New ISG research finds revenue and profit are top priorities for marketers, but returns lag expectations

Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm, today announced the launch of ISG Marketing Advisory, a comprehensive suite of consulting, design and implementation services for enterprise marketing leaders.

The new practice helps marketing organizations strengthen financial accountability and translate productivity and performance into measurable return on investment. The business launches as the new ISG State of Enterprise AI: The AI Value Gap report, based on a survey of 400 executives at large global organizations – including marketing leaders – finds a significant gap between investments, productivity gains and marketing’s financial results.

"The role of the Chief Marketing Officer is entering a new era of enterprise influence," said Kaveri Camire, partner, ISG Marketing Advisory. "Brand, customer engagement and demand generation remain essential, but AI is rapidly expanding both the capabilities and the complexity of marketing. At the same time, CEOs, CFOs and boards increasingly expect marketing leaders to demonstrate a direct contribution to revenue, profitability and growth."

Fifty-six percent of the marketing leaders surveyed by ISG identify revenue growth as a key objective for AI initiatives, yet results for profit, cost savings and revenue underperformed expectations by double digits.

"More than one-third of marketers say time saved through AI has not directly translated into savings or value for the enterprise," Camire said. "The next challenge for marketing leaders is to turn AI-driven efficiency and performance into measurable growth and ROI."

ISG Marketing Advisory helps enterprises connect marketing investment to revenue impact with expertise in:

Benchmarking marketing investment performance and peer companies;
Operating model and strategy design across workflows, talent and technology to improve productivity and performance;
Marketing ecosystem optimization across martech, agencies and service providers to eliminate duplication and identify clear business impact, and
Governance frameworks that ensure sustained, measurable value.

The new practice also draws on ISG’s expertise as the world’s leading sourcing advisor. ISG influences more than $200 billion in technology spend annually, spanning IT, finance and accounting, human resources, supply chain, contact centers, marketing and other enterprise functions.

In a recent engagement, a global cosmetics and beauty company achieved 45 percent savings across marketing services as part of a broader ISG-advised enterprise transformation. ISG helped restructure the company’s global provider ecosystem, strengthen commercial terms and accountability and establish a framework to govern and measure performance. The resulting marketing model freed capacity for the client to reinvest in higher-value priorities aligned with the company’s strategic growth objectives.

"Marketing leaders are managing increasingly complex portfolios of technology, agencies, service providers, data and talent, often through outdated ways of working," Camire said. "Without a modern operating model to orchestrate these resources, greater investment can simply create greater complexity. We are working with marketing leaders to shape the next generation of their organizations and to strengthen the contribution marketing makes to profitable enterprise growth."

Additional information on ISG Marketing Advisory is available here.

About ISG

ISG (Nasdaq: III) is a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm. A trusted partner to more than 900 clients, including 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is a long-time leader in technology and business services that is now at the forefront of leveraging AI to help organizations achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm, founded in 2006, is known for its proprietary market data and research, in-depth knowledge and governance of provider ecosystems, and the expertise of its 1,500 professionals worldwide working together to help clients maximize the value of their technology investments.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261006920347/en/

Press Contacts:

Laura Hupprich, ISG

+1 203 517 3132

laura.hupprich@isg-one.com

Erik Arvidson, Matter Communications for ISG

+1 978 518 4542

isg@matternow.com