CMOs and CCOs Seeing Improved Budgets and Tougher Workloads

Chief marketing officers and chief communications officers are much more positive about their budgets now than they were last year, according to the Conference Board's latest CMO+CCO Meter. 

In this latest survey, 50 percent of CMOs and 33 percent of CCOs said their budgets leave them well-equipped to impact their businesses over the next six months. That's up 10 points from 40 percent of CMOs and 23 percent of CCOs in the previous June 2025 survey.   

"Alongside the sharp improvement in budgets, the latest CMO+CCO Meter found that workload is a growing challenge for marketing and communications," said Denise Dahlhoff, head of research for the Marketing & Communications Center at The Conference Board, in a statement. "Compared to last June, satisfaction regarding workload fell six points among CMOs to 51 percent and a whopping 20 points among CCOs to just 34 percent, with AI, expectations, and market conditions all playing a role. That said, around four in five leaders across both fields remain happy or very happy in their work.”  

"Overall, the business impact of communications slipped in the second half of 2025 and start of 2026, likely reflecting a calmer external environment," said Ivan Pollard, leader of the Marketing & Communications Center at The Conference Board, in the statement. "When asked to assess the perspective of their CEO, 54 percent of CCOs said that communications’ perceived impact on the business grew over the last six months—down 14 points from a recent peak of 69 percent in March 2025. Meanwhile, marketing's perceived business impact rose in the latest survey, with almost seven out of 10 CMOs believing their CEO has seen the marketing team’s impact increase or increase significantly in the last six months."

Among some of the other data points reported by CMOs were the folliowing: 

• 74 percent of CMOs said their team’s impact on the business grew over the past six6 months, down slightly from 77 percent in the previous survey in June 2025.
• 67 percent of CMOs said their CEO's assessment of the marketing team’s impact grew, up sharply from 55 percent.  
• 50 percent of CMOs felt well-equipped by their budgets for the business challenges ahead, up from 40 percent in June 2025.
• 50 percent of CMOs felt well-equipped by their tools, down slightly from 52 percent.
• However, just 42 percent of CMOs felt well-equipped by their teams, down sharply from 52 percent.
• 79 percent of CMOs rated their general satisfaction as happy or very happy, down slightly from 80 percent in June 2025.
• 57 percent of CMOs were satisfied with recognition, down from 61 percent in June 2025 and a peak of 70 percent in March 2025.
• 51 percent of CMOs were satisfied with their workloads, down from 57 percent.  

Among some of the other data points reported by CCOs were the following:

• 65 percent of CCOs said their team’s impact on the business grew over the past six months, down from 69 percent in the previous survey in June 2025.
• 54 percent of CCOs said their CEO’s assessment of the communications team’s impact grew, down sharply from 65 percent.  
• 33 percent of CCOs felt well-equipped by their budgets for the business challenges ahead, up from 23 percent in June 2025.
• 38 percent of CCOs felt well-equipped by their tools, up from 33 percent.
• 35 percent of CCOs felt well-equipped by their teams, down from 40 percent.
• 70 percent of CCOs rated their general satisfaction as happy or very happy, down from 79 percent in June 2025.
• 61 percent of CCOs were satisfied with recognition, up from 58 percent.
• 34 percent of CCOs were satisfied with their workloads, down sharply from 54 percent.