CMOs came into their own as C-suite utility players in 2021, when the leaders of Twitter, Facebook, Google, Apple, and Amazon did something no elected representative in Congress can do to the head of our federal government. Each imposed severe, unprecedented limits on the powers of a U.S. president.

Responding much faster than Congress to the will of the people — not as voters but as consumers — the chief executives demonstrated publicly and conclusively that they can more effectively circumscribe a government leader’s power than members of any other branch.

This led the Chief Financial Correspondent at Axios to conclude that CEOs have now become the fourth branch of government. “They have money, they have power, and they have more of the public’s trust than politicians do. And they’re using all of it in an attempt to preserve America’s system of governance.”

With this power comes a new kind of regulator, more powerful than the courts or the legislatures. Consumers can use their buying power and collective social influence to keep the “fourth branch” — let’s call it the C-branch — in check.

In such a world, the CMO becomes the CEO’s most valuable, versatile ally — a critically important conduit between the C-branch and consumers. The CMO-as-utility-player must do more than simply articulate positions, craft messages, and disseminate information internally and externally. In an era where corporate decisions can have far-reaching political and social implications, they must guide their organizations through turbulent waters. 

By learning and transmitting what’s on consumers’ minds — their predilections, pain points, and latest causes for social, economic, and political concern — CMOs can help the C-suite make decisions that protect and strengthen their position in the market. Like whether it’s time to take a stand on a contentious Supreme Court decision or how to position the company in the lead-up to a divisive election.

What it Means for CMOs to be the C-Suite’s Utility Player Today

Geopolitical and social unrest, contentious election cycles, fast-moving technological innovations, economic challenges, and far-reaching generational shifts continue to elevate the role of CMO. The C-suite faces ever-escalating pressure to communicate about everything from where their firm is heading to what role they expect it to play in an increasingly fractious society. And the CMO is the person who is best-positioned to help them do so effectively.

Recent events — the Supreme Court’s Chevron decision limiting federal agency power, the Israel-Hamas War, the widespread adoption of AI, and the backlash around DEI programs to name a few — continue to refashion the landscape in which CMOs operate. These developments have further solidified the CMO’s position as the C-suite’s indispensable utility player, bridging the gap between corporate strategy, consumer sentiment, and societal change.

Far more than just a chief marketing messenger, the CMO is now something of a CIO too — an executive who, if not working directly with information technology, must understand it well enough to take full advantage of the growing array of digital marketing tools. This includes leveraging AI to gain unprecedented insights into consumer behavior and sentiment, allowing CMOs to get closer to the ground than ever before in understanding their audience.

Additionally, the roles of the CMO and Chief Communications Officer are becoming more integrated by the day. They must be in order to achieve what Maja Pawinska Sims calls a better alignment with “brand and corporate narrative.” As honest, relevant, human storytelling becomes even more closely connected to the P&L, the C-suite’s storytellers are increasingly relied upon to develop new narratives.

It is not incorrect, then, to refer to the CMO as the C-suite’s new utility player, the executive who must know a little bit about every other position in order to help the CEO make sense of challenges and opportunities, especially in relation to the Three Rs: Revenue, Relationship, and Reputation.

Revenue & Relationships are the CMO’s Job, Too

Reputation has long been in the domain of the CMO. Marketing’s ties to revenue run deep, but the new order makes them inseparable. Relationship management, on the other hand, has traditionally resided outside the chief marketer’s purview. That’s not the case anymore.

Using a deep understanding of both customers and community, CMOs can and must actively identify and broker new kinds of relationships for their companies. Success will make them indispensable lieutenants, especially when it comes to helping CEOs influence “constituents” — as elected officials do.

A focus on revenue means CMOs need more than just hallway collegiality with the CFO; they need to develop an active, healthy relationship. They must also help persuade the finance chief that today, what’s good for customers and communities is good for the company’s bottom line.

Rather than be put off by such a prospect, chief marketers should view the present as an opportunity to, as Jann Schwarz writes, “reclaim a more strategic role” through a key relationship with the CFO.

“[The CMO’s] creativity and imagination (combined with commercial discipline and a customer lens) can drive a sustainable and competitive advantage” through such a rapprochement, writes Schwarz.

Clearly, this is not your mother’s or your father’s CMO.

The New Corporate Narrative: Social Responsibility

In this brave new world, the CMO is the CEO’s eyes and ears, both messenger and oracle, watching how our market-society, and the people who comprise it, are moving, shifting, aligning and re-aligning.

This means that CMOs can no longer compartmentalize company narratives, social responsibility and profitable growth. As the last Business Roundtable made eminently clear, these are now intertwined and interdependent considerations. That’s especially true given the rise of Gen Z and the expectations these emerging stakeholders bring to the business world. 

CMOs who are paying attention and playing the long game know that social responsibility is a key narrative and that terms such as “social impact” and “sustainability” are something more than fleeting hashtags to be expressed merely through a sprinkling of green on the logo. It will remain the narrative until norms have changed so dramatically that it becomes an unspoken expectation.

Perhaps the CMO’s greatest value, then, will be in perceiving what is moving the market. Or more accurately who is moving it: consumers and clients who are not data points, who are not math problems, but real, live people, governed by ever-shifting social norms and fickle human nature.

And who can vote any time, from anywhere, for unelected leaders in that fourth branch of government using something that may soon be more powerful than the ballot: their credit cards and their voices on social media.

About the Executive Positioning Practice

Exemplifying Greentarget’s commitment to being a trusted advisor to clients, Greentarget’s Executive Positioning team provides c-suite executives (managing partners, CEOs, executive committees, and boards) with insights to anticipate, understand, and respond to important global and social developments, analyzing key issues that can impact reputation and compel leaders to communicate.