2026 CMO Survey: Talent Rivals Tech as Growth Driver

What the survey found

Deloitte Insights published results from the 35th edition of The CMO Survey in 2026, describing a mix of cautious experimentation and a return to familiar strategies among marketing leaders. According to Deloitte, the survey drew responses from more than 300 marketing leaders, nearly all at the VP level or above, on topics including economic outlook, marketing technology, and growth planning.

One notable data point from the survey: an equal share of respondents pointed to having the right people, rather than the right technology, as the most important factor behind revenue growth. Deloitte also reported that a share of surveyed CMOs said they are returning to established strategies because of increased pressure from other members of the C-suite. Deloitte did not disclose the specific percentages for these two findings in its public summary.

How this compares with earlier surveys

The CMO Survey, run twice yearly by Duke University's Fuqua School of Business since 2008, has tracked marketing spending and capability priorities for years. A Wall Street Journal recap of the survey from September 2016 reported that companies at the time planned to increase spending most in digital marketing and customer relationship management, based on responses from 427 marketers. That earlier survey also found that 80.9% of respondents said marketing's role in their organization had broadened over the prior five years.

The 2026 edition does not appear to break out spending priorities by category in the same way; Deloitte's public summary focuses instead on the talent-versus-technology finding, the C-suite pressure finding, CFO sentiment on the U.S. economy, and a reported increase in revenue growth being treated as a core marketing responsibility. Deloitte did not publish the underlying percentage figures for these statistics in the material reviewed.

Coverage and context

The CMO Survey's media page lists press coverage of the 2026 results from outlets including DesignRush and Shopify, among others, published in the days after the report's release. The full survey report, along with methodology details, is available through The CMO Survey and Deloitte's CMO Program materials.