Not too long ago, the success of a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) was judged largely by the strength of a campaign, the health of a brand and, perhaps, the occasional award that validated creative excellence. As marketing becomes more accountable and measurable, today, the job description has expanded far beyond communications to incorporate revenue growth, amongst other things.
According to Gartner’s latest CMO Leadership Vision, only 45% of CMOs are perceived by CEOs and CFOs to be exceeding expectations, despite many delivering against their stated objectives. Even more telling, just 34% of senior executives say they are aligned with their CMO on marketing’s role in driving growth, exposing a widening gap between what marketing is expected to achieve and how its contribution is evaluated. The disconnect reflects a profession caught in transition.
Over the last decade, marketing has quietly expanded beyond communications into areas once owned by technology, sales and operations. Artificial intelligence (AI) now shapes discovery. Quick commerce has compressed the path from awareness to purchase. Customer experience influences brand perception as much as advertising does. Retail media is creating new revenue streams, while first-party data is redefining how brands understand consumers. The campaign now is not the final output of marketing; it is only one expression of a much broader commercial strategy. That expansion has fundamentally altered the expectations placed on the modern CMO. For some, the role has transformed, demanding a far broader understanding of business than ever before. For others, marketing’s purpose remains unchanged; only the tools, channels and consumer journey have evolved. What is undeniable, however, is that the modern CMO operates at the intersection of functions that once existed independently.
One of the biggest catalysts has been the collapse of the traditional marketing funnel. Consumers no longer move sequentially from awareness to consideration before making a purchase. Discovery today could begin with a creator’s recommendation, a quick-commerce app, an AI-powered search result or a retail media placement. Purchase often follows within minutes, making brand perception and buying behaviour increasingly inseparable.
Anusree Dewan, Chief Marketing Officer, Godrej Foods, believes that is one of the strongest reasons behind the change in a marketer’s role. “Quick-commerce has made purchase and perception the same moment, not two separate funnels,” she notes. This isn’t merely a change in where consumers shop but in how brands are built. In categories like food, where trust directly influences purchase, marketers are increasingly expected to substantiate claims before communicating them. “Generative AI has become a discovery layer we now have to actively design for, the way we used to design for a supermarket shelf; and consumers, especially in food, trust brands less by default, so brand-building today looks a lot like verification, not just storytelling,” Dewan explains. Product benefits, whether around nutrition or freshness, now require stronger validation, making credibility an integral part of the brand-building process.
The implications extend well beyond FMCG. Marketing decisions that were once confined to campaign planning are now influencing how consumers discover, evaluate and interact with brands throughout their lifecycle. That convergence is central to how Anuradha Aggarwal, Director and Chief Marketing Officer, Amazon India, views the evolution of the function. “A decade ago, marketing was often viewed as a linear process; customer insight, creative development, media planning, campaign execution and measurement. Today, those boundaries have largely disappeared,” she says. Aggarwal believes the traditional boundaries that once divided marketing functions have largely dissolved. As ecommerce and quick commerce compress the consumer journey, marketing has become responsible for orchestrating the entire experience. From discovery and consideration to purchase and retention. Rather than operating as separate teams or objectives, brand, technology and customer experience are expected to work together, making marketing a far more integrated business function than it was a decade ago.
Yet, even as technology reshapes the mechanics of marketing, some leaders caution against confusing new capabilities with new fundamentals. For Virat Khullar, Head – Marketing, Hyundai Motor India Limited, the past decade has certainly been transformative, but not because technology has replaced the essence of marketing. “The rise of short-form content has fundamentally changed how brands capture attention,” he says. Khullar argues that while the number of platforms and formats has multiplied, the need for compelling storytelling has only intensified. Consumers are exposed to more content than ever before, making attention increasingly difficult to earn. In such an environment, technology may help marketers reach audiences more efficiently, but it is strong narratives rooted in consumer insight that continue to determine whether a brand remains memorable amid the clutter.
That emphasis on consumer understanding also finds resonance with Poulomi Roy, Chief Marketing Officer, RSH Global, who cautions against viewing data as a substitute for marketing instinct. “Data reveals what consumers do; brand-building explains why they do it,” she says. Roy believes the industry’s growing reliance on behavioural data risks overlooking the motivations that drive consumer choice. While AI and analytics have dramatically improved targeting and execution, they still cannot fully explain intent, aspiration or emotion.
A similar balance between technology and human judgement is highlighted by Zoher Kapuswala, Chief Marketing Officer, Ferrero India. “The real advantage still comes from combining good data with a genuine understanding of the consumer,” he says. Kapuswala sees AI as an enabler rather than a replacement for marketing expertise. For him, the role of the marketer is evolving not because data has become more important, but because translating that data into meaningful consumer experiences has become a competitive advantage. The growing influence of data, AI and performance marketing has sparked one of the biggest debates in modern marketing: has brand-building taken a back seat then? On paper, the answer appears straightforward. Most CMOs today spend considerably more time on data, commerce, customer experience and measurable outcomes than they did a decade ago. But a closer look reveals a more nuanced picture. The varying allocation of time across organisations suggests that brand-building hasn’t diminished as much as it has been redefined.
The numbers reflect that shift. At Parle, the split remains roughly 60:40 in favour of long-term brand-building, while at KRBL and Nexus Select Malls, it is closer to 40:60, reflecting a greater focus on data, AI, retail media, loyalty and customer analytics. The differences are less about philosophy than business realities. An FMCG brand-building long-term household penetration has different priorities from a mall operator measured by footfalls, tenant sales and customer engagement.
That distinction is perhaps most visible in organised retail, where marketing success is measured not just by awareness but by footfalls, tenant sales and customer engagement. Nishank Joshi, Chief Marketing Officer, Nexus Select Malls, says “we evaluate campaigns across multiple dimensions from footfalls and tenant sales to digital engagement, app adoption, first-party data acquisition and customer retention. The question is no longer whether a campaign will create buzz, but whether it will influence customer behaviour and deliver tangible business outcomes.” For Joshi, retail marketing sits at the intersection of brand experience and commercial performance, making the trade-off between long-term equity and immediate outcomes far less defined.
For Raja Chakraborty, Chief Marketing Officer, Continental Coffee, the challenge lies in balancing two objectives that are often measured differently, “ROI driven marketing has a ceiling without consistency in brand-building.” Chakraborty believes marketers today face a far more fragmented media landscape than they did a decade ago. As consumers spend less time with traditional television and more time across digital platforms, deciding where to invest brand budgets has become complex. While boards understandably demand measurable returns on every rupee spent, he argues that over-reliance on short-term metrics risks underinvesting in the long-term equity that ultimately makes performance marketing more effective. The same is equally relevant for Sharma who says marketers are navigating an explosion of media choices without a universal playbook. “Every brand investment is strongly scrutinised for its ROI and impact,” he remarks. Sharma argues that scrutiny has not changed KRBL’s long-term objectives. Whether the goal is changing consumer behaviour or building brand love, he believes consistency remains essential.
What has changed is the discipline around measurement. Continuous consumer feedback and robust evaluation systems now help marketers assess whether campaigns are moving in the right direction without abandoning longer-term brand ambitions. While performance metrics have become integral to decision-making, Shah believes they are most valuable when they reinforce, rather than replace, long-term brand building. Marketing investments, he notes, are evaluated not only through digital engagement but also through consumer insights, retail response and their contribution to overall brand growth.
If anything, marketers suggest that brand-building has become harder rather than less important. Research increasingly supports that view. The IPA’s long-running effectiveness studies, along with work by the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, consistently show that brands balancing long-term brand-building with short-term activation deliver stronger business growth than those focused predominantly on performance marketing.
But, measurement has become more sophisticated, the evidence suggests that sustained brand investment remains critical to maintaining pricing power, customer loyalty and future demand.
Has accountability made marketing safer—or smarter?
If one force has redefined modern marketing, it is accountability. CMOs are no longer expected to justify budgets alone but the commercial value of every campaign and creative decision. Real-time dashboards, first-party data and closed-loop measurement have made marketing more measurable than ever. That scrutiny extends beyond marketing metrics. According to Deloitte’s Global Marketing Trends report, the function is increasingly evaluated on business outcomes such as revenue contribution, customer lifetime value and profitability, rather than awareness or reach alone. The question is: has accountability made marketers smarter—or simply taught them to play it more safe?
Agency leaders argue that accountability should not be mistaken for risk aversion. For Govind Pandey, Chief Executive Officer, TBWA\Lintas, clients have not necessarily become less willing to take risks. “Clients have become far more accountable,” he says. Pandey believes the distinction is important. Every marketing decision today is scrutinised through commerce data, social media conversations, investor expectations and real-time performance dashboards. But where brands have access to similar technologies, distinctiveness, rather than caution, is becoming the most sustainable competitive advantage. Pandey rejects the idea that measurement stifles creativity, arguing that accountability and bold thinking can coexist. Agencies today are expected to drive growth, influence business decisions and bring proactive ideas to clients, rather than simply respond to briefs.
Not everyone, however, believes the pressure manifests in the same way. Chandni Shah, Chief Executive Officer, Kinnect & 22feet, says the growing emphasis on ROI has changed the nature of experimentation rather than reducing it. “Brands are looking for smarter, more calculated risks that are grounded in consumer insight and measurable outcomes,” she adds. Earlier, brands could afford broader creative bets with longer evaluation cycles. Today, experimentation has to prove its commercial relevance from the outset, prompting agencies to develop ideas that solve business problems while delivering distinctive consumer experiences. For Chandni, the bravest ideas are often those best aligned with a client’s business context.
Rakesh Hinduja, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Wondrlab, challenges the notion, “Experimentation has increased, not reduced,” he says. Hinduja attributes this confidence to the growing availability of data. As CMOs move closer to product, CRM and performance marketing, they can evaluate experiments more quickly and understand what is working in real time.
The shift is equally visible from the marketer’s side. For Sharma accountability has undoubtedly made life more demanding. “There is no right playbook that is in place,” he says. Sharma believes choosing where to invest has become one of marketing’s biggest strategic decisions. However, the emerging consensus is that accountability itself is no longer the issue. The debate is over what should be measured—and whether an obsession with immediate returns risks undervaluing long-term brand-building. If every campaign must prove its worth upfront, has measurement changed creativity itself, or simply made it more accountable?
What does creativity look like when every rupee is measured?
The days when campaigns were judged primarily on originality or recall are giving way to a more demanding reality. Creative excellence is no longer evaluated in isolation; it is increasingly assessed through consumer engagement, commerce, search behaviour, retail response and sales. Campaigns now begin with a business objective, with creativity built around delivering it rather than measured after the fact. For Shah, the creative benchmark has expanded beyond storytelling. “Campaigns are assessed through consumer insights, digital engagement, retail response, and their contribution to brand growth,” he shares. The approach is reflected in Parle Monaco’s ‘Sada Salty Raho’ campaign featuring Orry, where Internet culture was used not just to spark conversations but to strengthen brand salience and support business growth.
A similar full-funnel approach can be seen in the automotive category. “The conversation today is no longer just about whether an idea is creative, but whether it can deliver impact across the funnel,” says Khullar. Hyundai’s ICC campaign, ‘Deewane India Ka, Deewana Humsafar’, featuring Shah Rukh Khan, reflected this approach. Spanning CTV, user-generated content, dealership activations and fan experiences, it was designed to build brand affinity while driving measurable business impact. Aggarwal highlights a unique point. Accountability begins much earlier in the creative process. “Every creative idea has to answer two questions–Will it resonate with our customers? Will it drive meaningful business impact?” she comments. Amazon India’s ‘Fast Now, Fayda Now’ campaign looked beyond delivery speed to showcase the brand’s broader value proposition. For Aggarwal, creativity works best when business objectives shape ideas from the very beginning.
How have agency-CMO relationships changed?
If the CMO’s role has expanded, agencies have found themselves adapting alongside it. The days when agencies were judged primarily on creative output or media execution are steadily giving way to broader expectations. The relationship, in turn, has become far more strategic, blurring the lines between creativity, consulting and business strategy. For Pandey the transformation begins with recognising how much more demanding the CMO’s role has become. “The CMO’s job has become exponentially harder,” he says. As the CMO’s role expands, so do expectations from agencies, shares Pandey. Beyond campaign execution, agencies are now expected to spot growth opportunities, influence business decisions and proactively solve problems before a brief is written.
The approach at Britannia, for example, is to develop brand propositions with the entire consumer journey in mind, rather than treating a TVC or social media campaign as standalone communication. Ideas are expected to work across touchpoints, from building recall and influencing the retail shelf to strengthening modern trade, supporting category growth and generating word of mouth.
Hence, Puneet Das, Chief Marketing Officer, Britannia Industries adds, “This has also changed how teams work. Creative, sales, media, category, modern trade and digital commerce come together much earlier in the process with a shared business objective. The discussion is no longer only about creating a memorable campaign but about creating an idea that can contribute to business growth.”
But perhaps the strongest critique comes from Rahul Mathew, Chief Creative Officer, McCann India, who believes the industry itself has contributed to narrowing the agency’s role. “We shrunk our roles with clients over the last few decades.” Mathew argues that agencies were once involved much earlier in business decisions, influencing everything from positioning to pricing rather than merely developing campaigns.
Reclaiming that influence, he believes, requires agencies to demonstrate conviction, commercial understanding and a genuine investment in a client’s growth. He points to campaigns such as Disney+ Hotstar’s IPL superhero campaign, BGMI’s in-game wedding and Stayfree’s ‘Period and Prostitution’ initiative as examples where clients backed unconventional ideas because they trusted the strategic thinking behind them, not just the creative execution.
If agencies are now expected to contribute more strategically, they are also being asked to simplify an increasingly complex marketing ecosystem. “CMOs today do not have the time or appetite to connect ten different dots themselves,” says Chandni. Chandni believes agencies can no longer solve problems channel by channel. Instead, they must deliver connected solutions rooted in business outcomes. She cites campaigns such as HDFC Bank’s ‘Vigil Aunty’ and Flipkart’s ‘SASA LELE’ as examples where creativity was built around clearly defined business objectives. The boldest ideas, Chandni affirms, are often those that solve a client’s business challenge.
What does the next-generation CMO look like?
The next-generation CMO is no longer seen as just a marketing leader but a business leader. “The capabilities that will become indispensable are AI and marketing technology, interpreting data rather than simply reporting it, growth marketing across multiple channels, innovation and portfolio management, customer experience across the organisation, and strong financial management. At the same time, routine activities like media buying, optimisation, content creation and even parts of consumer research will become automated. The CMO’s role will not be to sit in the front seat of every marketing activity but to use technology to make better marketing decisions. CMOs will have to think strategically and act operationally,” explains Das.
Yet technology alone is unlikely to define successful leadership. As Khullar says, “The best CMOs of the future will be those who can balance both the left and right brain.” Meanwhile, Aggarwal believes that as AI becomes commonplace, “Human judgement, empathy and customer obsession will be the real differentiators.”
However, the irony is hard to ignore. Marketing has never been more accountable, yet the pressure to prove every rupee risks rewarding short-term performance over long-term brand-building. As AI becomes a competitive equaliser, the real challenge may lie less in adopting new technology than in resisting the temptation to let dashboards dictate every marketing decision.
