Forget what you thought you knew about “effective marketing.” In 2025, the rules have changed. In a fast-shifting marketing landscape, performance is no longer about throwing money at paid social and hoping for conversions. According to the just-released 2025 CMO State of the Union Report from Wunderkind and Retail Dive’s studioID, retail marketing leaders are rethinking their entire channel mix, data strategies, and technology stacks, and personalization is at the center of it all.
Let’s unpack the top trends driving CMO decisions in 2025, and how you can turn these insights into revenue growth today.
The Challenge: More Channels, More Spend, But Less Certainty
CMOs are still pouring resources into paid social. In fact, 99% of respondents say they’ll increase spending in 2025. But the return isn’t always clear. While paid social dominates budgets, channels like email and text are proving to be far more effective at achieving marketing goals like conversion and retention. Why? Because email and text allow for real-time, one-to-one messaging driven by deep personalization. But there’s a catch: most marketers don’t have the data they need to unlock that personalization at scale.
– Two thirds (66%) lack real-time transaction data.
– Nearly half lack behavioral (46%) and channel engagement (48%) data.
– 43% can’t even access basic customer purchase history.
Without that critical intelligence, AI-powered marketing strategies fall flat, personalization suffers, and revenue opportunities go untapped.
The Solution: Smart Data + Smarter Channels
The path forward is clear: scale personalization through better use of first-party data and owned channels. According to the report, 97% of brands who invested in personalization saw improvements in loyalty, and a resounding 100% saw a boost in revenue. But doing this right means solving one fundamental problem: identity. Who is really on your site, browsing your products, abandoning carts, or showing intent, without logging in? Enter Wunderkind.
Using identity resolution and the Wunderkind Identity Network, brands can identify anonymous traffic across devices and sessions, match them to real customers, and trigger personalized messages across email and text. This isn’t just marketing, it’s AI-enhanced, data-fueled revenue generation.
Wunderkind clients see a 6-11% lift in digital revenue, and unlike cookie-based remarketing, it doesn’t rely on fading third-party data.
Actionable Tips: How to Win with Performance Marketing in 2025
Here’s how CMOs and marketing leaders can apply the report’s findings today:
1. Prioritize First-Party Data Collection: Ditch outdated cookies and invest in tools that help you capture, store, and activate first-party data. Email signups, text opt-ins, and zero-party surveys are your new best friends.
2. Make Identity Resolution Your Superpower: Don’t settle for basic site analytics or rely merely on your ESP. Use an identity solution that can recognize anonymous visitors and enrich your audience data for targeting and personalization.
3. Double Down on Owned Channels: Email and text aren’t just cost-effective, they’re your highest-performing channels. Use AI to tailor offers, automate journeys, and send triggered messages at the moment of intent.
4. Integrate AI Where It Matters: Use AI to segment audiences, optimize content and send times, and power predictive analytics. But make sure it’s fueled by accurate, real-time data, or it’s just guesswork.
5. Consolidate Your Tech Stack: CMOs are shedding “shiny object” martech that fails to drive outcomes. If your tools don’t guarantee ROI, it’s time to switch to performance-based partners.
Final Thoughts: It’s Not About More Spend, It’s About Smarter Spend
The CMOs who win in 2025 and beyond will be the ones who lean into their owned data, double down on personalization, and demand outcomes from every partner. That’s exactly what Wunderkind delivers.
Download the full 2025 CMO State of the Union Report to benchmark your strategy, identify gaps, and plan smarter growth.