In this issue:
- In Our Opinion: The CMO of the Future
- Blog Round Up
- Client Spotlight: Al DiGuido
- Ask Our Coach
- MYPB: Parts 2 & 3
- Career Announcements
In Our Opinion
The CMO of the Future
The role of the Chief Marketing Officer (“CMO”) has always been a challenging one as evidenced by the average 24-month tenure (according to an annual survey conducted by Spencer Stuart). This tough job is getting even tougher because many CMOs are ill-prepared to lead in this ever-changing landscape.
Evolving from “Push” to “Pull” Marketing
With the rapid growth of new digital and mobile media, the influence of social networks, and online marketing and e-commerce channels, the CMO job has shifted from a mass marketing (“push”) world to a customer-driven (“pull”), one-to-one marketing world. “Evolution is mandatory,” is the keynote sounded by Wendy Clark, SVP, Marketing at Coca-Cola at AdTech’s recent NYC conference. Extraordinary customer engagement and relevance (of offers and customer communication) are the “new norms” in “always-on” marketing.
The marketing pyramid has been turned upside-down with online content, experiences, and conversations among members of social networks having more impact on brand image (and reputation) than television commercials (which are increasingly being blocked out or skipped by busy consumers — except for the Super Bowl). “Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today,” says Clark, and Coke has rewritten their marketing playbook. Listening to consumers, being “shareworthy,” being relevant, collaborating (instead of dictating), and not accepting the status quo, are among the top marketing principles CMOs must adopt in order to be effective.
Organizational Changes: 3 Required Areas of CMO Focus
Global consulting organizations, including Accenture, recently highlighted the organizational changes required by CMOs to navigate this fundamental shift in marketing “best practices.” In a recent Forbes article, Robert Wollan, Global Head of Accenture’s CRM practice, highlighted three fundamental areas of concentration for CMOs including:
- Increased focus, targeting, and investment in customer analytics as the tip of the arrow in making “relevant marketing” more achievable.
- Improved collaboration across Finance, R&D, Sales, Customer Service, and IT (especially in developing digital and mobile capabilities and responding to ever-changing social media developments).
- Strengthened operations, including rebuilding core marketing capabilities, and either hiring more skilled (digital and analytical) individuals or forming alliances with organizations that can provide these.
“Marketing Revolution” and the CMO Profile
McKinsey, another leading global consulting firm, in their 2011 white paper titled “The Future of Marketing” said, “Companies need to become the marketing vehicles, and the marketing organization itself needs to become the customer-engagement engine, responsible for establishing priorities and stimulating dialogue throughout the enterprise. As that transformation happens, there will be a greater distribution of existing marketing tasks to other functions; more councils and informal alliances that coordinate marketing activities across the company; deeper partnerships with external vendors, customers, and perhaps even competitors; and a bigger role for data-driven customer insights.”
John Hayes, CMO of American Express (and one of the most successful CMOs with over 10 years’ longevity), summed it up well by calling it “a marketing revolution.” “We’re going through a revolution a whole lot like the Industrial Revolution. The change is that profound. As we go to market with an idea, the world is going to decide whether or not this has real value, talk about it, and then position it however they want to position it. But understand, you’re still 100 percent accountable for the outcome.”
Navigating this “slippery slope” has become harder and harder for CMOs without the digital marketing and social media backgrounds or DNA to lead effectively in this fundamentally different marketing world. It is causing CEOs to increasingly ask, “What is the profile of the CMO of the future?”
Jeff Gundersen, CEO
Lorraine “Lola” White, Partner & Lead Personal Brand Strategist
Blog Roundup
Did you catch these recent posts on the Executive Connections Blog?
How to Secure the Right Board of Directors Position
I’m frequently asked by CEOs and other C-level clients, “How do I identify and secure a Board of Directors position?” Serving on Boards — especially the right ones — can be a credibility builder. It is also a gateway to personal development and building new, lasting relationships that feed into the fulfillment of your life purpose and are aligned with your passions. We tell our clients who are interested in pursuing a meaningful Board role, “Start with your personal brand.” Read more
Do You Have a Theme for 2012?
We are always creating new ways to streamline the personal branding process, not only for our clients but also for ourselves. One approach we’ve found that works really well for remaining “on brand” is to create an annual theme.
Towards the end of each year, we set aside time to reflect on what we need to take our business (and our own personal brands) to the next level in the following year. We make a list of “what’s in” and “what’s out” for our personal brands in the new year. One of the new best practices that’s in for us, is a one-sentence theme that helps keeps us focused on what we want to achieve in the coming year. Read more
Client Spotlight on Al DiGuido
We recently completed our MYPB Personal Brand Program with Al DiGuido that included a branded website, www.aldiguido.com. Al DiGuido is a visionary authority for staying ahead of the “New Digital Reality.” For his influential voice on how evolving media platforms drive brand success in today’s economy, he’s known as a shaper of key digital marketing industry topics and as a contributor to CNN, Fox Business News, CNBC, MSNBC, CBC, AdAge, Business Week, New York Times, ClickZ, and US News & World Report. DiGuido not only sees the key marketplace trends, but also how to build the organizations and technology solutions that generate sales and profits.
Here’s what Al had to say about this project:
In my leadership roles, it was my customers who came to rely on my direction in helping them create a sustainable brand in a competitive marketplace. So, when the opportunity presented itself to think more about my own personal brand and a branded website that accomplished much more than warehousing decades of my body of work, I must admit that I was a bit skeptical that anyone could add anything substantial in terms of brand insight and representation. I was wrong.
My work with Lola White, Jeff Gundersen, and their team opened up my understanding of the key drivers of my personal brand and how my brand can be impacted with every brand touch. Long before a line of content was uploaded into my new site (which they designed and developed), there were meaningful sessions and queries that probed areas of my thought process that had remained locked down for years. I now have an online brand portal that truly represents who I am and that has proven relevant to my audience.
I believe this process is incredibly important to those who value their brand and want to ensure its validity, viability, and strategic positioning in the days and years ahead. I could not recommend a team more highly to support this brand exploration.
– Al DiGuido, Brand Advocate
Ask our Coach
Q. In your opinion, how are you seeing the hiring market currently? Is this a good time for me to be exploring new career opportunities?
A. In early 2012, we see the temperature of the market as very vibrant!
Two events we see as increasing this growth are the US elections and the Olympics. These mean natural increases in the media and marketing services sectors. Plus, the majority of global CEOs we speak with far exceeded their 2011 profit plans, and many corporations have billions of dollars on their balance sheets available for investment. So, CEOs are being much more assertive at the start of 2012, contrasted to last year when there was much more of a “wait and see” attitude, going quarter-by-quarter until the second half.
We definitely recommend preparing NOW for your next career move while you have a job. Ask yourself:
- Is my personal brand positioning as powerful as it needs to be?
- Is my unique value proposition communicated in my resume and my online profiles in a way that is relevant to my target audience?
If yes, then collect last year’s bonus and go after that next career move that you have been thinking about.
Check out this great Ad Age article with more tips for setting yourself up for 2012’s job opportunities.
Have a question for our coach? Email lwhite@executiveconnectionsllc.com
Managing Your Personal Brand
We believe proactive personal branding is the #1 best practice for career management in a competitive workplace.
2012 Personal Brand Process
You should be well on your way to pursing your goals for 2012.
We know it can take you several months to go through EC’s comprehensive, initial brand discovery phase. So we created a shorter version of our process to help you get started at your own pace. We recommend you start now, if you haven’t already.
In December, we gave you the first part in this complimentary series, Take Your Own Personal Brand Inventory
Click here to access parts 2 & 3.
Ready for additional support to help raise your personal brand game? We invite you to learn more about our about our Personal Branding offerings, including a visit to our Personal Branding Retreat Center, personal brand assessments and more.
Contact us directly for a complimentary 30-minute Personal Brand consultation with Lola White or Jeff Gundersen.
Career Announcements
Senior Director – Analytics
General Manager – Mass Affluent Card
Head of Digital Marketing
Learn more
We recently placed Krishna Narayanan in the new role as Head of Digital Marketing – Senior Director at Chase Card Services. Prior to joining Chase, Kris was VP, Digital & Integrated Marketing at Samsung Electronics where he created the digital marketing strategy, built the digital marketing organization (web development, eCRM, analytics, social media, e-commerce), and increased digital marketing investments 7-fold over a 6 year period. In 2011, Ad Age Digital named Kris to its “A-List Digital Marketers to Watch” list. EC is currently providing Kris our unique Transition Support Coaching program (part of our Blended Solutions offering integrating executive search and coaching) to assure Kris achieves a successful transition into this new role in 2012.
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