What CMOs Believe Drives A Great Brand Experience
A recent Dentsu Creative report highlights the growing importance of creativity in marketing, with 81% of CMOs believing it is more crucial than ever. Furthermore, 89% agree that creativity is the ultimate driver of business growth and problem-solving. The report also emphasizes that brands highly value agency partnerships for creative input, suggesting that external expertise remains a key factor in marketing success. However, while creativity plays a central role, its application in customer experience (CX) transformation still has room for improvement, as 62% of CMOs feel that brands have enhanced CX’s functionality but not its creative expression.
CMOs recognize the key characteristics of a creative brand experience, with technology-enhanced creativity emerging as the top factor. A notable 66% of CMOs now believe that technology is integral to creativity, a significant increase from 34% in previous years. Additionally, personalization has gained prominence, with 56% of CMOs emphasizing the need for intelligent personalization to surprise and delight consumers. This surpasses other factors like having a strong organizing idea (51%) and innovative new interfaces (51%), reinforcing the trend toward data-driven, hyper-personalized marketing.
The adoption of emerging technologies continues to shape marketing strategies, with two-thirds of CMOs using social commerce, 61% deploying chatbots, and 60% leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) for customer experience enhancements. However, attitudes toward AI’s role in creativity are shifting, as fewer CMOs believe that AI will never replace human imagination. While 65% still hold this belief, this is a decline from 75% last year. Similarly, skepticism about AI’s ability to create emotionally resonant content has dropped from 67% to 49%, and fewer CMOs think customers would pay a premium for human-created content, down from 81% to 65%. Despite these shifts, 80% of marketers maintain that human craft is critical to building distinctive brand identities, highlighting the continued need for human-led creativity in marketing strategies.
Key Actionable Takeaways:
Prioritize Creativity in Marketing Strategies – Recognize creativity as a key driver of business growth and integrate it into all aspects of your marketing efforts.
Leverage Agency Expertise – Brands continue to value creative agency partnerships, so fostering strong relationships with creative teams can enhance innovation and execution.
Enhance Customer Experience with Creativity – While CX improvements focus on functionality, brands should ensure creative storytelling and emotional engagement are central to the user experience.
Invest in Technology for Creativity – Use AI, chatbots, and interactive digital tools to elevate creative concepts, making brand experiences more engaging and seamless.
Embrace Intelligent Personalization – Tailor marketing messages and campaigns using advanced personalization techniques to surprise and delight consumers.
Experiment with Emerging Digital Interfaces – Explore new social commerce strategies, interactive content, and voice/AR-powered experiences to keep up with consumer expectations.
Maintain a Balance Between AI and Human Creativity – While AI is a powerful tool, human-led ideation and storytelling remain essential for emotionally impactful branding.
Reevaluate Consumer Willingness to Pay for Human-Created Content – As consumer sentiment shifts, assess whether premium, human-generated experiences still provide unique value propositions.
Monitor Industry Trends in AI Adoption – Keep track of evolving opinions on AI’s role in creativity to determine the right mix of automation and human input in marketing.
Continuously Measure and Optimize Brand Engagement – Use real-time data analytics to refine creative strategies, ensuring they resonate with audiences and drive business impact.
