A recurring theme on and off stage at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity this year was just how drastically the marketing job has changed. It’s no longer all about making great ads. Today’s marketing leaders are expected to understand AI, build communities, and shape organizational culture.
As marketing leaders have taken on broader responsibilities, budgets have remained flat. Across the U.S. and Europe, businesses allocated an average of 7.7% of company revenue to marketing in 2025—the same as in 2024 and down from 9.5% in 2022, according to Gartner’s 2025 Global CMO Spend Survey.
