Ron has an interesting post here on the evolution of the CMO. He suggests that the role is following the track of the early CIO’s, due to poor definition of the role. I agree.

I clicked through to the CMO Council abstract of a report entitled ‘Define and Align the CMO”. This quote is resounding in its implications, and one that Banks would do well to consider as they try to sort out the ‘new marketing’ (emphasis mine)

What our research bears out and amplifies, is this: candidates for the position of Chief Marketing Officer must not be evaluated primarily on their skill at creating hype or their attributes, expertise, and experience in traditional marketing functions and disciplines.

Rather, to effectively align within any successful, forward-looking organization, the position must be occupied by an executive who can come in and help drive company growth, lead in innovation, provide strategic vision, champion the customer experience and be fluent in the nuances and particular characteristics of the company’s product development or service delivery models.

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