Davos 2019: A CMO’s Perspective

During my time at the World Economic Forum at Davos last month—my ninth as a BCG delegate and fifth as the chief marketing officer of BCG—I had the chance to talk to many CMO peers representing a wide range of companies from around the world. I asked many of them what they are most excited about for 2019—as well as what they expect will be the year’s biggest challenges. The consistency among their answers was striking.

The Digital CMO

A number of marketers I talked to are thrilled about the prospects of data personalization. We’ve been talking about digital for years now—about how critical a tool it will be in reaching exactly who marketers want to reach with exactly what they want to say. But the truth is that five years ago we couldn’t have imagined the opportunities now available in big data market personalization—opportunities that are scalable and affordable.

Today, the ability to reach ME about a product I’m likely to want is entirely within reach. Targeted, analytic, effective, and efficient personalization is reaping huge rewards for the best marketers. And while the advantages may be more obvious for B2C companies, B2B companies are plunging in, as well.

The learning curve has been fast and furious. A few years ago, at one packaged-goods company, leaders made the radical move to spend millions to digitally train all of their marketers. Executives had to go through a multipart training, which required mastery of each level before moving on to the next. Today, it’s assumed that everyone needs to be digitally trained and retrained given the fast pace of change every year. It’s a core part of our work.

Responsible Marketing

The flip side of that excitement is the challenge of managing consumer and customer data with care. The boundaries are stronger than they used to be—consumers have to opt in to share their data and it’s much easier to unsubscribe than it used to be. But it’s still a grave responsibility for companies to have access to so much private information. We have to maintain a human touch if we want to deliver the most good from big data and AI. If we don’t, and we break consumer trust, we risk losing the integrity of our brand.

CMOs are also concerned about keeping a close watch on content quality control and making sure they have ways to cut through the clutter. It used to be that the primary media outlets at Davos every year were the “traditional” media companies. Now so many companies—and even individuals—have their own media studio, ready to film and push out new clips and sound bites as soon as they’re finished. Personalization gives us the advantage of a targeted connection point, but if the content isn’t good, we’ll lose the people we’re trying to reach.

The Power of Purpose, the Responsibility of the CMO

We’ve had a lot of discussions at BCG about our own purpose in recent years. Purpose is what holds a company together and brings it success, it’s what allows organizations to contribute a positive societal impact, and it’s a large part of what attracts, retains, and rewards employees.

At nearly every meeting I went to at Davos, as I discussed during a panel I was on—the narrative kept coming back to these topics and how the business world can create a positive societal impact. As issues become more urgent, leaders are thinking harder—and talking more—about climate change, sustainability, and social impact. I heard folks from heads of state to CMOs, for example, talking about single-use plastics. Having a common view on topics like these feels more important now than ever before, in a world so starkly divided.

But what can a CMO do about plastics?

As they guide marketing agendas and strategies, CMOs are in a unique position to shape the way in which company values are portrayed and the purpose narrative is told. 

Our focus in marketing used to be on how we appeal to our customers and consumers. We wanted to convey—externally—how great our products were and what we as a company stood for. But the best marketing strategy takes into account the fact that external and internal marketing are inextricably linked. Our employees are constituents who are just as important as our customers. They care about what their employer stands for and the messages it sends. When there’s so much going on in the world, marketing communications have the ability to strengthen the meaning and intent of the brand both outside and inside the company.

The economic rationale for companies to do good has become crystal clear. A report produced by BCG and WEF—launched at Davos this year—delves into how to manage environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting, so that organizations can maximize societal impact and business performance simultaneously. What a company does—about its carbon footprint, the diversity of its employees and leadership, and the way it gives back to society—is integral to its identity. Marketers have the power—and the responsibility—to tell that story as effectively as possible.