Are we all just wanna be CFOs and business analysts?
Don’t get me wrong, I love talking about unit economics (Exhibit A) CAC to CLV and optimizing paid social ads for the highest ROAS, but have we completely forgotten about our roots? Have we forgotten how to be creative, B-E-creative?
The fragmentation of the marketing department, which has been happening for years, is to blame. Marketers were the original creative types but have morphed into growth/performance roles with the rise of the internet and data. The new creative types are on the brand/creative teams. Today we see two separate teams, a performance/growth team, and a brand/creative team.
This is good and bad. It helps with focus and task delegation, but the natural challenge is communication. Who facilitates that? It’s a leader that can speak both languages, but that’s hard to come by.
These days, according to the WSJ, the average CMO stay is at a decade low of 40 months (3.3 years). I think part of this is because modern marketing has shifted too far to the growth/performance side that we lost our creative muscle. We need that muscle to lead our organizations and our customers.
So, shall we hit the creative gym? Listen to that new artist, see the new movie, visit that new exhibit, hit a comedy show, whatever gets your creative muscles firing, go and do it. Let’s return to our roots and join the new-age creators.
References:
WSJ Article: https://www.wsj.com/articles/average-cmo-tenure-holds-steady-at-lowest-level-in-decade-11651744800