Marketing in 2023: Insights from CMOs on the Latest Trends

Marketing in 2023 is evolving fast, leaving tons of unanswered questions in its wake. How do you do more with less? How do you attribute your channels correctly? And how do you start to incorporate AI?

To answer these questions, we gathered leading CMOs to share their insights about the state and future of marketing. Moderated by Maggie Lower, Advisor, and Former CMO, this panel featured Kate Hammitt, CMO of Splash, Seema Kumar, Former CMO of New Relic, Wendy White, CMO of Daxko, and Tracy Sestili, CMO of Intellimize. 

To give you a sneak preview of what these inspiring leaders discussed, we’ve pulled just one insight each panelist shared during their lively discussion. Keep reading to learn how top CMOs think about topics like AI, attribution, and growth, or watch the full session on-demand now.

“You have to be very smart about where you place your bets on people.” 

Due to increasing salaries within the world of digital marketing, according to Wendy White, it’s more important than ever to be smart when hiring. According to her, “There's still great amazing talent on the market, but it's going to cost you more.”

To get the most done with the budget you have, you’ll need to think about the right mix of seasoned experts and promising junior talent for your team.

‍“Talking about attribution is a losing battle.”

According to Seema Kumar, talking about attribution is a “losing battle.” According to her, because attribution doesn’t provide absolute data, businesses that rely too heavily on attribution may end up investing in the wrong strategies or cutting programs that may be working.

To avoid this, Seema recommends “going beyond attribution” by partnering with sales leaders to find greater alignment between sales and marketing goals.

“You may not want to have every single thing to be AI-driven.”

Although AI can drive efficiencies within marketing—from ad creation to website optimization, Tracy says you shouldn’t rely on AI for everything. For instance, if you use a generative AI tool like ChatGPT to write content, you’ll still need a human to go through and edit the copy. That said, Tracy suggests leveraging AI to execute remedial tasks, so your team can focus on the items AI isn’t equipped to do.

“Staying close to the customer [is]...mission critical.”

‍Kate Hammit cites her “Voice of the Customer” program as the single most impactful she’s done at Splash and beyond. Through this program, she’s been able to understand customers on a deeper level, leading to insights that have impacted the company’s messaging and positioning.

Looking for more expert opinions on marketing in 2023 and beyond? Watch Top Hits of 2023: AI, Attribution, & Growth now.

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