EMC conducted with the help of all member country’s the biggest research amongst CMO’s across Europe, teaming up with the marketing associations of Africa and Asia. The survey had over 1.900 respondents. This gives a clear image where the CMO across the 3 region stands and what their prioritys are.

Only “somewhat satisfied” on the leading strategic priority

Customer centricity remains the leading strategic priority for many organizations (43%), yet execution clearly lags behind, with only around one third reporting that they are “somewhat satisfied.” This highlights a persistent gap between ambitious strategies and operational reality.

Increasing spend, lacking AI knowledge and focus on lower funnel

Looking ahead to 2026, the main strategic focus shifts toward Sales and Performance Marketing in the lower funnel, closely linked with increased use of AI. At the same time, only 22% of companies position themselves as “AI & Automation Pioneers,” while the majority (53%) operate as “Balanced Growth Marketers” in the mainstream. Despite economic uncertainty, inflationary pressure and geopolitical risks, marketing budgets remain resilient, with approximately 75% of companies reporting stable or increasing spendings.

Searching for AI usage, it’s no silver bullet

The number one challenge for 2026 is a lack of understanding and knowledge of how AI will fundamentally change the way businesses operate (30%). While numerous AI pilots have been launched, only a small fraction have reached a productive, fully integrated operational phase (12%). Current expectations for AI agents focus primarily on process efficiency, including automated content creation, A/B testing and optimization, automated email delivery and customer service automation, rather than advanced, data-driven optimization.

Obvious tension between knowledge and pace of technology

The shift toward GenAI-based search (AIO/GEO) is proving to be game-changing, with content once again evaluated on depth, contextual relevance and user intent in so-called “zero-click” environments. Challenges persist in areas such as Retail Media, where limited in-house expertise, unclear value contribution and restricted access to retailers’ critical data assets continue to hinder progress - underscoring a broader tension between linear organizational development and the exponential pace of technological change.

Ralf Strauss, chairman of EMC states: "While technology develops exponentially, organisations remain pretty flat in their development. The bottleneck is in the majority of the companies know-how. The revolution and journey towards an data- and AI-driven customer interaction has just started, requiring true cross-functional collaboration."