• by Justin Cooper , March 10, 2008

One on the Top 100 Marketing Buzz Phrases of 2007 was ... ROI . This should tell you that this phrase is about as meaningful and creative, within the context of marketing strategy, as commenting on the weather. But the clouds are parting!

There is the dawn of a new breed of Chief Marketing Officer - commonly referred to as the "2.0 CMO". I'm celebrating this emergence both as a consumer and an industry professional. Why?

As a consumer, I'm relieved that there is an assembly of marketing executives out there who understand that I no longer respond to their "messaging". This type of CMO knows that I actively avoid as many of their "touch-points" as I possibly can. They also recognize that I am not a "target", but a human being. A person with intuition, opinions and immediate access to a global network of other people eager to discuss, endorse and reject every company, brand, product and service on the planet.

As a professional, I'm hopeful that the days of responding to, "This sounds great, but what's the ROI?" are numbered.

It used to be enough for a CMO to declare success by demonstrating great levels of response, impressions, buzz, awareness, lift, lead-gen, viral activity, or return on investment (ROI) from their campaign efforts.

Note to the CMO: this will no longer cut it.

The key is to shift your thinking from campaign metrics to customer motivations. I understand that such a profound shift will be met with organizational and even cultural challenges. However, many of the world's most iconic brands have quickly realized there is no substitute for aligning their brand with the market through ongoing collaboration with their customers. These companies are prepared for the constant change that is so rapidly activated by social connectivity. Not only are the CMOs of these companies prepared for change, but they embrace it as a competitive advantage.

The "2.0 CMO" doesn't focus on how they're going to deliver a message, they work to understand what motivates the people that will ultimately carry the most meaningful message. Define your marketing objectives and measure those against what your customers are saying about your brand.

For a marketing executive to say "This sounds great, but what's the ROI?" demonstrates that they are missing the point. The person that asks this question is caught up in the evaluation of their tactics and not thinking about the content of their customer's experience. It's like focusing on the buttons of the phone, rather than the conversation.

The best type of return is a returning customer. Justin Cooper is co-founder and chief of innovation and marketing at Passenger and a thought leader in customer-driven innovation practices.