WFA’s Stephan Loerke Discusses the Drivers of Successful Marketing Organizations of the Future…
Stephan Loerke, CEO of the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) recognizes that marketing’s rapid transformation shows no sign of waning. Despite the influx of technological innovations, changing consumer expectations, and novel brand-building strategies, he acknowledges that marketers must consistently address one enduring requirement: the imperative for marketing to deliver measurable business value.
The Marketer of the Future 2025, research conducted by the WFA in partnership with global consultancy Oxford and released this week in Brussels at the WFA’s Global Marketer Week, highlights key factors separating brand leaders and those who are under-performing.
The study explores in detail the evolving capabilities required for marketing teams to remain “fit for the future” and demonstrate tangible value. The research, which combines qualitative insights from senior marketing leaders and quantitative data from nearly 600 marketing executives, identifies clear priorities for CMOs seeking to enhance the capabilities and strategic impact of their roles.
Marketers are faced with an ever-expanding to-do list, making it increasingly difficult to prioritize.
Despite this complexity, marketers believe in the value of their function, with 93% seeing marketing as ‘vital to the success of my business.’
They also trust in the future of marketing leadership. Only 10% say ‘the role of the CMO won’t exist in 10 years, — down from 19% when a similar WFA study was conducted in 2020.
According to Stephan Loerke, “The goal of this work is to help participating brand owners benchmark their own approach and benefit from potential actions to drive improvements during a time of unprecedented change.“
He adds, “Increasing pressure to deliver and demonstrate the value of marketing in relation to business goals, combined with the rapid adoption of new technologies, notably generative AI, means the path forward is becoming increasingly complex.“
As a result, many marketing leaders are re-evaluating the required capabilities to deliver better effectiveness and efficiency. This initiative comes at a time when there are more transformations and reorganizations among global brand owners than perhaps ever before.“
Marketer of the Future: Flywheel Framework
At the heart of the WFA findings is the Marketer of the Future Flywheel Framework, which pinpoints five critical areas where high-performing marketing organizations excel succeed and struggling ones fail to compete. They include:
- Marketing Fundamentals+
- Aligned Growth Strategy
- Functional Integration
- People & Tech
- C-Suite Impact & Influence
The pursuit of these five drivers provides the clarity, ability, and support for marketing teams to deliver tangible value and adapt at the speed of culture. The marketing organizations that prioritize and embed these five elements are outpacing their peers in terms of growth.
The Five Key Areas of Difference:
Marketing fundamentals are at risk: Many marketers are losing focus on core principles while chasing new tools, trends, and AI hype. The best have prioritized doing the fundamentals well while also gathering new skills. Only 39% of under-performing companies have strong brand, strategy, and creative foundations, compared to 63% of competitive leaders, reinforcing how strategy, creativity, and brand-building are key to long-term success.
Leaders seize trends and insights to unlock growth priorities. Leaders have a clear understanding of their growth goals. Competitive leaders are 11% less concerned about short-term pressures than others, signaling a shift towards long-term, sustainable growth. Forty-three percent of top marketers prioritize consumer and market insights, compared to just 24% of struggling performers.
Cross-functional integration remains a significant challenge: Ninety-seven percent of competitive leaders believe that fast decision-making and cross-team collaboration are critical, and 78% recognize cross-functional integration as essential for success. By contrast, laggards fail to align their marketing, sales, and e-commerce functions, resulting in siloed teams that create fragmented customer experiences, which, in turn, weaken brand trust and commercial performance.
Leaders seamlessly integrate AI and human thinking: AI serves as a growth driver for leading companies, enabling them to enhance creativity, decision-making, and efficiency. Twenty-nine percent of competitive leaders see transformational change in people and tech as extremely important in driving future change. Failing to adopt AI effectively leads to missed opportunities and inefficiencies.
Marketing’s influence in the C-suite is at a crossroads: The leading C-suite marketers stand out by demonstrating and communicating their impact to all stakeholders, thereby increasing marketing’s mandate and, consequently, its ability to reinvest in both marketing fundamentals and next-generation skills. Forty-three percent of competitive leaders view C-suite influence as crucial, compared to just 23% of struggling marketers. Forty-six percent of leading marketers hold greater leadership influence, such as board-level appointments, proving that strategic marketing drives business growth.
“This research serves as a timely reminder that successful marketers begin with the fundamentals: developing a clear strategy, objectives, positioning, target audience, and key performance indicators (KPIs). That is the bedrock around which to build an organization and then develop the skills, leveraging new tech to help achieve brand growth.”
Stephan Loerke, CEO of WFA
Profile of the Marketer of the Future:
WFA members can access the full report www.marketerofthefuture.org.
About Marketer of the Future Research
WFA partnered with strategic partner, Oxford, and its national association members in Argentina (CAA), Belgium (UBA), Brazil (ABA), Canada (ACA), Chile (ANDA), Colombia (ANDA), Estonia (TUULI), Finland (Marketing Finland), France (UDM), The Gulf Cooperation Council (ABG), Germany (OWM), Greece (SDE), Malaysia (MAA), Netherlands (bvA), Philippines (PANA), Poland (POR), South Africa (MASA), Spain (AEA), Sweden (SA), Switzerland (SWA/ASA) and Turkey (RVD).
About WFA
WFA champions more effective and sustainable marketing communications which help members drive brand growth. It is the voice of marketers worldwide, representing 90% of global marketing communications spend – roughly US$900 billion per annum. WFA connects the world’s biggest brand owners and national advertiser associations in more than 60 markets, bringing together tens of thousands of brands at local level. Together, they create a global network which offers a unique source of leadership, expertise and inspiration. For more information: www.wfanet.org
About Oxford
Oxford is a global consultancy specializing in strategic clarity, capability building, and change management. Working with some of the world’s leading consumer goods, pharmaceutical, and retail brands, Oxford helps organizations achieve lasting growth. For more information: www.oxfordsm.com.
