Among the many changes wrought by the digital revolution, none is more profound than the effect it has had on the makeup of the marketing organization. A recent survey of marketing executives at more than 30 major corporations by The Boston Consulting Group aims to determine what, exactly, is going on organizationally and how these companies plan to capitalize on the opportunities afforded by today’s technologies—which they, rightly, see as difficult and time-consuming tasks.
Choices about hierarchical structure and task allocation across managers are critical to current theories of organization. This paper focuses on is whether a firm assigns activities to functional managers to coordinate corporate-wide functions and exploit synergies (e.g., CMO and marketing activities) versus assigning activities to general managers responsible for business units.
The following 10 pillars will serve as the foundation for an adaptable business model where opportunities are readily assessed and innovation is regularly practiced. The reward is relevance, affinity and advocacy, creating an adaptive culture that signals an end to business as usual.
Companies are looking for specialized skills to access emerging markets and consolidate the customer experience. Here's a look at a number of executive appointments that illustrate new priorities.
One way that many organizations deal with social media gone wrong is to create guidelines for their employees. But more important than any guidelines you might write is the internal culture change needed to real to make yours a true social business.
As head of marketing for Samsung, Younghee Lee wants consumers to love Samsung the same way they love Apple. “Mobile can be a symbol of who you are,” she says. “A lot of people believe ‘what I have in my hands is me.’”
Leaders want to leave a mark on the record, of course. But when presented with two equally good -- or, in the case of Vietnam, equally bad -- choices what should a leader do?
The marketing machines built during the past 20 years could perhaps handle one of the current changes in the consumer and marketing landscape, but it’s clear they can’t handle all of them together. CMOs fear the value propositions for their brands are becoming stale far more quickly and with greater downside than was thought possible even 3 years ago.
As marketing and technology converge, organizations that are set up for success will be those where the CMO and CIO work closely to mitigate risk, manage data responsibly, and ensure effective deployment of content. This will require new cross-functional organizations and processes.
As marketing leaders, we often don't want to manage personalities and relationships, but the reality is that we need to keep an eye on the dynamics that are occurring in the teams we are leading.