If a CMO speaks, does the world listen?
Apple's Phil Schiller
If you are Apple chief marketer Phil Schiller, yes. Schiller, senior VP-worldwide marketing, garnered the top spot in an exclusive ranking of CMOs based on influence from Appinions, a company that enables individuals and businesses to track references in social and traditional media.
According to Appinions research conducted for Forbes, Schiller topped the list as most influential CMO: His opinions appeared frequently in various media over the course of 60 days, mostly on the topic of Apple. An example of a statement he’s made that’s been influential enough to cause action in others: “Any aluminum product may scratch or chip with use, exposing its natural silver color,” he was quoted in 9to5Mac in response to “Scuffgate,” the incidence of scuff marks some users have encountered on MacBooks’ aluminum backs.
Other CMOs who ranked in the top 20: Ford CMO Jim Farley, Verizon VP and CMO Tami Erwin, Gap CMO Seth Farbman and Macy’s CMO Martine Reardon.
The new ranking takes a unique look at a controversial issue: whether having external, visible influence and thought leadership is a necessity for CMO success.
Media exposure alone does not an influential CMO make, to be sure. “Media exposure ensures that a CMO has visibility [and] achieves impressions with a mass audience, however, this doesn’t directly equate to establishing the CMO as an influencer,” explained Appinions co-founder and CEO Larry Levy in an email. “The credibility of the media source might imply a CMO’s level of importance to its readers, however, the true test of influence is whether a CMO’s opinions resonate enough with readers to generate action from them.”
Appinions defines “influencer” as “an individual who expresses a contextually relevant opinion that is meaningful enough to elicit action from others.” Appinions also tracks “share of influence”—the aggregate measure of all influencers and their related score on a particular topic. The company calculates scores based on an individual influencer’s opinions for a given topic. Scores are determined by frequency of actions the opinions generate; credibility of the publications in which the opinions appear; and diversity of publications carrying the opinions.
At a time of unprecedented transparency and accessibility to businesses and people, a reality driven by social media, questioning the necessity of a senior business leader’s mantle of influence, or thought leadership, amid that backdrop is valid. Beyond that, an even more important question: Does influence drive business growth?
It’s a tough concept for some CMOs who feel that they don’t need to be and shouldn’t aspire to be highly visible “faces” of their companies. After all, their roles, they argue, is to do everything to promote their companies and brands; they’re not comfortable doing otherwise, like influencing the marketing peers, consumers or the profession—much less promoting themselves.
But they could be shortchanging themselves—and their companies—by missing an opportunity to be more vocal on pertinent issues beyond just their own brands. In fact, Appinions found that there are twice as many influential CEOs as there are CMOs. Moreover, few CMOs are influential on marketing thought-leadership topics like social media or mobile marketing, Appinions research found.
Picking up the slack in terms of influence on a number of topics are below-C-suite-level marketing talent, like social media managers and heads of digital.
If social media has stripped down any last ounce of opacity from companies, arguably that same need to be visible falls at the feet of the very stewards of brands and managers of marketing operations: CMOs.
So what do you think? To get the conversation around this started, Forbes gathered marketing executives for a discussion around this topic at the Association of National Advertisers Masters of Marketing 2012 Annual Conference in Orlando this week. Our discussion generated some intriguing insights.
Some executives gathered at our table believed that what matters for CMOs is internal influence. Others argued that CMOs need to be mindful of and defer to the role, visibility and thought leadership position of the CEO. Still others contended that much like crafting and honing marketing messaging for brands, CMOs need to first determine their individual platform of expertise and then execute against that--voicing their opinions and sharing their perspective on specific issues.
It's a debate that's likely to continue, as CMOs seek to find footing in a transparent, social media-driven world. For more information, visit www.appinions.com/cmo-influence-2012.
