- Mike Beirne

Over the next 12 months, marketing executives expect to shift more of their resources from increasing product penetration in current markets to developing new products and cultivating customers, according to the Chief Marketing Officer Survey released today by Duke University's Fuqua School of Business.

The first-ever CMO survey for Duke tracks expectations among top marketers, similar to the university's CFO survey that tracks the financial sector four times a year. The CMO survey will be conducted twice a year; the current one polled 78 marketers from Fortune 1000 companies and Forbes Top 200 small businesses. Compared with CFOs (41.5%), CMOs (77%) are more pessimistic about the overall economy, the survey found. 

"Going green" may be the hype at the moment, but marketers reported that their companies' emphasis on campaigns that promote “benefits to society” or “minimize the impact on the environment” is weakening.

The survey also found that CMOs at business-to-consumer companies anticipate their marketing spend will increase by 6.4% next year, while CMOs at business-to-business companies anticipate only a 0.3% increase. Overall, Internet marketing budgets are expected to rise 16% in 2009, while spending on traditional advertising is to increase 1%.

Additionally, b-to-b CMOs reported the highest expected increase in hiring marketing personnel (6.2%) and marketing consultants (8%). On the other hand, b-to-c CMOs said they would likely reduce marketing department hiring by 4.7%.

As for companies that set the standard for marketing excellence, Procter & Gamble, Apple and Nike ranked the highest by CMOs. P&G, Harrah's Entertainment, American Express, John Deere and Federal Express were at the top of the list as companies that set the standard for marketing innovation, per the survey.