More Corporations Are Putting Marketing Into The ‘C’ Suite.

With global competition fiercer than ever, corporations are realizing that savvy marketing can differentiate themselves in the marketplace. So they’re integrating Chief Marketing Officers into the highest levels of their organizations, not delegating such responsibilities to mid-level marketing coordinators or sales executives.

“We’re getting calls from marketers who really need top-level help, and they’re not sure where to find it,” said Amy Hoover, Executive Vice President of Talent Zoo, an Atlanta and New York City-based marketing and advertising recruitment firm. “Many times, we help them identify the specific skills they’re looking for before we call candidates. Then, using our contacts on client-side and ad agency-side, so we’re able to locate the talent they need.”

According to CMO Magazine, the average tenure of a Chief Marketing Officer is less than two years. So clearly, the need to find the right person is crucial, in terms of both skill set and cultural fit.

The CMO position is an important conduit in large company—integrating sales, advertising, promotions, and other disciplines. But a new CMO integrating his/herself into a new position has to be a listener as well as a doer, getting out into the field as opposed to sitting in an office analyzing data. So Talent Zoo evaluates not only what a CMO candidate accomplished in past positions, but also how they performed their jobs.

Talent Zoo’s Hoover always reiterates to her clients that CMO’s are inherently valuable, even if their worth is not immediately measurable. “Corporations know they have to keep their costs low, and they’re already being forced to do that at every step in their supply chain as far as their products go. But a great CMO can increase market share and profitability, we find the people who’ve accomplished that,” she said.