Why Surveyed Business-To-Business Marketers Are Not Ready For Deepfakes

Despite the amount of public attention that the dangers of deepfakes have received in recent months, a majority of surveyed marketing executives said they have not taken steps to protect their companies against the growing threats that are posed by the tech-related crisis.

According to the results of Forrester’s 2024 B2B Brand And Communications Survey that was released last month:

  • 68% of queried marketing leaders expressed worries about the impersonation of company staff and executives, as well as the potential for false public statements.

  • But only 20% of the executives said their organizations stay up-to-date on deepfake technology.

  • Just 17% have implemented robust social listening and a content verification and distribution process.

‘Wishful Thinking’

Why haven’t more of the surveyed executives taken steps to protect their organizations against deepfakes?

“While many marketing leaders we spoke with agreed that deepfakes should be a concern, most dismissed the idea that their company would be a target, as they did not feel their company or executives were high-profile enough,” according to Forrester.

“As of publication, we conclude there is a mixed response among B2B marketers regarding the urgency and threat level that deepfakes pose; and, where there is a concern, we find it is often combined with wishful thinking that this will only happen to someone else,” the company stated.

The online survey of 205 marketing executives was conducted in February 2025. It focused on those with responsibilities for brands and communications at business-to-business companies around the world.

‘A Fundamental Shift’

“Deepfakes represent a fundamental shift in the B2B marketing landscape by enabling unauthorized content that directly undermines legitimate campaign efforts…The stakes are particularly high in B2B marketing, where fake content can directly influence high-value purchasing decisions and derail account-based marketing efforts,” Jordan Mitchell, founder of Growth Stack Media, pointed out in an email message.

As the technology that creates deepfakes improves, concerns about it grows.

“Deepfakes are becoming a significant concern, especially since images, videos, and voices can appear incredibly realistic. As AI technology evolves, discerning the difference between genuine and altered content is increasingly challenging, even for the most knowledgeable companies,” Cristy Stewart-Harfmann, an adjunct professor of digital marketing at Florida Atlantic University, observed via email.

Deepfakes Are Not On Their Radars

“When we were conducting interviews as part of this research, we found that many CMOs and marketing leaders declined speaking with us about the threat of deepfakes stating that they weren’t knowledgeable on the topic; it wasn’t an issue that was on their radar. Some marketing leaders that we did speak with felt that their executives, employees, or companies were unlikely targets of a deepfake attack as they weren’t celebrities or high profile enough,” Karen Tran, principal analyst for marketing executive strategies at Forrester, said in an email interview.

‘Every Company Is At Risk’

“This reminds me of attitudes around cybersecurity, maybe 10 or 15 years ago, when many companies, especially small and mid-sized companies, did not think they were big enough or important enough to be a target and felt the threat was minimal. Every company is at risk and CMOs should have a plan to combat a crisis in the event of an attack,” she warned.

The Threat Is Expected To Worsen

“While we do not have numerical projections, it is clear that the threat of deepfakes is expected to worsen. The increasing sophistication of AI and deepfake technology, the ease of access to inexpensive computing power, and the growing popularity and use of applications that can generate deepfakes are all factors that support the growing threat,” Tran observed.

Proactive Steps

“Marketing leaders need to take proactive steps to mitigate these risks. They should implement verification processes that allow customers and partners to confirm the authenticity of official content. They should invest in media forensics and AI detection tools that help identify manipulated media before it spreads. They should also rethink their content strategy, prioritizing formats that are harder to falsify, such as live video and interactive engagement. The most important shift will be in how brands establish credibility. It will no longer be enough to deliver a message effectively. They will need to prove that the message is real,” Kaveh Vahdat, founder and president of RiseOpp, commented via email.

Four Best Practices

In Forrester’s report about the survey results, Deepfakes: The Hidden Threat CMOs Can’t Ignore the company warned that “The emerging threat of deepfakes will soon be on every company’s radar, especially after more unfortunate incidents occur.”

Forrester recommended in the report that marketing leaders take the following steps to guard against deepfakes.

Prioritize The Threat

“The first step marketing leaders should take is to designate deepfake risk mitigation as a priority and commit resources to preparation activities.”

Build A Robust Crisis Response Plan

Being prepared is the best defense for protecting a company’s reputation. “Leaders must include deepfake scenarios in corporate crisis communications plans to improve rapid response readiness and increase the probability that truth will prevail over doubt,” Forrester recommended.

Partner With CISO And Legal Teams

“A strong partnership with the CISO and legal team will improve preparations and expedite responses during deepfake attacks. It will also help to prevent missteps when teams purposely use well-intended deepfakes in marketing or customer service areas. This collaboration ensures that marketing and communications leaders are well-informed and aware of potential issues they might otherwise overlook,” the company counseled.

Test The Crisis Response Plan

“Testing crisis plans prepares team members for real-life situations and can make the difference between thwarting the effects of a deepfake and suffering significant reputational damage.

“Key to making any crisis communications plan work in real-time is practicing the plan to identify gaps and ensure everyone is ready with a fast and carefully planned approach to combat deepfake scenarios. Tabletop exercises and crisis scenario simulations ensure executives and spokespeople know the steps to take and are trained to stay on message,” Forrester concluded.

There’s no doubt that deepfakes are a growing threat to corporate America.

The crisis management hall of fame is filled with examples of corporate executives who knew about potential threats, but did nothing to address or mitigate them. Chief marketing officers who are convinced that their companies are immune from deepfakes will be in for a rude awakening when they are proven wrong.

It could just be a matter of time.

Previous
Previous

Crisis Prevention Lessons From Ads And Promotions That Backfired

Next
Next

How Abolishing FEMA Could Create A Crisis For States And Cities