strategy + business
David Aaker, vice chairman of the strategy consulting firm Prophet and the author of
Spanning Silos: The New CMO Imperative, tells Edward H. Baker that marketers must learn to appeal to consumers whose interests transcend individual products and regions. CMOs must "become more strategic, more connected to overall business strategy, as opposed to being tactical, the guy who merely generates sales leads or creates advertising or builds Web sites," he says. "As soon as you become strategic, you can start tearing down silos." Silos breed inefficiency, waste, and brands with unclear identities -- qualities that are particularly …