New Changes To The Title And Direction Of The Chief Marketing Officer Role

A topic of interest among marketers is the desire to “play” with the CMO title. Nobody has seemingly received more press about title changes for the chief marketing position than Coke. At one point, they had a Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer and then a Chief Marketing Officer. They then tried the title of Chief Growth Officer only to resurrect the Global Chief Marketing Officer title once again.

That is why a new trend by some companies to shift the Chief Marketing Officer title to Chief “Market” Officer is interesting. I’ve spoken with industry leaders, like Latané Conant, Kate Bullis and Christine Heckart on this topic, to better understand why eliminating three letters matters. For another perspective, I connected with Lauren Vaccarello, Chief Marketing Officer at Talend.

Kimberly A. Whitler: What are your thoughts about the Chief Market Officer title and do you have any plans to change yours?

Lauren Vaccarello: No, but a “Chief Market Officer” title aligns with the future of the role and what I am driving at Talend. When I first started at the company, I asked what market we want to be in and what value we want to create. We’re shifting from features and functionality to identifying what we provide and attracting more strategic buyers. If we’re not attracting strategic buyers, whatever we’re doing won’t matter because the wrong audience will be viewing it.

Whitler:  Why does changing the title to Chief Market Officer matter?

Vaccarello: The “Chief Marketing Officer” role is stuck in tactics. Changing “Chief Market Officer” will help show that yes, we drive growth, but that isn’t all we do. We also work to better understand the market and set long term vision and strategy. 

Dropping the “ing” forces people to rethink the CMO role. It changes the perception away from “you’re only as good as the leads you bring” to a more strategic function. The CMO role is very misunderstood. By giving more of a focus on market vs. marketing, it helps CMOs refocus – for example, setting a global strategy and direction and allowing for local changes to better understand the markets by territory. Dropping the “ing” will move CMOs beyond just tactics and execution and help us get more strategic to drive growth

Whitler: Has the pandemic changed the CMO role? If so, how? Do you think it’s for good or only in the short-term?

Vaccarello: The pandemic has forced marketers to rethink how we go to market and remain innovative. You can’t rely on past experiences anymore. Through this, marketers will become more innovative, stronger at our jobs and increase our customer empathy, helping us to better understand our customers and their current situations. Right now, marketers are taking a step back and thinking about if their company has something to offer customers that will help them survive and thrive during this pandemic. This deep evaluation needs to continue. With so much information in front of consumers, having trustworthy data in real-time can help companies sort through the chaos.

A big hit to marketing from the pandemic is the loss of in-person events. When we shifted to virtual events, we missed the coffee meetings with prospects, and marketers had to figure out how to make up for this lost personal time and try to create an experience that still delivers those deep connections. Even when in-person events make a safe return, their virtual counterparts will still exist because they significantly increase reach of an event, so marketers have to figure out long-term solutions now.

Field marketing has also changed. We have to figure out how to create shared experiences without having in person events. Marketers are all certainly going to jump at going back out to dinners with prospects, but this environment has created deeper insights into who people are and is allowing us to build a deeper level of authenticity. Making connections virtually opens the door for more meaningful connection with people so when we go back to normal, marketers can carry that level of authenticity. Customers and prospects are going to think harder about what events they go to and what value these events bring. Creating these deep connections now will help them show up later. 

The pandemic has for sure changed the CMO role in the short term, but it has also reshaped the role for the long term. It has pushed us all as leaders to continue to grow, to innovate, and to see and adapt to an unknown future.

Join the Discussion: @KimWhitler