Core Insights - The Dentsu Creative's "2025 Chief Marketing Officer Report" highlights that in the AI era, the long-term value of brands is returning to human and cultural resonance, emphasizing the importance of human creativity, empathy, and cultural relevance [3][4] - Most CMOs view AI as an efficiency tool, with 62% using social listening to gauge trends, indicating that understanding real customers is more crucial than ever [3][4] - 40% of marketing professionals plan to allocate 20%-30% of their marketing budgets to innovation by 2025/2026, while CMOs remain cautious about AI's role in creative ideation [3][4] Group 1: AI and Marketing - AI has become an integral part of marketing professionals' daily work, simplifying processes and accelerating decision-making [4] - 87% of respondents believe algorithms increasingly influence content visibility and purchasing decisions, with this figure rising to 97% in China [6] - The report suggests that blindly chasing trends leads to diminishing returns, and brands should focus on understanding the core drivers of fans and culture [6] Group 2: Human Insights - Human insights are key to success in the algorithm-driven era, with 86% of CMOs stating that listening to real customers is more important than ever [8] - Social listening and monitoring are the most widely adopted tools for understanding consumer trends, with 62% of CMOs utilizing them [8] - Engaging fan communities as a source of emerging consumer behavior intelligence is a rapidly growing practice [8] Group 3: Brand Connection - 91% of CMOs believe that brand building will increasingly involve collaboration between brands, creators, and platforms, a 14 percentage point increase from the previous year [10] - 87% of respondents see mobilizing communities as a powerful lever to amplify brand influence [10] - 86% of CMOs believe that brands need strong narratives that can be told and passed on by various collaborators and co-creators [10] Group 4: Influencer Marketing - 90% of CMOs find that social and influencer content generates higher engagement than traditional advertising [11] - 89% believe that authentic creators are more effective than celebrities, with this figure reaching 96% in China [11] - 39% of respondents plan to allocate 20%-30% of their marketing budgets to social/influencer channels, while 27% intend to invest over 30% [11] Group 5: Cultural Challenges - 81% of respondents agree that building brands through culture is a trend, but many lack a clear "cultural creation manual" for global execution [12][13] - 40% of respondents find it challenging to determine how or where brands should credibly engage with culture [13] - CMO's are investing in diverse strategies and platforms to build genuine cultural influence [13] Group 6: Innovation - 40% of marketing professionals plan to invest 20%-30% of their budgets in innovation by 2025/2026 [14] - 90% of CMOs want to focus innovation on urgent business challenges rather than marginal experiments [14] - 47% of CMOs believe that marketing-led innovation can drive overall business transformation [14] Group 7: AI Assistance - AI is integrated into marketing decision-making, prompting agencies to use AI more transparently and rethink pricing models [15] - 65% of CMOs feel that AI-assisted creation does not faithfully represent their brand's tone and visual style [15] - Concerns about AI's role in creativity vary significantly across markets, with 84% in Italy expressing such concerns [15] Group 8: Human Experience - 86% of CMOs agree that brands build through experiences, but 73% worry that AI may weaken brand experience impact [16] - 90% believe generative AI will help design more useful, personalized, and interactive experiences [16] - The role of websites is evolving, focusing on facilitating actions while emphasizing digital craftsmanship [17] Group 9: Intelligent Content - CMO's are shifting from mass output to dynamic content tailored to customer journeys [18] - Over half of CMOs are using AI to personalize experiences and customize messages [18] - 90% believe that craftsmanship and design are crucial for maintaining brand differentiation [18] Group 10: Trust and Taste - 89% of CMOs believe that agentic AI will significantly impact business, emphasizing the importance of trust and consumer preferences [20] - More than half of respondents see building consumer trust in a landscape of misinformation as a major barrier to achieving business goals [20] - Emotional connections are viewed as vital for driving fundamental growth, surpassing the efficiency and convenience provided by technology [21]