credit: chiefmartec.com
The chief marketing officer manages public relations, marketing, advertising, and social media. It’s no secret that analytics and big data have pushed the CMO into the realm of tech, encroaching on the IT department.
Silos in organizations have IT squarely functioning on its own, reporting to the chief technology officer. When do marketing and technology collaborate? Probably in the conference room and perhaps at a few meetings.
A recent issue of Advertising Age on the future of marketing has raised this very issue – marketing and technology are converging at a fast pace but the squabbling is still alive and well in many firms and large organizations.
Other reports suggest the role of the chief marketing officer is fraught with little tenure – the average length of time in this position is about 18 months. Why is that?
I reckon a solid guess that social media and the outside-in communication style of consumers has pushed marketers into a frenzy to dissect and measure. As the IT department stood alongside watching the festivities, marketing took on big data and added it to its mix. Did it make it any easier for marketers to have all these stats flying around every day? No…social media ROI remains elusive.
The other thought is that CMOs are fighting for influence. A recent study by Appinions, an opinion-based influence marketing platform, studied the level of influence by marketers in a highly popular paper with results published by Forbes. I imagine the chief marketer wants more influence over all of it, right? After all, the CIO or CTO has been relegated to a silo for so many years…but I feel a sea change brewing!
So, what’s going to happen in the corner office?
Is there anyone highly qualified to catch the curve balls in this new normal? Does anyone have the competency to manage all these departments converging in the C-suite? Methinks anyone in the CMO position today is working their arse off to stay smart and be ahead of the game.
Instead of all these chief whatever officers, I’m imagining the Chief Everything Officer…it sounds so much more, well, inclusive, doesn’t it?
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