As every year during this time, Forbes has released the ranking of the most influential CMOs in the world, a list created in collaboration with Splinkr and LinkedIn.
A truly interesting ranking because it offers an amazing series of insights on how they, specifically, use social networks – particularly LinkedIn – to bring value to the companies they are part of, turning their "power" into "value".
The list of the 50 most influential CMOs in the world
- Keith Weed, Unilever
- Marc S. Pritchard, Procter & Gamble
- Antonio Lucio, Facebook
- Ann Lewnes, Adobe
- Kristin Lemkau, JPMorgan Chase
- Leslie Berland, Twitter
- Raja Rajamannar, Mastercard
- Linda Boff, General Electric
- Phil Schiller, Apple
- Karen Walker, Cisco
- Chris Capossela, Microsoft
- Kelly Bennett, Netflix
- Stephanie McMahon, World Wrestling Entertainment
- Alicia Tillman, SAP
- Michelle Peluso, IBM
- Lorraine Twohill, Google
- Britta Seeger, Daimler
- Francisco Crespo, Coca-Cola
- Lynne Biggar, Visa
- Dean Evans Hyundai, Motor America
- Diana O’Brien, Deloitte
- Tony Weisman, Dunkin’
- William Xu, Huawei
- Jen Rubio, Away
- Marisa Thalberg, Taco Bell
- Diego Scotti, Verizon
- Nicholas Drake, T-Mobile
- Deborah Wahl, Cadillac
- Jill Cress, National Geographic Partners
- Joy Falotico, Ford Motor Co.
- Magali Noé, CNP Assurances
- Heidi Browning, National Hockey League
- Julia Goldin, Lego
- David Edelman, Aetna
- Joanne Bradford, SoFi
- Jochen Sengpiehl, Volkswagen
- Mo Katibeh, AT&T Business
- Lara Hood Balazs, Intuit
- Alicia Hatch Deloitte, Digital
- Heather Malenshek, Harley-Davidson
- Ryan Bonnici, G2
- Rick Gomez, Target
- Shannon Brayton, LinkedIn
- Syl Saller, Diageo
- Amy Fuller, Accenture
- Kelly Campbell, Hulu
- Jennifer Sey, Levi Strauss & Co.
- David VanderWaal, LG Electronics
- Rebecca Messina, Uber
- Catherine Hernandez-Blades, Aflac
The insights from Forbes' ranking
We want to focus the analysis of this ranking on 3 factors that are absolutely relevant to us:
- “Demographic” analysis of the CMOs;
- What are the topics they discuss;
- How they bring value to their companies through their "prestige."
“Demographic” analysis of the most influential CMOs in the world
31 vs 19. That's 62%.
The first noticeable fact when scrolling through the ranking is that 31 of the 50 most influential CMOs in the world are women, 5 more than in 2018.
They primarily use two social networks to communicate the value of their company:
- LinkedIn, where 47 out of 50 CMOs are present;
- Twitter, where 47 out of 50 CMOs are present (if you love Twitter, there’s a surprise for you at the end of the article).
Focusing on the Microsoft-owned social network, it is impressive to note how the marketing directors of these 50 companies have 4 times the number of connections compared to the average LinkedIn members, and share 6 times the average number of "updates".
Expanding the network in a targeted way and nourishing it with intelligent content seems to be the established habit of CMOs, a habit from which we all should take inspiration.
But to which industries do the most influential chief marketing officers of 2019 belong?
- 17: technology;
- 7: financial service;
- 6: automotive;
- 4: leisure, media, entertainment;
- 3: business service;
- 3: CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods);
- 3: food and beverage;
- 3: telecom;
- 2: retail;
- 1: apparel;
- 1: engineering.
What do CMOs talk about on LinkedIn?
There are 10 "trend topics" on which it's possible to engage with the 50 most influential CMOs in the world, topics that are strategic for their work and for the process of change, growth, and innovation they bring to their companies:
- demand generation;
- B2B marketing;
- content strategy;
- positioning;
- marketing;
- advertising agency;
- personalization;
- advertising and marketing;
- search engine optimization;
- brand loyalty.
These are the topics for which they are mentioned by blogs, news sites, and Twitter users:
- internet of things;
- marketing stack;
- 5G;
- blockchain;
- digital trasformation;
- artificial intelligence.
How do they bring value to their companies through their "prestige"?
The process through which CMOs bring value to their companies through their influence is divided into 7 well-defined steps:
- focus;
- priorities;
- trajectory;
- attitude;
- thinking;
- behavior;
- result.
Let's briefly analyze them.
Focus
CMOs use their influence to focus attention on their company's work, right at the heart of their business.
Two examples illustrate the point well: Diana O'Brien of Deloitte focuses her updates on the strong attention her team gives to customer care, while Tony Weisman of Dunkin' Donuts has used his prestige to position the brand in a new market category, that of coffee shop chains.
Priorities
They outline the priorities of attention, identifying where to focus in order to make an impact on the hearts of customers, both in the marketing departments of companies and – even – entire industries.
Dean Evans, CMO of Hyundai, shows how he changed his team's priorities, placing the focus on making the car buying experience extraordinary, effectively setting it as the market benchmark.
From Amazon to Hyundai, essentially, the message is clear: the consumer is at the center of everything, almost more than the product itself.
Diego Scotti of Verizon, on the other hand, speaks about diversity, influencing both his internal team and external marketing agencies, fostering the growth of a new generation of marketing leaders. It is precisely the cross-pollination of ideas that serves as the fertile ground for innovation.
Trajectory
Some CMOs have demonstrated how it is possible to change the trajectory of their companies by altering the "tone of voice" of their campaigns and customer service.
Leslie Berland, CMO of Twitter, uses Twitter with a more "human" and "humorous" tone, subtly conveying how marketing should "speak" to consumers.
Britta Serger of Daimler’s Mercedes Benz demonstrates how the use of "popup stores" has transformed the brand image, making it more accessible to younger consumers.
Attitude
CMOs also use social media to change the attitude within their companies, making them an example for everyone.
Keith Weed, the most influential CMO in the world, talks about how he is trying to eliminate ethnic and cultural stereotypes in advertising campaigns, starting from within Unilever.
Kristin Lemkau of JP Morgan Chase does the same, but the topic she passionately discusses is maternity.
Thinking
Changing mindset, for a better world.
This is how we could define how CMOs set examples, through social networks, of how it is possible to succeed by putting people at the center.
Ann Lewnes of Adobe discusses the major topic of automation, machines replacing humans, but as she says, "tools won’t solve anyone’s problems," giving great importance to the "human touch."
Kelly Campbell of Hulu, a sports streaming platform, highlighted how the advertising campaign in which professional athletes admitted, at the end of the ad, that they were paid to speak well about it, achieved the desired effect: putting the person at the center. The customer must decide if the product is good by trying it, without anyone telling them what to do.
Behavior
CMOs not only change consumer behaviors but also those of other marketers.
Heidi Browning of the NHL demonstrated how she increased the number of viewers for the hockey league by using Snapchat, showing her followers how to use the new tools.
Syl Saller of Diageo goes "all in" on women, showing how there is a new wave of female executives.
Result
Results, the most important word.
Here, social media is a bit less relevant, but it’s useful to highlight how acquiring talented CMOs can truly make a difference – economically – for a company.
Jen Rubio, CMO of Away, in 4 years has brought the value of her company to over one billion dollars.
Kelly Bennet, Netflix, during her 7 years leading the marketing department, increased platform users from 26 to 139 million.
Conclusion
To conclude, here’s the surprise for those reading this on LinkedIn, but who have a secret love for Twitter.
We want to give you 5 accounts to follow for each of the 3 most important topics on which today's CMOs compete:
- customer experience;
- diversity;
- digital trasformation.
Editorial recognition for the cover image: Sundry Photography / Shutterstock.com
