The research, carried out with transformation consultancy The Intangibles, said that 82% of global marketers and senior policy leads agreed that budgets and campaigns are under heavier scrutiny than a year ago.

Half also said they felt under greater pressure from boards and 52% said the chief executive was paying closer attention to campaigns this year compared with the previous.

In addition, 81% of respondents said they were taking more time to review what they stand for and how to articulate positions and values externally.

Half of marketers are spending more time focusing on short-term objectives and risk management at the expense of long-term planning, the WFA added.

The operating environment was deemed less predictable than a year ago, according to 93% of respondents, and no longer feels like ‘business as usual’  for 78%, with 81% agreeing that today’s environment is riskier for brands compared with 12 months ago.

Overall, nine in 10 respondents felt that the current environment is either less or much less predictable than 12 months ago, with geopolitics seen as the biggest source of risk, followed by economic trends and tightening regulations.

Many companies are also reviewing where they invest, with 82% of respondents saying that the current environment feels like a retreat from globalisation and with 68% actively changing the markets they prioritise for marketing investment.

Marketing leaders are also becoming more pessimistic, with 60% disagreeing with the statement that it feels there are “more opportunities than challenges”.

The survey is based on 29 responses from chief marketing officers and senior policy leads, mostly in global roles representing roughly $65bn in global advertising spend, with the survey carried out in May 2025. 

WFA chief executive officer Stephan Loerke said: “Brand executives clearly sense a more unpredictable and volatile market. They are being asked to manage risk while also delivering on growth objectives.

“Greater due diligence, enhanced cross-functional collaboration and risk mitigation frameworks are all demonstrating their value in an operating environment where stakeholder scrutiny is at a record high.”