs alike who have ushered in their thoughts, predictions and guidance to help drive brands forward in an ever-changing world.

Takeaways and business opportunities

Brands answer economic instability through investment: Brands surveyed continue to reiterate economic instability and inflation as a top concern as in 2023. But, instead of hedging their bets and cutting costs, brands are well-prepared to answer this instability and uncertainty with an investment mindset that grows their organization’s capabilities and capacity to be resilient in the face of rapidly changing economic conditions

Through interviewing, CMOs identified their top-three priorities in the face of a potential economic downturn:

  • Accelerating the move to new digital technologies or platforms (Metaverse, AI, social platforms, AR and digital currencies).
  • Expanding into new markets, segments, or geographies.
  • Implementing systems or algorithms to enhance customer personalization.

CMOs drive growth through internal sustainability efforts: As consumer concerns around sustainability issues grow, brands surveyed are now concentrating their efforts on shoring up their own internal sustainability practices. This focus inward is a strong sign that brands are looking to make a more authentic impact over the longer-term in order to build trust with consumers.

Brands reported that their top-three priorities for sustainability efforts this year include:

  • Improving sustainability of internal marketing practices (51%).
  • Promoting more sustainable product and service offerings (47%).
  • Establishing long-term sustainability commitments (e.g., “… by 2030, our organization will …”) (45%).

Creativity as a force for growth: As noted in the 2022 “Creative Business Transformation” study, developed in partnership with Deloitte Digital and Cannes LIONS, there is a growing creativity gap through diminishing creative leadership in the C-suite and declining creativity skills among CMOs and their marketing talent. 2023 may present an opportunity for individual brands to rise above the competition by making more room for creativity. Research shows that high-growth brands (defined as those with annual revenue growth of 10% or more) are more likely than their negative-growth peers to have the mindset and processes in place that allow creativity to flourish.

CMOs might consider the following strategies to be the creative leader in their own organizations:

  • Redefine what creativity can offer.
  • Bring the rest of the organization along for the ride.
  • Inspire the organization to think differently.

Rising technologies to watch: Marketers are now faced with big decisions about when and how to invest in adopting cutting-edge marketing practices as new technologies take center stage as top trends for marketers to watch.

Marketers cited 2023 top trends by the numbers:

  • Metaverse: About 80% of marketing executives surveyed across the energy, resources, and industrials (ER&I) and life sciences and health care (LS&HC) industries are gravitating toward the metaverse within the next two years.
  • Digital Currencies: 41% of CMOs surveyed plan to support their advertising strategy with blockchain in the next 12 months.