Chief marketing officer (CMO) is a corporate title referring to an executive responsible for various marketing in an organization. Most often the position reports to the chief executive officer.
Role
With primary or shared responsibility for areas such as sales management, product development, distribution channel management, public relations, marketing communications (including advertising and promotions), pricing, market research, and customer service, CMOs are faced with a diverse range of specialized disciplines in which they are forced to be knowledgeable. This challenge is compounded by the fact that the day-to-day activities of these functions, which range from the highly analytical (eg. – pricing and market research) to highly creative (advertising and promotions), are carried out by subordinates possessing learning and cognitive styles to which the CMO must adapt his or her own leadership style.
Beyond the challenges of leading their own subordinates, the CMO is invariably reliant upon resources beyond their direct control. That is to say, the priorities and/or resources of functional areas outside of marketing such as production, information technology, legal, and finance have a direct impact on the achievement of marketing objectives. Consequently, more than any other senior executive, the CMO must influence peers in order to achieve their own goals. Clearly, this necessity to lead peers compounds the complexity of challenge faced by the CMO.
CMO Associations
CMO Institute
Headquartered in Boston, the Chief Marketing Officer Institute is a not-for-profit industry association dedicated to serving as the primary resource for researchers and practitioners interested in the role and leadership challenges facing the CMO and other marketing executives. About CMO Institute.
The Institute was originally founded in order to serve as an information clearinghouse for both academic and private researchers interested in advancing the study of issues related to the Chief Marketing Officer role. However, while the Institute still maintains a robust collection of articles, analysis, and data related to CMO issues, the organization also provides support to both academicians and executives on a broad range activities – from crafting CMO job descriptions and advising Chief Executives, to public speaking engagements, and more.
In December 2007, The CMO Institute issued a Call for Papers a call for papers for its inaugural volume of the Chief Marketing Officer Journal, which is scheduled for publication in Summer 2008. About The CMO Journal.
CMO Council
The CMO Council is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to high-level knowledge exchange, thought leadership and personal relationship building among senior marketing and brand decision-makers. The Council is based in Northern California, but regional chapters convene worldwide under the auspices of GlobalFluency, The Independent Network of Influence, which has more than 100 offices in 72 countries. The CMO Council is an exclusive and influential peer-networking group of authority leaders in marketing under the direction of a rotating board of advisors and an annually elected chairperson. The CMO Council is an invitation-only affinity group working to further the stature, credibility, influence, and understanding of the strategic marketing function among business executives, opinion leaders and critical stakeholders. CMO Council members are drawn from the upper echelons of corporate management to form a trusted, close-knit community of peers who use their access, connections and expertise for mutual benefit, support, referral and professional advancement.
Membership is open to top-ranking corporate marketing decision makers only, not consultants or agencies. Members should have at least 15 years of marketing experience and have held executive management positions at new venture, emerging growth or established enterprise organizations. Nominees must have demonstrated marketing prowess, a proven track record of accomplishment, and leadership in evangelizing marketing and branding practices. About CMO Council.
External links
- Articles & Research on CMOs
- CMO Peer Groups
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