We all knew it, or at least most of us had inklings about it. With the arrival of Adweek’s CMO special issue this week, one could practically hear the collective sound of marketing experts’ jaws hitting the floor across the globe. Rather than marvel at these new insights as though they paint some dreadful picture of the industry – and more specifically of the CMO’s position as unstable – we should, instead, carefully reflect on the realities surrounding this debatably dreadful state-of-affairs to consider just how much validation they deserve.
When this new information is considered alongside previous research on CMO tenure, it suddenly looks less bleak. Research conducted a little over 5 years ago pegged the average company’s retention of CMOs at just under 2 years for those working with one of the top 100 brands. In this respect, Adweek’s freshly cropped data proves quite enlightening. According to their 2010 survey, the overall average CMO tenure has increased to almost 3 years; a very promising number considering retention was nearly half that six years ago. As tempting as it may become to rejoice at such growth, turnover is still high when discussing specific industries. Telecom companies appointed 13 CMOs in the last 3 years. Retail brands like Best Buy have seen 14 CMOs come and go just as quickly with an average staying time of 2.5 years. But perhaps the most troubling piece of data to come from this report concerns those who were hired as of January 2005. Those individuals stayed no longer than 2 years on average. As one can tell, this last statistic falls firmly in line with what the original research uncovered back in 2004. Does that ultimately mean nothing has changed, or, worse yet, that we are moving backwards?
On the contrary, we are merely witnessing snapshot in time. Better that we consider these facts rationally rather than draw hasty, shortsighted conclusions. Consider that social media trends first began booming around 2005. As companies continuously attempted to retool their strategies around these developments – and still do – naturally some individuals would be left in the dust as the steady pace of global media indulgence quickened. Only recently have some CMOs finally caught on, and yet, many still question the full value that these resources can provide to their businesses.
In the fast-paced nature of marketing, can anyone really be so quick to call the turnaround of CMOs shocking? Funny perhaps – fast food companies are practically churning out CMOs with the same speed as they do their own culinary supply – but shocking… hardly. The marketing world itself already functions as a revolving door of sorts. In this age, it comes as no surprise when a company swaps out ad agencies almost yearly, new agencies rise to prominence overnight, and small agencies regularly vie with one another to acquire new clients. Remember, after all, that many companies are only just starting to jump on the CMO bandwagon, and with the position still in its infancy, like most toddlers, the CMO role is going to need some time before it matures into adulthood. Few companies have taken the time and initiative to establish the type of guidelines, powers, and budgets associated this role that would allow a CMO to truly perform their duties at the level they are capable. Once this happens and duties becomes more uniform across a spectrum, maybe then – and only then – can we become more scrutinizing of CMO retention numbers.
