Hearing of an impending recession is always going to induce anxieties across multiple industries, and remaining optimistic can seem a difficult task. But that was our motivation in our recently conducted research alongside Cenuswide. We hoped to understand how an impending recession may affect the modern brand’s appetite for digital and mobile marketing, and we are going to share the findings with you.    

We interviewed 101 CMOs of businesses with more than 250 employees from across the UK and discovered one prevailing narrative: Marketing budgets are expected to keep on growing.   

Our data indicated that over three-quarters (77%) of CMOs expect to increase their marketing expenditure, despite 44% fearing a negative impact from the predicted economic downturn.   

On average, marketing budgets are estimated to increase by 20% for 2023, with the largest increases being seen in new service introduction (42%), brand building (42%), and web and mobile web spending (38%). This estimated growth in multiple marketing areas is encouraging news in face of a recession.

Added to that, upon realizing that they can increase their brand value within a mobile-first setting, 53% of businesses without apps are hoping to introduce their first in the new year. 

Positive news for marketing agencies

52% of CMOs plan to outsource marketing help, whilst 36% plan on hiring internally. The areas that need the most help through outsourcing are Platform Integration and Migration (32%), Digital Strategy and Consultancy (32%), SEO (31%), and Data Integration, Analysis, and Insights (27%).

Whilst this data is fantastic for marketing agencies; it does raise the question...  

Do brands fully understand how to market their mobile apps? This is a nuanced, specialized space.

53% of those without apps are planning on developing their first. But only 6% of CMOs have the internal team needed for App Store Optimization (ASO). And only half (52%) say they understand mobile-first messaging platforms. These are vital cogs in the mobile marketing engine, and without them, brands risk their apps being complete nonstarters.  

Expected mobile marketing trends in 2023

When asked about what strategies are the highest priority for their business, 41% of CMOs said hyper-personalisation, whilst 40% want to focus on delivering predictive and proactive engagement, and 36% on improving customer experience. Clearly, focusing on the consumer and the ability to provide and predict solutions is now a top priority for mobile app businesses.

These capabilities and features are supported in the platforms CMOs are planning to purchase. 32% plan on acquiring customer messaging platforms like Braze, Iterable, or Bloomreach, 32% on data visualization platforms like PowerBI or Tableau, and 31% on campaign management platforms like Appsflyer. Creating marketing strategies that engage consumers both for initial acquisition and then retention through personalized consumer messaging may be 2023’s biggest focus within mobile marketing.

Our CEO, founder and mobile expert, Mike Rhodes said “Any sign of a recession usually sends jitters through the marketing industry – particularly for those working agency-side. So, it’s encouraging to see an upbeat outlook from CMOs, with ongoing investment in key services like Martech platform implementation and digital consulting services.” 

“Having said that, ahead of any economic downturn, it’s always vital for CMOs to review their entire marketing stack, to see what’s working and delivering, and what isn’t. Making sure marketing budgets are being utilized effectively and delivering consistently strong ROI is critical in these uncertain times”  

Our final note is signs of positivity for 2023: increased marketing budgets, increased app launches, and shifting focalization on the customer experience in apps through hyper-personalisation and customer messaging. This will all be at the forefront of how we all market in the new year.

If you have any questions about our study or how best to market your app, please feel free to drop us a message.