The global CMOs of 18 leading brands have identified the speed of change in the digital space as one of the biggest challenges they face today, reveals a new book from global consultancy, R3.
Global CMO: Best Practice in Marketing Effectiveness & Efficiency Around the World – the third publication from R3’s Principals and Co-Founders, Shufen Gohand Greg Paull – examines the challenges arising out of digital transformation, derived from a series of interviews with the CMOs themselves and R3’s own insights from over 15 years of consulting experience with global brands.
Global CMO reveals how Digital Transformation has changed the modern marketing playbook. As the landscape shifts, global marketers have to balance advancing unique organizational initiatives with the transformation of their entire sector. “Many CMOs are spending more on technology than their CIOs or CTOs. In this new environment, global CMOs are doing what they can to stay ahead of the curve,” said Greg Paull, Co-Founder and Principal at R3. “They are expanding internal data capabilities and addressing the need to break down silos,” he added. As such, Global CMO focuses in on several different aspects of a marketing leader’s ever-changing responsibilities, including data, martech and adtech, e-commerce, and measurement. It also covers internal competition and the future of the role of the CMO, digital disruption across different sectors, as well as how these leading brands are building a modern marketing playbook.
The book features insights gleaned from 18 CMOs of leading global brands, including:
- Andres Kiger, Vice President of Marketing for Global Partner Markets of Converse
- Andrew Clarke, Chief Marketing and Customer Officer of Mars
- Axel Schwan, former Executive Vice President and Global CMO of Burger King and current Global CMO of Tim Hortons
- David Roman, CMO of Lenovo
- David Timm, Chief Brand Officer of Pizza Hut
- Francisco Crespo, SVP and Chief Growth Officer of Coca-Cola
- Jennifer Breithaupt, Global Consumer CMO of Citi
- Juliana Chugg, EVP and Chief Brand Officer of Mattel
- Linda Boff, CMO of General Electric (GE)
- Linda van Schaik, General Manager of Global Customer Marketing and Communications of Shell
- Maryam Banikarim, Global CMO of Hyatt Hotels
- Meredith Verdone, CMO of Bank of America
- Mukul Deoras, Global CMO of Colgate-Palmolive
- Peter Nowlan, EVP and Chief Marketing Officer of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
- Raja Rajamannar, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer of Mastercard
- Syl Saller, Chief Marketing and Innovation Officer of Diageo
- Theresa Agnew, CMO for North America of GSK Consumer Healthcare
- Younghee (YH) Lee, CMO of Samsung Electronics
Several common themes ran throughout the CMOs’ interviews, despite the differences between each sector. “The challenge is not the learning curve. The challenge is the ‘unlearning’ curve,” said Mukul Deoras, Global Chief Marketing Officer of Colgate-Palmolive. “To me, that is the biggest hurdle. How do you get off the horse you’re riding so that you can get onto another one?”
Another recurring theme was the role of digital in the organization as a whole, and how the marketing function cooperates with other departments to affect organizational change. “Digital is an enabler for every part of our business, not just in the marketing context,” said Francisco Crespo, Chief Growth Officer of Coca-Cola. CMOs are the C-Suite executive most likely to be leading digital transformation, but horizontal integration across silos is the only way to drive real change for the entire business.
“While many of these CMOs have already taken significant steps to prepare their brands for the future and steel themselves against the next wave of digital disruption, there is still a lot of work to be done,” said Mr. Paull. Global CMO highlights the eight actions that marketing leaders can take to “future-proof” the function’s role within their organizations. These actions range from continuous education on the latest digital trends and improved measurement of ROI across both marketing campaigns and partnerships, to remaining a storyteller in the face of transformation.
“We believe that marketing is in a unique position to help lead global organizations on their digital transformation journeys,” said Mr. Paull. “Global CMO seeks to identify the challenges that global CMOs are facing today, and identify what tools the CMO of the future will need to be successful in and increasingly digital world.”
For sneak peek of the book, click here.
The book is available for puchase on Amazon, please write to [email protected]with any inquiries.
