The optimism of marketing executives about the U.S. economy has reached its highest point since 2015, according to the latest edition of The CMO Survey.
The survey -- a collaboration of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, Deloitte, and the American Marketing Association -- is based on the responses of 282 marketing executives polled in August, and is based on a 100-point scale with "100" representing the most optimism.
August's 69.6 optimism rating is up 3.3 percentage points from the last survey in February -- and up 18.7 percentage points from June 2020, when marketer confidence in the U.S. economy reached its lowest point since the survey has been fielded.
"Optimism regarding the U.S. economy's next quarter -- that's Q3 2021 -- compared to last quarter, also showed a stark increase from June 2020, but a significant decrease from February 2021, with only 32.7% of marketers stating they were more optimistic," Fuqua Professor and Founder of The CMO Survey Christine Moorman explains in a YouTube video discussing the survey's findings (see below).
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"This decline in optimism regarding the next quarter aligns with the rise of the COVID-19 Delta variant and reapplication of pandemic protocols," she notes.
Joe,
The decline in optimism is fueled by political spokespersons not the average consumer.
I predict that will be a rebound in the 4th quarter. Americans in both parties are tired of
politicians telling them "how bad it is" or "were in for a bad quarter". They will make the decision.