Today's CMO: Transforming the role to be ready for what's next
Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2025 8:19 am
Even before the onset of this year’s twin health and economic crises, the role of the chief marketing officer had become more complicated.
On average, CMOs are the most junior members of the C-suite. Boards demand greatness from them. They are expected to be customer champions, frontline brand advocates, stewards of internal morale and culture, and drivers of company growth initiatives.
Yet only 26% of CMOs are invited to attend board meetings regularly, according to Deloitte research. Expectations are high, but access and influence are low.
Illustrated icon within a circle graph representing the statistic: 26% of CMOs are invited to attend board meetings regularly.
In the current environment, these challenges have only become more severe. As companies work to reinvent their products, channels, and demand strategies amid quarantines, shutdowns, and changing consumer needs, hr directors contact list CMOs must be prepared to deliver growth and create resilient marketing plans.
The question is: Does the CMO role have the support needed to succeed?
To understand how CMOs can break the cycle of high expectations and limited influence, last year we spoke with board members from more than 50 Fortune 1000 companies and this year we followed up with CMOs across multiple industries to understand how COVID-19 has impacted them.
Our learnings, further detailed in our new report below, point to ways CMOs can reframe their position and become leaders in digital transformation.
While it may be a tall order, the findings demonstrate that despite the challenges posed by COVID-19, there is no one better equipped than the CMO to help businesses survive and thrive no matter what comes next.
What changed for the CMO?
One thing that hasn't changed: growing the business remains the CMO's primary goal. As one CMO said, "The role of the CMO these days is really to be a chief growth officer for the company." The CMO plays an increasingly critical role in creating and managing a strategy to achieve profitable and sustainable growth.
In any given week or month, CMOs spend much of their time working with teams to run the business, solve problems, and support short- and long-term growth opportunities that can drive immediate wins and set the company up for future success. The rest of their time is often spent managing and supporting their people.
What’s changed is how that business growth is achieved. COVID-19 disrupted supply chains and dramatically altered purchasing patterns. Marketers had to adapt on the fly, pausing or canceling campaigns, finding new, time-sensitive and relevant messaging, and adjusting to a new reality where digital and contactless purchasing behaviors were accelerating.
Retailers have long been beefing up e-commerce solutions, but the pandemic led to millions of new consumers turning to online shopping, digital brand interactions, contactless payments, and omnichannel fulfillment methods (like delivery).
As consumer shopping continues to shift online, CPG industry CMOs are accelerating previous efforts to capitalize on direct-to-consumer growth opportunities. “COVID has already accelerated trends,” said one CPG company marketing chief. “We’ve had a plan to attack this, and now we need to accelerate how we do it.”
For the automotive sector, these changes have highlighted the role of analytics in the CMO’s role. COVID-19 “has accelerated online shopping, digital shopping, etc.,” said the chief marketing officer of an automotive brand. “It has also accelerated the focus on the importance of a strong analytics team that can help sort through all the data and turn it into actionable insights that drive the organization forward.”
Amid the pandemic, the United States also saw nationwide protests over centuries-old racial injustices. This development brought a renewed focus on diversity in the corporate sphere.
Regardless of industry, while many CMOs already had a pre-existing commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, they are now taking even more steps focused on long-term investment to reflect those core values. This includes efforts to improve retention, increase diversity in leadership, and focus on inclusive recruiting strategies.
In 2020, CMOs were faced with building resilience in their organizations not only to survive very real short-term dangers, but also to ensure sustainable growth in an uncertain future. With these shifting priorities, it is even more crucial today for CMOs to manage these new expectations with their boards.
The 5 CMO archetypes
So what's a CMO to do? Since a CMO can't be everything at once, it's best to focus on his or her strengths and the board's expectations.
Deloitte has tested five different archetypes that can help CMOs do just that. Involving the CEO and board early on, to understand where they perceive the most value and recruiting them as thought partners and sounding boards, will help you figure out which archetypes will set your company up for success.
On average, CMOs are the most junior members of the C-suite. Boards demand greatness from them. They are expected to be customer champions, frontline brand advocates, stewards of internal morale and culture, and drivers of company growth initiatives.
Yet only 26% of CMOs are invited to attend board meetings regularly, according to Deloitte research. Expectations are high, but access and influence are low.
Illustrated icon within a circle graph representing the statistic: 26% of CMOs are invited to attend board meetings regularly.
In the current environment, these challenges have only become more severe. As companies work to reinvent their products, channels, and demand strategies amid quarantines, shutdowns, and changing consumer needs, hr directors contact list CMOs must be prepared to deliver growth and create resilient marketing plans.
The question is: Does the CMO role have the support needed to succeed?
To understand how CMOs can break the cycle of high expectations and limited influence, last year we spoke with board members from more than 50 Fortune 1000 companies and this year we followed up with CMOs across multiple industries to understand how COVID-19 has impacted them.
Our learnings, further detailed in our new report below, point to ways CMOs can reframe their position and become leaders in digital transformation.
While it may be a tall order, the findings demonstrate that despite the challenges posed by COVID-19, there is no one better equipped than the CMO to help businesses survive and thrive no matter what comes next.
What changed for the CMO?
One thing that hasn't changed: growing the business remains the CMO's primary goal. As one CMO said, "The role of the CMO these days is really to be a chief growth officer for the company." The CMO plays an increasingly critical role in creating and managing a strategy to achieve profitable and sustainable growth.
In any given week or month, CMOs spend much of their time working with teams to run the business, solve problems, and support short- and long-term growth opportunities that can drive immediate wins and set the company up for future success. The rest of their time is often spent managing and supporting their people.
What’s changed is how that business growth is achieved. COVID-19 disrupted supply chains and dramatically altered purchasing patterns. Marketers had to adapt on the fly, pausing or canceling campaigns, finding new, time-sensitive and relevant messaging, and adjusting to a new reality where digital and contactless purchasing behaviors were accelerating.
Retailers have long been beefing up e-commerce solutions, but the pandemic led to millions of new consumers turning to online shopping, digital brand interactions, contactless payments, and omnichannel fulfillment methods (like delivery).
As consumer shopping continues to shift online, CPG industry CMOs are accelerating previous efforts to capitalize on direct-to-consumer growth opportunities. “COVID has already accelerated trends,” said one CPG company marketing chief. “We’ve had a plan to attack this, and now we need to accelerate how we do it.”
For the automotive sector, these changes have highlighted the role of analytics in the CMO’s role. COVID-19 “has accelerated online shopping, digital shopping, etc.,” said the chief marketing officer of an automotive brand. “It has also accelerated the focus on the importance of a strong analytics team that can help sort through all the data and turn it into actionable insights that drive the organization forward.”
Amid the pandemic, the United States also saw nationwide protests over centuries-old racial injustices. This development brought a renewed focus on diversity in the corporate sphere.
Regardless of industry, while many CMOs already had a pre-existing commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, they are now taking even more steps focused on long-term investment to reflect those core values. This includes efforts to improve retention, increase diversity in leadership, and focus on inclusive recruiting strategies.
In 2020, CMOs were faced with building resilience in their organizations not only to survive very real short-term dangers, but also to ensure sustainable growth in an uncertain future. With these shifting priorities, it is even more crucial today for CMOs to manage these new expectations with their boards.
The 5 CMO archetypes
So what's a CMO to do? Since a CMO can't be everything at once, it's best to focus on his or her strengths and the board's expectations.
Deloitte has tested five different archetypes that can help CMOs do just that. Involving the CEO and board early on, to understand where they perceive the most value and recruiting them as thought partners and sounding boards, will help you figure out which archetypes will set your company up for success.