In the U.S., the average tenure for a CMO is roughly 23 months. In the U.K., it is even shorter. Al Ries states over at AdAge that of all the firms in the Fortune 1000, only 7% of the most highly paid executives have marketing in their job title, and only 15% of those same firms even have a senior level marketing position, such as CMO. When we consider that commoditization, not just of brands, but of entire industries has never happened faster or with greater impact, we know that something is wrong. Surely marketing exists to fight such commoditization and help the business find continued competitive advantage amongst the constituency it serves? It should perhaps, but often it doesn't actually deliver.
