Source page: McKinsey & Company
Commentary
Marketing misgivings?
C-Suite | Consumer | Marketing & Sales
August 5, 2025 – Some businesses are struggling to provide smooth customer experiences due to departmental fragmentation and a lack of clarity about who is responsible for customer-related functions. Between 2023 and 2024, McKinsey research found that fewer CEOs believe that marketing is clearly understood by the C-suite; the share saying so declined by 20 percentage points, note Senior Partner Kelsey Robinson and coauthors. Additionally, marketing budgets have shrunk while the C-suite continues to seek growth, demonstrating a gap between CEO growth targets and marketing’s perceived value.
To read the article, see “The CMO’s comeback: Aligning the C-suite to drive customer-centric growth,” June 16, 2025.
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Visual form
Two-point line chart with a filled change area.
Layout / body structure
The chart is a single compact chart read left to right from 2023 to 2024. Two labeled points are connected by one descending line, and the space beneath that line is shaded to emphasize the size of the decline.
What is being compared
It compares the share of CEOs who believe marketing is clearly defined and understood by the C-suite between the prior survey year and the most recent survey year.
Measurement system
The metric is the percentage of respondents. Each endpoint is labeled directly with its value, and the center of the shaded area calls out the change in percentage points.
Visible structure inside the graphic
The left endpoint is marked at 90 in 2023 and the right endpoint at 70 in 2024. A straight dark-blue line connects the two points, and a pale blue-gray fill drops from that line to the baseline, creating a single wedge-shaped area. In the middle of the chart, a large minus 20 callout makes the decline explicit.
Main takeaway from the visual
The chart shows a clear deterioration in how well marketing is understood by senior leadership. There is no ambiguity in the trajectory because the only line on the page slopes downward from left to right.
Key standout values or extremes
The share falls from 90 percent in 2023 to 70 percent in 2024, a decline of 20 percentage points. Because the chart only has two time points, those endpoint values are the dominant evidence on the page.
Controls / sequence, when applicable
This is a static chart image with no in-chart controls to operate.
Companion media, when applicable
There is no separate companion audio or video; the chart image is the full visual on this page.