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Marketing budget conditions have improved for the 5th consecutive month, details Warc [pdf] in its latest Global Marketing Index. The budget component of the index improved to a reading of 54.3 this month from 52.9 in April. Rather than following last year's pattern of diminished enthusiasm between April and May, this month's index rose to its highest value since the index's start in October 2011. (A score above 50 indicates a generally improving environment, while a score below 50 indicates a generally declining environment.) Read more »

The mobile marketing ecosystem is demonstrating rapid growth, with $6.7 billion spent by client-side marketers and retailers in 2012, according to [download page] a study commissioned by the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) and conducted by researchers at Columbia University. That investment should grow to $10.5 billion this year before ballooning to $19.8 billion in 2015, with close to half of that ($9.2 billion) coming from mobile advertising alone. Read more »

The average tenure for CMOs of leading US consumer brand companies reached 45 months in 2012, continuing a steady rise from a low of 23.2 months in 2006, according to study results from Spencer Stuart. The researchers attribute the trend to CMOs having "come of age," with the marketing function taking a greater role in enterprise growth due to new technologies and digital marketing channels. Late last year, The CMO Council pronounced 2013 "the year of the marketer," with survey results demonstrating that senior marketers are enjoying budget growth, increased responsibilities, legitimacy, and compensation. Read more »

Fresh on the heels of a report finding that 4 in 10 global marketers around the world will be reallocating budgets to digital marketing (a report which itself came shortly after a US-based study indicating the same trend), a new study from Accenture has emerged looking at the topic from the perspective of CMOs around the world. And the takeaway is much the same: digital marketing is going to get more of the overall marketing budget next year. About 2 in 3 respondents said they would be devoting at least 25% of their budgets to digital marketing next year, up from 46% who said they would allocate that much this year. Read more »

Marketing teams are as likely to employ a growth hacker as a product manager, suggests a new study [download page] by Ifbyphone. The report reveals that 25% of marketers surveyed indicate that their team employs a growth hacker (defined by the researchers as "professionals that combine expertise in marketing, product development and technology to drive revenue"), with these respondents reporting an above-average likelihood to track a variety of marketing metrics including conversion rates (50% vs. 41%), marketing ROI (53% vs. 40%), cost per lead (52% vs. 38%) and customer acquisition cost (59% vs. 34%). Read more »

Asked which generation they relate most to, only 41% of Gen Xers (born between 1965 and 1976) identified their own generation, according to survey results from MetLife. That's on par with the percentage who, combined, identify with Baby Boomers (28%) and Gen Yers (12%). In fact, respondents were as likely to say they don't like Gen X as a description for their generation as were to say they like it or like it somewhat (49% and 51%, respectively). The researchers suggest that "relating to a generational identity is more influenced by family, values, interests, abilities and personal experience than by age." Read more »

Marketing budget conditions improved again this month, details Warc [pdf] in its latest Global Marketing Index. The budget component of the index improved to a reading of 52.9 this month from 52.4 in February, representing the 4th consecutive month above the threshold reading of 50, and the 6th consecutive month of improving sentiment. (A score above 50 indicates a generally improving environment, while a score below 50 indicates a generally declining environment.) Read more »

Millennials are 7.7% less likely than the average American to say they are happy, according to [download page] a survey conducted in March by Prosper Insights & Analytics, with only a slight majority (54.1%) reporting being happy or very happy. The survey results indicate that older consumers tend to be more likely to report being happy: 61% of Boomers are happy (4.1% more than average), and the Silent Generation is happiest, at 66.7% (13.9% more than the average). The results, however, sometimes differ from that pattern when looking at various subcategories of happiness. Read more »

82% of marketers agree that with the current economic conditions, they're challenged with identifying cost savings and reductions in their marketing and advertising efforts, per results from an Association of National Advertisers (ANA) survey. That's down slightly from 84% last year and a high of 93% at the beginning of 2009, but remains above 2011's 77%. The ANA conclues that "there will always be pressures on budgets, even in the best of times." Read more »

Almost 8 in 10 digital media professionals are at least satisfied with their jobs, according to survey results from Digiday and Nextmark, and that includes about half who "enjoy" their work and 8% who "love" it. The survey also finds that more than one-third have become happier in their jobs in the past year, but that more than 6 in 10 plan to leave their jobs within the next year or two. Read more »