Cannes Lions 2019: McKinsey Shares What CEOs Really Think About Marketing, Creativity and Growth and How to Become the Leader that Unifies All Three

At the Debussy Theater during the Cannes Lions Festival 2019, Jason Heller, Global Lead Digital Marketing, and Biljana Cvetanovski, Senior Wxpert at McKinsey and Company, unveiled the findings of a new study highlighting the evolving expectations of the modern marketing organisation in the eyes of the CEO – and by extension the CFO, and board of directors.

CEOs need growth: 77% of CEOs believe that marketing is a key component of the growth agenda. Therefore, CMOs who can build strong collaborative roles with the rest of the organization can drive performance. However the operational reality is really hard. 40% CFOs won’t protect marketing budgets in a downturn. However, research shows that if you invest in growth during a downturn, the company will actually come out more resilient on the other side. The CMO also needs to collaborate with the CHRO in new talent acquisition and retention processes.

There are three CMO archetypes in every organization:

Unifiers

Unifiers comprise 20% of CMOs. They are very good at translating marketing performance into what it means for top line revenue and the balance sheet. They also invest in measurement and build relationships. As a result, they become peers of the C-Suite and broader P&L responsibility. The net effect of that behaviour is that your marketing budgets are protected.

Loners

Loners comprise 27% of CMOs. They focus on the execution of advertising and PR. As a result, they are looked at as implementers of strategy. Loners are more likely to report that CEOs don’t understand marketing. To solve this, they need to talk the commercial language of the C-Suite.

Friends

Friends comprise 40% of CMOs. They and have one or two close relationships in the C-Suite but are also close the CEO. They are focused on growth but are very channel focused on marketing. They don’t work closely with the CTO for example. Usually they just request resources from other areas of the business.

So how do you become more of a Unifier CMO?

Realize the CEO is your champion.

CEOs want CMOs to go further and take risks. Collect disparate bits of information from the business and create a coherent story to form a holistic view. Elevate the role of marketing by understanding the full end to end customer journey.

Partner with the CTO to unlock the power of data

Co-design the marketing transformation journey. The CTO will release resources for you to get your analytics done.

Unleash the value of your CHRO

82% of Fortune 500 executives feel that they do not hire highly talented people. People need to be able to blend data and creativity together. This is called whole-brain talent. However, recruiting whole-brain talent is a massive challenge for CMOs of all types.

Advice for CMOs? Bridge the relationship between other members of the C-Suite. Have a mindset shift. Think about how to drive the strategy of the organization.

Advice for all marketers? Collaborate with other areas of the business.

Advice for CEOs? Ask yourselves: Is the CMO empowered to act like a unifier? Or are they destined to act like a loner or friend?