“I don’t think this is necessarily a canary in the coal mine for CMOs.” [role] “I think this shows that the marketing function needs to fit well into the structure and strategy of the business,” said Jay Patisal, vice president and principal agency analyst at Forrester. . “For every doom and gloom story, there are examples of successful marketing methods and successful and growing marketers, and McDonald's and Coca-Cola represent these. They are the means by which companies help their companies grow. It is an organization that has revived its top marketing function.
Marketers, brand executives, industry association leaders and consultants see the Starbucks news as a reflection of the CMO's current reality, rather than a harbinger of the continued elimination of the role. Some organizations are reorganizing marketer duties across different C-suite functions and eliminating the CMO role. Other companies are expanding the CMO role to include roles such as chief communications officer or chief experience officer. It's all a matter of whether an organization takes a centralized or decentralized approach to its marketing function.
For companies looking to change the role of the CMO, much of the change taking place is specific to each business, the industry in which it exists, and executives' awareness and understanding of what marketing can do. At the same time, marketers are not only expected to deliver results from their campaigns, they also need to demonstrate the immediate impact those results have on a company's revenue and stock price.
“Marketers' roles are the red thread across the organization that ties everything together to ensure that messaging, quality experiences, and emotional resonance are present in every moment a brand creates,” says Greg, Global Director of Brand Economics at Interbrand.・Mr. Silverman stated. . In that case, CFOs, CEOs, and other executives think, “I want this to not only lead to profits, but also to represent an increase in stock prices.''
Mara Kaprouts, president and CEO of the industry group 4A, echoed similar sentiments in an email. “Today, CMOs have a dual challenge: ensuring deep business knowledge with financial acumen, data fluency, and technical expertise in the face of increasing complexity. , and ensure that other members of the C-suite understand the investment and value (including long-term) in marketing.”
Changes in job titles and organization to reflect business needs
The ability of CMOs to meet these challenges depends on the individuals in the role. Some companies may get rid of the CMO title and opt for roles like chief growth officer, chief brand officer, or chief customer experience officer, but that's because the CMO in the previous role failed in some way. This is not a sign, but rather that the way companies operate is evolving. Consider the role and how it fits into your goals and strategy.
When asked about title changes and fragmentation of CMO duties at some companies, Nick Primora, Group Executive of the ANA Global CMO Growth Council, said, “These companies are “It's not necessarily that we're not doing a lot of marketing.” “They just look at it in a different way. I think that's actually more accurate in terms of what the practice actually is, rather than just a marketing campaign as traditionally thought of. .”
For those in global CMO roles, it is more important than ever to find ways to ensure that the CMO is integrated into their business and that the role itself is understood.
“All of these companies have different definitions and expectations of the CMO role, and that can be difficult,” said Adrian Huang, global CMO at eBay. “The key is that the CMO is deeply integrated into the business strategy. The challenge when the CMO role is fragmented is that the CMO is not integrated into the business strategy, and vice versa. [so] The rest of the management team doesn't know what the CMO is doing, and things become fragmented. ”
Mr. Huang continued: “It's important for a CMO like me to make sure we have that connection, understand what other companies are trying to do, and have a voice at the table to say, 'Look, here's what this is.' We believe it is the right thing to do for our customers. How do we talk about this? What is the combination of product experience, marketing, etc. that will ultimately drive growth?'' Well, having these conversations early on will help define his CMO role going forward. You'll find it much easier. ”
The outcome of these conversations will depend on the business, its needs, and the executives' respect for marketing. Marketers, brand executives, industry group leaders, and consultants say whether an organization takes a centralized or decentralized approach to the role may affect the role's importance or its potential to become less important. This is not a reflection of the current situation, but rather an evolution of the role. according to the needs of the company at the moment.
Recognize the evolution already
It's important to define the CMO's current role and future role. But they also need to recognize that the responsibilities and expectations of the role have already expanded far beyond what they started with.
Allen Adamson, brand consultant and co-founder of MetaForce, said that “marketing brands today is much more complex than simply managing marketing communications,” adding that the job can be “too vague” for one person. He added that it is sexual. “In some ways, it was built for a time when marketing was primarily marketing communications and you could manage that all over the world. [What’s happening now] It's not that the CMO isn't an important role, it's that there are too many roles that need to be shared among many different people. ”
Not only must marketing teams manage an ever-expanding array of advertising channels and prove that they are delivering results for their business and shareholders, they are now at the center of everything happening around cultural and social change. “I'm standing there,” he said. said Jason Cieslak, President of Pacific Rim at global brand experience company Siegel+Gale. “They need to engage with clients and customers on social channels, and those things are fickle, evolving, and difficult.”
“In so many ways, their work is a proxy for broader changes in the world around us,” Cieslak said. “CFOs are not responding to large-scale events.” [social and societal] change. Their role has not changed. If you're a chief operations officer, your role doesn't change from week to week, day to day, month to month, but a CMO doesn't. [are treated] It would be unfair to represent all organizational change. ”
