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Going Gets Rough For Rock Star CMOs

  • Ad Age, Monday, January 22, 2007 12 PM
Just like the rockers who rise and fall on VH1's "Behind the Music," chief marketing officers that exude a rock 'n' roll persona inevitably seem to crash to earth. Cases in point: Volkswagen's Kerri Martin; Verizon Communications' Jerri Devard; Coca-Cola's Mary Minnick; and Wal-Mart's Julie Roehm.

The quartet of high-powered, outspoken women all fell (or at least, in Minnick's case, hit the proverbial ceiling) despite--or perhaps even as a result of--crafting images as mediagenic change agents shaking up moribund institutions.

Once just in charge of getting ads made and boosting awareness, top marketing executives today are responsible for business outcomes, such as sales and market share. This increase in accountability has made the average CMO tenure ever shorter and desperate attempts at easy answers more common.

"What's true for the brand is true for the management," says Robert Passikoff, founder-president of the consultancy Brand Keys. "Awareness does not mean profitability."

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