Report: CMOs Under Pressure to Find Disruptive Growth Opportunities

A new report from Accenture reveals CMOs are under increasing pressure to seek and execute disruptive growth opportunities that lead to addition revenue channels.

The data shows more than one-third of the CEOs surveyed say the CMO is the first to go should growth targets not be met. However, the research found CMOs are not putting the same level of importance on disruptive growth: 37 percent of CMOs view disruptive growth as “very important” while 44 percent of CEOs feel the same way.

When it comes to digital, three out of four CMOs indicated they have either “total” or a “great deal of control” of their firm’s digital channels, which puts them in a good position to manage and enable disruptive growth. CMOs are using these channels to respond to customer and consumer demands, the report stated.

However, the research found CMOs are more apt to pursue traditional growth, rather than disruptive growth. Just 36 percent of CMOs rank launching new business models as an extremely important priority and 34 percent cite establishing new partnerships with untraditional players as a critical priority.

Businesses will increasingly lean on digital channels over the next five years, the data found; 33 percent of CEOs say marketing will fall under digital within that timeframe.

“CMOs need to steer the digital ship not only for their own career advancement, but to avoid losing control of a key area of the organization,” the writers of the report stated.

Digital Channels to Account for Half of U.S. Marketing Spend in 2016

A May 2016 report by Outsell found that total digital spending this year will reach about $228 billion, accounting for about half of all marketing and advertising spend in the U.S. (roughly $470 billion). As marketers turn to digital channels, spending in traditional mediums is taking a hit.

In terms of year-over-year growth, mobile was the biggest mover with 38 percent growth, which translated to $23 billion in overall annual spend. Print newspapers, print directories, direct mail, and magazine showed the largest declines.