Rethinking the CMO

The chief marketing officer role is one in need of constant renewal and reinvention, but as the business world undergoes sweeping change, what should the role of CMO be in business? For this month's special cover story, Apple Lam finds out.

Get behind the scenes of how we created the chalkboard-themed cover image:

And hear from the man on the cover, Richard Thomas, founder and director of Thomas Group Worldwide, about the photo shoot.

Anyone who has worked in HR or recruitment will tell you how misleading job titles can sometimes be in terms of reflecting the actual work done by the candidate and their competence for the job.

But job titles carry with them connotations of particular words that have implications for what falls under the employee’s scope of work and how important their role is to the company.

Chief marketing officer (CMO) most commonly denotes the top job in the marketing world.

“We call it CMO because we lack a descriptor for this newly emerging role and are handicapped by our language,” says Dave Senay, global CEO and president at FleishmanHillard.

But, increasingly, a plethora of alternative job titles are emerging. Examples include chief transformation officer (CTO), chief creative officer (CCO), chief experience officer (CXO), chief relationship officer (CRO), chief community officer and even chief storyteller.

Richard Thomas, founder and director of Thomas Group Worldwide, does not believe these titles can replace CMO as the top job title in marketing.

First, the word “transformation” in CTO gives the marketer the aura of a metaphorical messiah who is employed to save the company or help it achieve new heights by implementing major changes to the business.

“The CMO is often seen as a god or a messiah figure, but this is an impossible figure because the role is all about collaboration with staff,” Thomas says.

“With the rise of big data and digital, it is impossible to control everything. You have to move faster and respond to ad hoc situations. The previously structured chain of plan, act and review is no longer linear and happens every day as opposed to once a year.”

This is especially true in the fast-paced world of social media, where content and responses to user comments must be posted in a timely fashion. In this dynamic environment, CMOs need to give staff more autonomy.

Thomas also points out the dangers posed to a brand’s image by a CMO elevated to the status of a celebrity.

“Even if that lifts the brand up in the short-term, it can damage the brand in the long run. The brand is not one person and should not be defined by one person’s success,” he says.

“If the CMO does something wrong or leaves the company, he or she is so much a part of the organisation that it will have an enormous impact on the way the company is perceived in the commercial world.”

Thomas adds that companies championing their celebrity CMOs often draw fame-oriented people who create a workplace culture filled with politics and egos, rather than those who genuinely want the brand to become well known. It also implies the company cares less about developing the careers of staff working under the CMO and can tend to attract people who do their jobs mechanically.

Over time, organisational structures were optimised to drive business goals. Because the CMO couldn’t take on so much responsibility in some companies, they were divided up into separate job functions.

Perry Chung, marketing director

Ocean Park

Meanwhile, customer experience and relations are the buzz words for job titles such as CXO and CRO.

Perry Chung, marketing director at Ocean Park, believes the CMO is the best available job title because it alludes to brand strategy, which he sees as the core responsibility of the most senior marketing person.

However, he says emphasising customer service in this top role is reasonable for companies valuing CRM the most.

“Job titles are very fluid – jobs should not be defined by their names. It simply depends on what your company needs,” Chung says.

But for Thomas, the main problem with job titles such as CXO and CRO, or those emphasising design and innovation such as chief creative officer (CCO), is they are too narrow and failing to describe marketing in the broader sense.

Understanding the word “marketing” more broadly means leading different disciplines within the business in a consumer-oriented direction and being in touch with commercial realities that come with profit making.

“The CMO role is perceived to mean marketing communications rather than marketing. That’s too narrow a definition, which pigeonholes the CMO into a niche and specialised role,” Thomas says.

“Instead, the CMO should be influencing where the brand goes in terms of sales, brand and product development, customer experience, and creatives while using insights from data.”

This is done by collaborating with staff members who are experts in these areas.

“For example, even though the CMO is not responsible for operations and manufacturing, he should influence the direction of the company that then needs to be put into practice by product development, operations and manufacturing departments,” Thomas says.

Thomas believes CMOs should be the next CEOs instead of CFOs and sales directors, precisely because CMOs understand the consumer – the ultimate source of a company’s revenue.

“CMOs reflect the voice of the consumer.”

Richard Branson and Steve Jobs were not marketers by training, but they were in touch with consumers and able to influence what comes next.

Richard Thomas, founder and director

Thomas Group Worldwide

The prevalence of the CMO role being watered down is reflected in the fact that in the past decade, the CMO is no longer considered the next candidate for CEO unlike 20 years ago, where many CMOs often became CEOs.

“This narrow focus on marketing communications has downgraded the CMO because it’s difficult to see them as a serious commercial leader. Instead, CFOs and heads of sales who deal with numbers on a daily basis and bring short-term gains become the CEOs,” Thomas says.

“CMOs are seen as a cost rather than an asset.”

Thomas has high hopes and hefty responsibilities for future CMOs.

“Great marketers should then lead the way towards a better way of doing business.”