The CMO Survey

What The CMO Survey does

The CMO Survey is a non-commercial biannual research initiative founded in August 2008 by Christine Moorman, T. Austin Finch, Sr. Professor of Business Administration at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. It collects self-reported data from senior marketing executives (VP-level and above) at for-profit U.S. companies — historically drawing 265-612 respondents per edition — on marketing spending, leadership, analytics, AI adoption, social media, and economic outlook. Survey results, blog analysis, awards, and media releases are published freely through cmosurvey.org and distributed via LinkedIn, RSS, and earned media coverage.

The core product is the survey itself, distributed twice yearly (February and August), supplemented by the CMO Survey Reports, CMO Insights interview series, a blog authored by Christine Moorman, curated media articles, and the CMO Survey Award for Marketing Excellence — an annual recognition program running since 2009 in which survey participants vote on industry-leading marketing companies. The survey was originally conducted in partnership with the American Marketing Association and remains structurally housed under World Market Watch LLC, which holds the federal trademark registration.

The revenue model is explicitly non-commercial: there is no disclosed pricing, no paying customers, and no funding rounds or institutional investors. Operations appear sustained through Duke University affiliation, unspecified "Survey Partners," and possibly nominal partner contributions. Headcount is 1-10, the entire operation is led by Christine Moorman, and the geographic scope is the United States only, despite the global media reach of the marketing excellence awards.

Name

The CMO Survey

Legal name

World Market Watch LLC

Website

https://cmosurvey.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The CMO Survey is a non-commercial biannual research initiative operated under World Market Watch LLC in conjunction with Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, collecting opinions from senior marketing leaders at U.S. for-profit companies since 2008 to track marketing spending, excellence, and trends.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marketing Research Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191)

SIC

Services-Management Services (8741)

akta.pro primary industry

Survey, Panel & Fieldwork Services (BPAHALAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Quantitative Research & Survey Analytics (Survey Design, Sampling, Statistical Modeling) (MPAAALAF)

Keywords

• Marketing research surveys
• Industry benchmarking
• Market trend analysis
• Marketing leadership insights
• Spending forecasts

Headquarters

HQ city

Durham

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Non-Commercial Survey Operations: The CMO Survey operates as a non-commercial research initiative. The organization is not structured as a for-profit entity and disseminates survey results freely. Funding appears to come from institutional support through Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and potentially survey partners.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The CMO Survey is a biannual, non-commercial research initiative that collects and disseminates opinions from senior marketing leaders (VP-level and above) at for-profit U.S. companies. Founded in 2008, it produces survey-based reports on marketing spending, leadership, AI adoption, analytics, social media, and economic outlook, and publishes findings publicly to predict market trends, track marketing excellence, and improve marketing value.

Product overview

The CMO Survey is a single research platform offering biannual survey services collecting opinions from top marketing leaders. The core offering is the survey itself, distributed in February and August each year since 2008, with results published as reports. Supporting offerings include the CMO Survey Award for Marketing Excellence (an annual recognition program), the CMO Survey Blog featuring analysis by Christine Moorman, CMO Insights (interviews with marketing leaders), and curated Media Articles. The company also offers participation opportunities for marketing leaders to join future survey editions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The CMO Survey A biannual research survey collecting opinions of top marketing leaders at for-profit U.S. companies to predict the future of markets, track marketing excellence, and improve the value of marketing in organizations and society.
• CMO Survey Reports Published survey results containing findings on marketing spending, leadership, AI adoption, analytics, social media, and economic outlook across editions from 2008 to present.
• CMO Survey Award for Marketing Excellence An annual industry recognition award where senior marketing leaders participating in The CMO Survey vote on companies that set the standard for marketing excellence, recognizing overall winners and industry-specific winners.

Quantifiable outcome

• Survey data used to track marketing spending trends, AI adoption rates, and marketing leadership benchmarks across industries since 2008

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Duke University Fuqua School of BusinesscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe CMO Survey is led by Christine Moorman, T. Austin Finch, Sr. Professor of Business Administration at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. The survey operates as an academic research initiative under institutional oversight.
• American Marketing AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe American Marketing Association partnered with Duke University's Fuqua School of Business in conducting early editions of The CMO Survey (August 2009 and February 2010 editions mention this partnership).
• Survey PartnersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe CMO Survey website mentions Survey Partners and displays a Survey Partners logo, indicating relationships with organizations that support or collaborate on the survey research.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Kantar: Kantar is a major marketing data and insights firm covering brand equity, advertising effectiveness, and consumer research. It is comparable to The CMO Survey for producing benchmarking and trend data that marketing leaders use to inform strategy and budgets.
• IDC: IDC is a global market intelligence firm that publishes periodic forecasts and surveys on enterprise technology and marketing spend. It is comparable to The CMO Survey for its recurring quantitative research on technology adoption and executive-level benchmarking.
• Ipsos: Ipsos is a global market research firm producing brand, advertising, and public opinion studies. It is comparable as a peer because it serves the same CMO/brand decision-maker with quantitative survey-based insights on marketing effectiveness and consumer trends.
• Forrester Research: Forrester publishes ongoing research on marketing technology, spending, and CMO priorities. It is comparable because it sells subscription research reports and benchmarks that directly serve the same marketing-leader buyer the CMO Survey reaches, but with broader scope and commercial pricing.
• Gartner: Gartner is a large-scale research and advisory firm serving CMOs and other C-suite executives. It is comparable because it monetizes proprietary research, benchmarking, and forward-looking predictions for marketing leaders—the same audience The CMO Survey addresses—albeit with a paid, commercial model.

Others

• Qualtrics: Qualtrics is a survey and experience management platform that powers market research programs. It is adjacent to The CMO Survey as the underlying technology class used to administer panel surveys, not a direct competitor for the publication of CMO-specific longitudinal insights.

Direct peers

• Morning Consult: Morning Consult conducts recurring survey-based research on consumer, business, and brand sentiment, monetizing both syndicated reports and custom research. It is comparable to The CMO Survey in methodology (panel-based survey research) and in publishing forward-looking trend insights derived from respondent data.
• The Conference Board: The Conference Board runs recurring executive sentiment surveys (e.g., CEO Confidence, Measure of CEO Confidence) similar in structure to The CMO Survey's biannual CMO polls. Both are non-commercial, periodic, executive-targeted longitudinal surveys used as authoritative references by media and policymakers.
• Edison Research: Edison Research runs recurring public opinion and industry surveys (e.g., The Infinite Dial, NPR/PBS polls) with both non-commercial and commercial arms. It is comparable to The CMO Survey for its use of periodic surveys of a defined audience and its role as a quoted source by business press.
• Pew Research Center: Pew Research Center is a non-commercial, academically-adjacent organization producing recurring longitudinal surveys on defined audiences and publicly releasing findings for broad citation. It is the most direct analogue to The CMO Survey in non-commercial posture, periodic methodology, and citation footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/thecmosurvey
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheCMOSurvey

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The CMO Survey