The Marketing directors of more than 200 large and medium-sized companies in Spain are confident of increasing their own sales during the first six months of 2025, in a positive market environment, but with uncertainties and thanks to an increase in advertising investment. These are the main findings of the latest IEDM (Index of Expectations of Marketing Directors) presented today.
The study, prepared jointly by the Spanish Marketing Association (AMKT) and the consultant GfK – A NielsenIQ Company, identifies the expectations of CMOs of large and medium-sized companies in 15 economic sectors in relation to three key aspects: the behavior of the market in which their company operates, their own sales and the advertising investment they plan to make during the following semester.
GfKin charge of the project, is a consultancy recognized by the German Consumer Expectations Index and the GfK Euro Clima study.
The IEDM for the first half of 2025 has been presented at the Pons Foundation, by Javier Gómez Mora, director of Brand Communication and Customer Experience at GfK – A NielsenIQ Company and José Luis Arbeo, general director of AMKT. In addition, the results have been commented on by marketing experts from different prominent sectors of the Spanish business fabric: Alfonso González, Chief Strategy Officer of Havas Media Group Spain, Juan Ramón Gil Gómez, Marketing and Development Director of elEconomista, Beatriz Navarro, CMO of Renault and Carmen Pérez, head of Corporate Brand and Commercial Communication at Ibercaja.
Growth of own sales expectations in a stable market
For the third consecutive semester, the IEDM reflects the confidence of CMOs in a growth of your sales (+3.7%). This is an improvement of 0.2 points over the already positive results at the end of 2024, a figure that suggests a perception of stability and optimism in the face of local and international uncertainty.
On the other hand, the market expectations (+2.2) remain unchanged compared to the previous semester, which leads us to think that CMOs foresee a positive behavior similar to that experienced at the end of 2024.
The evolution of both indicators seems to indicate that the improvement in own sales It will depend on the proactivity of each company rather than on an expansion in the size of its markets.
Once again, the growth of companies has stood out above their forecasts. A 44% of those consulted declare that expectations for the end of 2024 have been exceededcompared to 24% that finished below plan. 32% have completed as planned.
It should be noted that the expectations of the CMOs are a leading indicator of the behavior of the GDP, and that they are in line with other confidence indicators of entities such as the OECD or the INE.
All sectors closed 2024 better than expected except retail, media, education and marketing services, which did not reach their forecasts. Something that in the case of the media would be related to the moderation of advertising investment that has already brought forward the last wave of the IEDM for the second half of 2024. It is important to highlight that the expectations of the education sector have a different seasonal cycle from the rest of the sectors, with more importance in the middle of the year, something that would explain its results in this edition.
On the other hand, the sectors that expect greater growth of its own sales for the first six months of 2025 are textile, insurance, energy and technology. In this sense, it is observed that these same sectors are the ones that project a greater boost to advertising investment.
Reinforcement of investment in marketing and advertising
Companies expect to maintain their investment in marketing. In the last edition of the IEDM this index stood at +2.7. A positive score that is repeated for 2025 and is confirmed by the slight growth in the weight of marketing budgets over the company’s total turnover. In 2024 it was 7.5%, while for this year it is 7.7%, which reflects that this area continues to be a strategic value for companies.
As already happened in the first half of 2024, health professionals marketing consulted in this wave also plan to reinforce the advertising investment in these first six months of 2025. Compared to the end of last year, advertising investment expectations have gone from +0.5 to +1.2. This data indicates a greater willingness towards advertising as key tools to differentiate and achieve growth in a market perceived as stable.
Asked about the macroeconomic factors that most impact marketing activity, the economic growth of the country (78%), the inflation (77%) and the economic evolution of the EU (64%) once again occupy the first places in the minds of those responsible for this area. On the other hand, more than half of those surveyed (51%) believe that Donald Trump’s presidency and his policies can influence marketing decisions. And a notable fact: 39% consider that the DANA October will also have an impact on the business.
Finally, it must be added that for another semester investment in online media continues to grow. By 2025, 63% of the companies consulted will allocate more than 40% of their budget to advertising on digital media.
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