CMOs Are More Trusted By CEOs Than We Thought

Its long been accepted as gospel that CEOs are not big believers in their CMOs. This lack of trust is said to have stemmed from CMOs’ lackluster ability to measure their own performance, according to a recent Forbes article. However, a new study from Deliotte suggest that among the c-suite, CEOs may be an important ally. CEOs are the executives that have the greatest trust in CMOs.

CMOs Are Still Losing Influence

The decline of the CMO has been written about a lot lately. Now, a stat from the Harvard Business Review makes that decline crystal clear. “The proportion of CMOs among the top five compensated executives in the US S&P 1500 declined by 35% between 1999 and 2017,” reports Marketing Week.

Navigating a Changing Field

Marketing organizations are changing—sometimes they’re not even headed by a CMO. This can make the operating landscape even more challenging for some. However, the actual title is less important than the structure of the job and its support from the organization.

For example, listen to Marisa Thalberg, who saw her title change from CMO to global chief brand officer prior to her departure from Taco Bell. “When the role is scoped well and you have the right big talent in place, regardless of title, it becomes a very end-to-end role in terms of owning strategy and growth,” according to Marketing Tech News. “That is especially important when you’re responsible for driving business, not just brand.”