Each year, the CMO Council launches a global study to better understand the challenges, requirements and goals for marketing in the coming year. The Marketing Outlook series has consistently been one of our more recognized and most consumed content products. And, yes, it’s that time again. Marketing Outlook 2010 needs your insights, so please take some time out to take part by completing the survey found at http://www.cmocouncil.org/programs/surveys/mo_10/.

If there was an oracle that could reveal what Marketing Outlook 2010 will reveal, it might include flashes of a continued focus on metrics, measurement and the development of performance dashboards, the advent of Social Media Optimization and Social Media Measurement, the further rise of online channels or the continued demise of traditional advertising channels.

What will be interesting is to see if this year is a year of change for marketing – job change that is. For the past several years, we have asked marketers if they are concerned about the stability of their jobs.  And, despite those breathless proclamations of frighteningly short tenures for senior marketing spots, for the past two years, the worry has hardly left the “sorta” range. Most senior marketers seem content to stay put, and for the most part, they did. 2009 was far from easy, and, truth be told, the world of marketing welcomed a lot of new consultants over the last 12 months. 

But what will 2010 hold? Marketing is most assuredly evolving, requiring marketers to be savvy branders and metrics gurus. We are seeing the rise of the CMO with a background and competency that is very different than from years gone by. This isn’t your typical brand builder…but isn’t too far removed from that ad-centric persona either. And, as I travel around to various conferences and events, I hear this common line:

Tomorrow’s CMO will come from <insert job function within IT/finance/sales/HR/creative/sometimes even marketing>

From web analytics to master data management gurus, everyone has a running bet on where the next great CMO will come from. Will it be more important to have an understanding of how to measure of a customer’s web engagement, or will understanding customer insight reign supreme? How will we manage the need to manage data? How will be manage the customer experience? Will we keep investing in social media even when customers say they would rather engage with a brand that really knows them versus other customers who they don’t know at all?

Over the coming editions of Marketing Magnified, you will likely see bits and pieces of information about Marketing Outlook 2010 from what the data reveals at that moment in time, or what is challenging specific industries. I, for one, being the data-nerd here at the CMO Council, can’t wait to get my hands on the output. I am always fascinated to learn what marketers see through that crystal ball – and even more amused when their intentions and actions don’t always align. So thanks in advance for participating!

Until next month,

The #1 Success Factor for CMOs: Leading Change

By Grant Johnson for Pegasystems

It’s probably no surprise that the average tenure for a technology CMO is around two years.  It’s not that most are not up for the challenges they face; it’s that many are not successful, in spite of strong credentials, at driving successful change. This past spring, the CMO Council issued a press release about the “DNA of a CMO, “stating:  “among the most essential qualities, a CMO must be: a visionary & thought leader; a strong business driver; able to secure executive support & foster cross functional relationships; customer centric; competitive strategy guru; and a brand advocate & champion.”

These attributes make sense, but the ability to “secure executive support” doesn’t quite capture the hardest, and most essential, quality and success factor I’ve seen for CMOs (at least in technology companies where’s I’ve spent the past two decades).  That quality is the ability to lead successful change initiatives, especially on a global basis.  I’ve seen others fail when, upon achieving executive support for a change initiative, the CMO thought that hard work was done.
Having led global brand building change initiatives at AST Computer in the 1990’s and FileNet earlier this decade,  I’m certain that neither brand development initiative would have been nearly as successful had my team and I not secured cross-functional, cross-divisional and cross-regional (i.e. EMEA and APAC) buy in and participation.  The assumed easy way could have been to dictate the key change, given both companies were led by strong-willed CEO’s, but simply stating strategic intent is not the same as getting true buy-in, driving successful implementation and ensuring consistency of execution.

For another perspective on CMO success, Russell Reynold’s published a white paper a couple of years ago on “The Successful CMO” which listed personal competencies that a CMO must possess to succeed: “leadership skills; strategic perspective; adaptability; and flexibility and backbone.”  I found these last two attributes, flexibility and backbone, crucial to driving successful change.  Having the courage of one’s convictions is key, along with fact-based evidence (e.g. customer, partner, and analyst input) as supporting rationale.  However, as I’ve learned, flexibility is just as important.  Trying to drive change down a straight track (“do it because I’m in charge or the CEO says so”) can be the fastest way to derailment of key change initiatives.  Flexibility to accommodate different organizational, personal, regional and cultural perspectives is key to successful and lasting change.

I’m now embarking on change initiatives as the new CMO of Pegasystems in Cambridge and I’m certain that knowledge and experience, which is a given for my role, will not be sufficient.  Assessing, planning and getting others on board to both the need to change and the importance  will be just as critical as know what to change to drive continue growth at company that has experienced nine consecutive quarters of growth.

Grant Johnson is the CMO for Pegasystems, an industry leader in Business Process Management software solutions.

How to Become a Measurable Marketer

By Grant A. Johnson for Johnson Direct

How does a traditional marketer become a measurable marketer?

While most organizations, B-to-B, B-to-C or nonprofit exclaim, “Marketing accountability is a top priority!” most do not have the necessary metrics in place to quantify their efforts.

Marketers today wear many hats and are responsible for promoting their organizations via several ever evolving media, from billboard and brand advertising to trade shows and Webcast events. The sheer volume of a marketer’s workload, combined with tighter budget constraints and generally shrinking marketing departments, makes accountability a seemingly impossible feat.

Add to this list of obstacles the fact that consumers and professionals alike are bombarded with thousands of media messages every day. Consumers today encounter from 3,500 to 5,000 marketing messages daily, vs. 500 to 2,000 in the 1970s, says J. Walker Smith, president of consumer and marketing watcher Yankelovich Inc.

This overwhelming volume of marketing messages is forcing consumers to tune out in a figurative and literal sense. Figuratively, consumers begin treating unwanted media communications as white noise – just a whirring sound in the background of life. Literally, people are adopting new technologies to help select what, when and how they hear and see the messages that interest them. For example, digital video recorders make it possible to watch TV shows – minus commercials – at the consumers’ convenience, and iPod’s playlist capabilities produce personalized music selections without advertising interruptions.

Put It in Writing

Among the challenges marketers face to make accountability a reality is that their organization, for any number of reasons, doesn’t have a comprehensive marketing plan. Without this, and companywide agreement of its contents – including objectives, target markets, strategies, key messages and tracking/measuring tactics – gathering and analyzing results and ROI is put on the back burner.

A marketing plan should focus not only on analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, but on achieving an increase in marketing and sales accountability, outlining realistic objectives, innovative strategies and responsible measurement. Until recently, defining the tactics with which a campaign would be measured was not a common component of a marketing plan.

Today’s marketing plans must contain testing, return-on-investment scenarios and an outline of how each and every campaign is going to be measured. It must address relevancy and segments.

Make It a Career Choice

Measuring marketing performance is considered a strong leadership trait for an accomplished marketing professional. Each effort you make to enable your current employer to account for every dollar spent on marketing is going to make you a better, more sought-after marketer.

Whether you employ manual processes to take control of your metrics, or use a marketing measurement system, make it a career choice to rationalize your marketing planning and maximize business results.

Direct marketers have always understood the importance of measurability, testing and relevancy. This accountability puts DMers at the forefront of marketing communications…exactly where we deserve to be.

Even Proctor & Gamble, the world’s largest advertising spender, is rethinking its heavily TV-focused media strategy and considering alternative media options. For example, in realizing that its next generation of customers spends more time surfing the Internet than they do watching TV, Proctor & Gamble is starting to invest in online marketing. And this advertising powerhouse is not alone in its experimentation with new media.

What was once primarily a TV ad competition, the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival now boasts creative from 11 categories including film, press, outdoor, cyber, and direct. In fact, last year’s competition was the first time in which web-only video was eligible to compete with TV commercials, igniting a faceoff between traditional and digital media.

Use Direct Branding

Alternative media strategies bring to mind the advent of “direct branding” – a result of marketers wanting to continue traditional brand advertising, but needing to measure the results of their media investments.

Direct branding combines the art of brand advertising and the immediacy of direct marketing. The divide between traditional advertising and DM is more prevalent today than ever. Where traditional advertising generates eventual sales by promoting a brand image, direct marketing takes a straightforward route by asking for the sale now.

The direct branding approach helps businesses combat these marketing challenges:

• Reducing information overload for prospects and customers
• Creating accountable advertising with smaller budgets
• Meeting consumer demand for relevancy
• Utilizing emerging technology to personalize communications

Business-to-business companies such as electrical tools and accessories manufacturer Gardner Bender in Milwaukee, are seeing a positive return on investment when using direct branding to market new products.  Marketing collateral including a brochure, sell sheets, and a demonstration video, along with a campaign-dedicated website (microsite), served as an informational and direct response oriented foundation when Gardner Bender launched its latest hand tool innovation into the professional and do-it-yourselfer marketplace. In addition, an aggressive, proactive public relations program achieved a return on investment of 11 to 1 in just 16 weeks.

The bottom line with direct branding, then, is that marketers can work harder than ever to enhance their brand as they simultaneously drive sales. Today, this is a necessity – and a prerequisite for doing business.

Grant A. Johnson serves as President and CMO for Johnson Direct, specializing in measurable marketing communications and direct branding.