Introduction
The Super CMO
Social media versus complexity
Think "web first"
The IAB's challenge to Nielsen and comScore
Making online safe for digital immigrants
Berens: Not to mention that the CMO -- at the moment that he or she woke up and realized this -- also probably looked at the calendar and thought, “Of the average 23 month tenure of a CMO, how much longer do I have?”
Rothenberg: As one of the generators of the research that helped popularize that figure, I think I need to get people to step back from it.
The 23 month number is attributable to Spencer Stuart, which is an executive recruiting firm, and it has a superb marketing and media practice. But, what we found at Booz Allen, in the work that we did with the Association of National Advertisers, is that this short tenure issue derives mostly from good news. I know that sounds contradictory, so let me explain.
I ran Booz Allen’s relationship with the ANA between 2004 and the end of 2006. We did quite a lot of research with them and for them; and, the ANA came to us in 2004 with a request. They said, “A lot of our members feel that they are moving further and further from the seat of influence in their companies, and they are worried that marketing is becoming irrelevant, because of the globalization of finance, the globalization of communications. So, we (the ANA) want to know, is that true? And, if so, what are the capabilities that marketing needs, to be better prepared for the future?”
So, we started doing some research: surveys and some deep dives with ANA members. And, we found that exactly the opposite was true. Across several hundred companies, when we talked to both marketers and non-marketers alike, and asked the question, “Is marketing more or less important today than five years ago?” Overwhelmingly, in all industries, they said marketing had grown in importance over the five-year period. And in some industries, such as financial services, more than eighty percent of respondents -- again marketers and non-marketers alike -- said that marketing had grown in importance.
We hypothesized that the reason for the short tenure findings by Spencer Stewart were based on the mismatch between the desires of the CEOs and the senior leadership team, as well as between the capabilities of marketing teams and the competencies of marketers themselves.
To be more specific, we absolutely found evidence that there is a rising class of senior marketer: we borrowed the phrase “Super CMO” from John Quelch at Harvard Business School to describe this senior CMO. And, we developed the term “Growth Champion Marketers” to define their teams.
These were marketers who were in charge of the strategic growth agenda in their firms. In many cases, they actually owned the strategy agenda, and sometimes the innovation agenda -- within the marketing portfolio -- and, they were a part of the senior leadership of their firms. This was a minority, but it was a rising group.
What we concluded was that more and more CEOs were looking for that kind of advanced marketing leadership, and advanced capabilities. But, what they got too frequently were the older sets of capabilities, which were really much more service provider oriented: marketers who were primarily accustomed to using third party vendors to create advertising and PR. The mismatch between the desire for an advanced growth of leadership and the reality of tactical service provider was what led to the short tenures.
Berens: It sounds to me that you are saying that while the importance of marketing has grown astonishingly, the capabilities of the marketers to execute on that significance has not grown correspondingly.
Rothenberg: It is slower because the recognition was probably not as widespread in the marketplace. And, to segue into the media industry and into interactivity, it is a lesson and an opportunity for media companies and for agencies, as well.
If you are a marketer -- it does not matter whether you are working for a retail bank, or a downstream oil and gas company, or an automotive manufacturer, or a national retail chain -- the need is to grow your business. So, you are looking for a CMO who knows how to grow businesses. You are looking for a marketing team that knows how to grow businesses. And, you are looking for agencies and media companies that can help you solve your growth problem. And, this is much more advanced, much more complex, and much more vibrant than just creating advertisements that fit into predefined spaces and places.
Berens: So, it is a bigger job.
Rothenberg: Yep.
Berens: Any examples of the “Super CMO” that you can share with the iMedia audience?
Rothenberg: Whether any one really fits, or not, others can decide. I can give you examples of people or positions who seem to fit.
Procter & Gamble has always had the chief marketing officer at the heart of the company’s growth agenda. And, it is no surprise that Jim Stengel certainly fits the profile. Somebody else who would fit the profile also, and a company that has had marketing at the heart of its agenda for a very, very long time is Pepsi's: Cie Nicholson, and before her, Dave Burwick.
When IBM made its change in CMOs -- when Abby Kohnstamm retired, and when Bruce Herrald became chief marketing officer -- it was telling. Herrald had been the head of strategy for IBM, and in becoming CMO, he kept Strategy as part of his portfolio.
Another example, Cathy Lyons, went from heading the Printing and Imaging Division, which is one of the most important operating divisions at HP, to becoming EVP and CMO. So, we are seeing more operating competencies moving into the CMO office. Cathy, I believe, just recently shifted back yet again to an operating position.
Booz Allen and the ANA are publishing a book that I had the privilege of writing an introduction for that is coming out in a couple of months, called "CMO Thought Leaders." It consists of interviews with fifteen or sixteen of these “Super CMOs.” It was a lot of fun to work on.
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