Here’s How Marketing Leaders’ Roles Are Changing

Delve Deeper’s Global CMO Survey and Ad Age Roundtable Highlight Role’s Challenges and Opportunities

By Greg Sobiech

We all know that marketing leaders’ roles are changing. We see it with our peers and we feel it in our own roles. I’ve offered up some of my own thoughts on the imperative for marketing leaders to take charge of the entire digital customer experience. But we wanted to know more.

And so the Delve Deeper Global CMO Survey. We talked to 300 CMOs in the U.S. and Europe about their struggles and successes in driving marketing transformation. I then sat down with a panel of seasoned marketing leaders to talk through what the survey showed — and get their first-hand perspectives on one key question: What are forward-thinking marketing leaders doing differently?

The panel included Rick Medeiros, EVP of Digital Business Development at The LYCRA Company, and Michael Chapman, Chief Client Officer at The Martin Agency and former CMO of CarLotz, and Jennifer LaFrance, former Senior Director of Global Digital Strategy at McCormick & Company.

“A decade ago, marketing was largely seen as a cost center, but today CMOs play a critical role in driving company-wide value.”

Below are the key highlights of the survey and our discussion:

Marketing Leaders’ Responsibilities Are Expanding

A decade ago, marketing was largely seen as a cost center, but today CMOs play a critical role in driving company-wide value. A key shift is helping organizations see the importance of investing in new data sources and channels.

Pressures Driving the Role’s Evolution

The survey identified multiple disruptors reshaping CMOs’ roles, including rising consumer expectations for personalization, digital disruptors redefining customer journeys, and competitors adopting customer-obsessed approaches. At the same time, the threat of third-party data deprecation demands a shift to first-party data, while economic pressures amplify the focus on ROI and efficiency.

Recession Pressures: Stay the Course

The pandemic accelerated investments in data, technology, and personalization. While a recession threatens to reset that momentum, the panel urged marketers not to retreat. Rick Medeiros emphasized that even during downturns, data remains essential: “That data protects your strategy and helps you emerge stronger than competitors.”

What Does Marketing Transformation Look Like?

The Delve Deeper survey revealed that marketing transformation requires a multifaceted approach: enhancing customer experience (CX), upskilling teams, integrating cross-functional efforts, partnering externally, and upgrading the marketing tech stack.

First-Party Data: The Heart of Transformation

First-party data emerged as a centerpiece of marketing transformation in Delve Deeper’s survey, showing that CMOs view it as key to driving sales, efficiencies, reallocating investments for higher ROI, and enabling faster, data-driven decisions.

Evolutionary Revolution: Start Small, Build Momentum

For those just beginning their marketing transformation plans, start small, find quick wins, and build momentum. At Delve Deeper, we call this approach called “evolutionary revolution.”

Watch the roundtable video for more insights.