In my recent conversation with a seasoned CMO at a global tech firm, he shared a story that’s becoming all too familiar among his peers. “When I first took this role,” he explained, “my primary goal was to drive product awareness and expand our customer base. Today, I’m as much a data strategist, an experience architect, and an innovation leader as I am a marketer.” This shift highlights a reality many CMOs are grappling with: the role of marketing leadership is no longer confined to traditional boundaries.
Today’s CMO is not just the steward of brand image and product marketing but is also deeply involved in shaping strategy, interpreting data, and even steering sustainability efforts. In this article, I observe the top 3 shifts in the role of CMOs globally, how these trends redefine the expectations of marketing leaders, and what this means for C-suite executives.
- From Brand Guardians to Growth-Oriented Strategists
The traditional view of CMOs as brand custodians is now complemented by their role as drivers of growth across all areas of the business. Today, CMOs must deliver measurable value, with pressure mounting from CEOs and boards to tie marketing efforts directly to business outcomes. As revenue contributors, CMOs are accountable not only for brand health but also for translating this into tangible growth metrics.
Broader Implications:
- Alignment with Sales and Product Teams: This requires an unprecedented level of collaboration with sales and product development. CMOs today need to ensure that their strategies align tightly with sales objectives and product innovation. This cross-functional partnership maximizes customer acquisition, deepens engagement, and encourages loyalty.
- Performance Metrics: CMOs must establish KPIs and performance metrics that directly connect to growth. Metrics like CLTV, customer retention rates, and Net Promoter Scores (NPS) have become essential. These KPIs go beyond basic brand metrics, providing boards with clearer insight into the CMO’s contribution to growth.
- A Real-World Example: In my opinion, maybe consider Mastercard’s CMO, Raja Rajamannar, who has championed the move from “advertising to experiences.” Under his leadership, Mastercard has redefined its brand through Priceless Experiences, which directly contributes to brand differentiation and customer loyalty, showing how CMOs today must be as concerned with customer experience as they are with brand messaging.
- The CMO as the Chief Data Interpreter
As organisations become increasingly data-driven, the CMO’s role has expanded to encompass a deeper understanding and application of data. Today’s CMO must make data-backed decisions, which requires proficiency in data interpretation, analytics, and AI-driven insights. With customer data sprawling across various touchpoints, CMOs are uniquely positioned to understand and leverage insights that guide not only marketing strategy but also influence product development, customer experience, and strategic decisions.
Broader Implications:
- Personalisation at Scale: Data literacy empowers CMOs to drive personalisation. Advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning now allow CMOs to create highly personalised marketing strategies. However, this demands a sophisticated understanding of consumer behaviour and the ability to act on data insights in real-time.
- Ethical Data Usage: With more data comes the responsibility of handling it ethically. The CMO, along with the CDO (Chief Data Officer), often becomes a key advocate for data privacy and security, balancing innovation with consumer trust.
- A Real-World Example: Amazon, a company renowned for its data-driven approach, exemplifies this shift. Its CMO uses data to understand individual customer preferences and optimise each touchpoint in the customer journey. Through data insights, Amazon personalises not only its recommendations but also its product development and inventory planning, proving how today’s CMO influences multiple facets of the business through data.
- The Sustainability and Purpose-Driven Agenda
In the global landscape, customers and stakeholders increasingly expect brands to reflect a purpose beyond profits. This has transformed the CMO’s role into that of a sustainability advocate, bridging the gap between business objectives and societal impact. CMOs are now at the helm of purpose-driven initiatives, positioning brands as allies to social, environmental, and community causes. This role goes beyond CSR and dives into the DNA of brand-building, where purpose becomes a key differentiator in a crowded market.
Broader Implications:
- Purpose as a Competitive Advantage: Purpose-driven marketing can resonate deeply with consumers, especially Millennials and Gen Z, who are known to favour brands that align with their values. CMOs now craft narratives that emphasise authenticity and shared values, creating emotional connections with customers that strengthen brand loyalty.
- Alignment with ESG Goals: CMOs increasingly collaborate with other C-suite executives to integrate ESG goals into the company’s marketing efforts. By doing so, they not only create a brand that resonates with modern consumers but also build long-term reputational capital.
- A Real-World Example: Unilever’s Dove brand, under the stewardship of its CMO, embarked on the “Real Beauty” campaign, a purpose-driven initiative that encourages body positivity and challenges traditional beauty standards. This campaign not only boosted Dove’s brand equity but also elevated the brand as a social advocate. This type of purpose-driven marketing shows how CMOs are redefining brand loyalty through shared values, helping businesses gain relevance in a socially-conscious marketplace.
Embracing the Future…every single day!
As the CMO role continues to evolve, it is essential for C-suite leaders to understand the breadth and depth of what CMOs can achieve today. Supporting this transformation means investing in the right talent, infrastructure, and technology, while a culture of collaboration. For CMOs to thrive, they need the flexibility to experiment, the mandate to innovate, and access to resources that facilitate cross-functional impact.
Encourage Cross-Functional Integration: CMOs today must operate at the intersection of marketing, sales, technology, and operations. CEOs and CFOs can support this by creating a culture that encourages interdepartmental collaboration.
Invest in Technology and Training: As the demand for data-driven decision-making grows, organisations must invest in tools that allow CMOs to harness data effectively. Continuous learning opportunities are also essential, enabling CMOs to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving landscape.
Prioritise Purpose and Accountability: Purpose-driven CMOs need clear objectives and accountability frameworks to measure the impact of their initiatives. Leaders can foster an environment that promotes genuine, purpose-led strategies, aligning brand goals with broader societal benefits.
To conclude, as I see it, modern CMOs must be growth strategists, data interpreters, and champions of purpose-driven initiatives.
The views and opinions published here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher.
Extending beyond academia; Ankoor has been honoured with the "CIRCLE OF EXCELLENCE 2024" award by Passion Vista and recognized as the "MAN OF EXCELLENCE, 2024" by the prestigious Indian Achievers' Award. Additionally, he received the "LEADER 2.0 AWARD, 2023" from adgully and was named a "DIGITAL KAIZEN LEADER by DigiAdCon 2024”, Dr. Dasguupta's contributions to the field of marketing are widely acclaimed, marking him as an inspiring thought leader in his domain. Ankoor is also a member of IMA India’s CMO Forum.
Most recently Dr. Dasguupta has been selected and felicitated with the national level award -Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam Inspiration Award 2024 in the category Youth Icon of the Year.
Dr. Dasguupta is a key member of the esteemed International CMO Council and keeps delivering lectures at top Business Schools and also colleges at University of Delhi. As an industry expert, Ankoor has also been a member of the interview panel at MICA for their PGP Group Exercise & Personal Interview PI process for PGDM-C/PGDM selection for two consecutive years. Dr. Dasguupta is also on the Advisory Board of the Marketing Department at ISBR Business School, Bangalore. Recognized by DMA Asia as a marketing Ace, Dr. Dasguupta is a LinkedIn Top Voice, advocate of social impact, driven by kaizen, Ankoor believes in the power of Energy and Energize
Dr. Ankoor is practicing his PCC (Level 2) coaching from the gold standard International Coaching Federation [ICF]. He is a people's person and has worked across functions in senior leadership positions in marketing, advertising, media & communication with a pedigree of 24 years and ongoing exciting journey. Trained from Dale Carnegie in Mentoring to Develop Talent, Ankoor is a marketing practitioner, a coach, a knowledge manager, a team builder, a thought-leader, an avid writer with close to 100 published articles / interviews and is a Thought Leader. Dr.Ankoor wears the hat of a CMO as well. His leisure pursuits are reading, effective listening and percussion. Follow Dr. Ankoor Dasguupta on LinkedIn| https://www.linkedin.com/in/ankoordasguupta/
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