• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, March 19, 2017

A new study from executive search firm Spencer Stuart claims the average lifespan of a chief marketing officer has declined for the second year in a row. Now, the average tenure of a CMO is 42 months, down from 44 months in 2015.

It's a thankless job, really. Actually, it's not even really a job but more of a scapegoat for all the other CxOs to blame when their business isn't performing as expected. After all, it must be the marketing that isn't working. It couldn't possibly be anything else.

On the continual drop in CMO tenure, Spencer Stuart Consultant Greg Welch said, “Tough business headwinds, new technologies and pressures to change quickly. It’s the perfect storm. If you are CEO and you tried a game plan and it’s not working, what do you do? You change the playbook and change the players.”

Compared to other CxO positions, CMOs do not last long. The study found the average tenure for a CEO to be 7.2 years and the tenure of a CFO to be 5.7 years.

The upside? For agencies looking to score a particular account, you won't have to wait as long for that brand to get a new CMO who will invariably launch an agency review giving you a chance to grab the account.