CMO, the impossible job?

Responding to the suggestion that the CMO had become an impossible job, all the CMOs we asked at WFA Global Marketer Week in Toronto last month disagreed.

They all agreed though that the role has evolved and become more complex. However, many pointed out that it is precisely this level of complexity and the multi-faceted nature of the role that made it such a special job. PepsiCo’s Jane Wakely reckoned the role is perhaps the most challenging but most rewarding career in the C-suite. Watch their reactions below:

At a time when research suggests CEOs have low levels of trust in their CMOs, Raja Rajamannar insisted on the need to adopt the mindset of a general manager. It requires an eclectic ‘Leonardo da Vinci skillset’ so you need to surround yourself with a diverse team of people.

IG Wealth Management’s marketing chief, Moya Brown agreed: “The key is to surround yourself with really great people and to listen to them. That’s why they are there and you work together as a team and I think that complexity can actually be conquered.”

“You need to position yourself as a strategic business partner” rather than the person who creates campaigns, insisted Nissan’s Allyson Witherspoon.

Key to winning the trust of one’s peers is to make sure “you are the growth architect of your business”, insisted Jane Wakely.

AB InBev’s Marcel Marcondes agreed: “The job is evolving, it’s not anymore about building campaigns and doing TV commercials, it’s about being in the cockpit and driving growth.” Having the ability to solve consumer problems and business problems simultaneously is the best job in the world, he claimed.

More than ever, CMOs agreed on the need to focus on business results. “We need to be more ruthless than ever when it comes to grounding our work on business results, because you can get lost in activity and you can look back at your year and then find that you’ve been putting out fires. It is the role and the job of the CMO to make sure that every activity gets done to make the biggest impact on the business,” said P&G’s Taide Guajardo.

But the job can be daunting. “I think right now in the world a lot of things feel impossible. We are in a massive transition moment, we’re in a transition moment around technology and AI we are in a transition moment around climate change and all these massive changes in social demographics and politics. So yes, it’s not an easy role, probably a better paid role than a climate scientist,” joked Futerra’s Solitaire Townsend as she urged CMOs to lean into the challenge posed by the climate crisis.

The final word goes to the Ritbot, an AI-generated version of marketing professor and industry commentator, Mark Ritson, who featured on the Better Marketing Debate at the Better Marketing Debate.

“Here’s the thing: despite the challenges, the headaches and the occasional desire to throw your laptop out of the window, it’s a bloody brilliant job. It’s where creativity meets strategy, where you can make a real difference. It's not just about selling products, it’s about shaping perceptions and building relationships. So impossible? Maybe, but as the saying goes, if it was easy, everyone would do it.”