The chief marketing officer (CMO), a title that barely existed 15 years ago, is under increasing pressure to keep pace with rapidly changing digital media and new markets with shifting demands. Global CMOs must determine how worldwide initiatives differ from those executed in local markets, co-ordinate partnerships with complementary organisations, reallocate budgets to address new opportunities quickly and continue to prove their overall relevance to the business. All of this while dramatic changes in technology, consumer behaviour and the media landscape (principally, the evolution from print and broadcasting to digital media) are altering how companies think about delivering their products and services.

Just two years ago, the Economist Intelligence Unit published a report (The future of marketing: From monologue to dialogue) that detailed how marketing efforts had shifted from one- to two-way communications with customers. Marketing executives were recognising that merely pushing out messages about their products through static television and print advertisements was no longer satisfying consumers, who were increasingly demanding greater interaction with companies via the web and through e-mail.

In the short time since, even more dramatic developments have occurred. Business’s increasing adoption of interactive technologies, eg, wikis, blogs, mashups and other tools that fall under the common heading of “Web 2.0”, has enabled consumers to interact with firms as never before. Customers are now co-creating with companies to innovate on products and improve services. Many engage with their favourite brands regularly. For the CMO, this presents an unprecedented opportunity to win loyalty and bring new customers into the fold.

To understand better these developments--and the challenges faced by global CMOs--the Economist Intelligence Unit conducted a global survey of more than 260 senior global marketing executives and chief executive officers worldwide, including in-depth interviews with more than 20 CMOs and top marketing executives at global companies. Our research reveals that CMOs are focusing on the following:

Global versus local balance. The Internet has not only created a means for mass distribution of information and messaging; it has also drawn together local communities and special-interest groups. As a result, CMOs must balance global brand awareness and consistency with local market relevance. This may require marketing executives to rethink how their departments are structured. A slim majority of survey respondents (53%) cited the most common structure at their organisation as “centralized development of message and strategy with localised implementations of campaigns and marketing mix”, and an only slightly larger majority (59%) identified their marketing budgets as “centralized with decentralised spending/allocation”. Centralising global marketing functions such as advertising development and production can create economies of scale and save money, but must be guided by the needs of the local market and customer insights. At the same time, budgets must be freed up so that regional directors can make appropriate decisions based on market demands.

The connected consumer. Interactive digital media have expanded the sources of information for consumers and businesses, including the ability to exchange data globally. This has intensified competition and made the notion of “breaking through the clutter” a greater challenge than ever. Perhaps as a result, many consumers are reaching out to their preferred brands and engaging more frequently with companies. This enables CMOs not only to engage in dialogue with customers, but to create long-lasting relationships, enveloping consumers in the corporate brand. Of course, this requires consistent messaging to all corporate audiences--investors, employees and government regulators, as well as customers who increasingly have access to the same information.

Rapidly changing marketing tools and resources. The instruments available to marketers have not only expanded into the digital realm, but require new skills. In the past, marketing departments prized the ability to develop a brand image. Now, the ability to communicate the marketing message to consumers through interactive media is critical. Marketing executives and advertising agencies are scrambling to find the talent required for this. At the same time, establishing partnerships with complementary firms is essential to ensure that companies are meeting customer needs and filling gaps in skill sets necessary to expand the customer base.

Relevance to the business. CMOs continue to face questions about the accountability of marketing and the measurability of return on marketing investment. Moreover, while brand-building remains marketers. top priority (cited by 62% of survey respondents), it is the least measurable aim compared with other marketing objectives. Hence marketers continue to focus more of their budgets on digital marketing, where effectiveness can be measured more precisely in click-throughs, information downloads and other forms of immediate viewer response.

The findings of this report suggest that CMOs and top marketing executives must continue to move beyond traditional advertising, marketing and brand awareness into a more “transformative” role across the enterprise, driving innovation through the business and becoming evangelists of customer engagement. The marketing executive of the past merely pushed the corporate message out to the audience; the CMO of the future must draw the audience into the fold, so that they see themselves not merely as end-users of products, but as valuable stakeholders in the development of the brand.