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The top three marketing initiatives posing the greatest security risks to business are AI and machine learning, customer behavior data, and the Internet of Things. So, how should marketing and security collaborate to safeguard brand trust?

Safeguarding Brand Trust Amid the Data Storm

Much rides on marketing’s relationship with information security to acquire, maintain and secure customer data for competitive advantage. Together, marketing and security can navigate perilous waters, such as Generative AI, trust and privacy concerns, en route to preserving and building the brand.

CMO Council’s latest report with KPMG, Marketing and Data Security: the Unlikely Brand Building Partnership, found that 33% of marketers say security organizations are hesitant, even unwilling, to collaborate. And in 65% of campaigns, security isn’t actively engaged by marketing during conceptualization and planning.

It’s critical to shore up this partnership because it’s about to be tested in a big way. The top three marketing initiatives posing the greatest security risks are AI and machine learning, customer behavior data, and Internet of Things.

Our findings are based on a survey of 256 marketing leaders across industries and geographies. Additionally, we conducted in-depth interviews with marketing or security executives from Teradata, CDW, The Doctor’s Company, and PSEG Long Island.

DOWNLOAD: Marketing and Data Security: The Unlikely Brand Building Partnership

Collaboration is Key for CMOs and CISCOs

A stronger connection is evolving between CMOs and CISOs, especially in regard to current and future regulations related to customer consent and preference management. Regulations impact everything from incident response plans and data privacy policies to cookieless websites and social media platforms.

Marketing and security should be collaborating on these and other initiatives — and they should do so early and often. Yet this is often not the case. The survey found a collaboration blind spot with marketing campaigns. Only 35% of marketing-security partnerships collaborate during campaign conceptualization and planning. For the vast majority of campaigns, security isn’t actively engaged by the marketing team until after they’re already in motion. Among less-evolved marketing-security partnerships, more than half (53%) don’t collaborate on campaigns at all.

READ MORE: How Security Helps Marketers Protect Your Brand

Evolution of Marketing and Security Relationship

What customer interactions lead to risk? What are the dos and don’ts with generative AI? When should marketing reach out to security? These are just a few of the questions spurring a reevaluation of marketing and security working together.

For far too long, far too many marketers have relied on ad hoc conversations with security, usually after launching campaigns and executing other data-related marketing activities. This is because marketing often moves at faster speeds than security. But this is no longer good enough.

“The relationship between marketing and information security absolutely has to evolve because of the unknown territories we’re in, such as the influx of GenAI and the role of trust and privacy,” says Aditi Uppal, Vice President Of Digital Marketing and Demand Generation at Teradata, interviewed by CMO Council. “The relationship has to be a lot more proactive and strategic in nature.”

REPORT: Executive Perspective with Aditi Uppal

Assuring Brand Trust, Confidence and Reputation

Digital security has become an issue with significant implications for the relationship between brands and their customers, suppliers, partners and investors. Media scrutiny, public awareness and customer concern about cyber threats, personal data compromises, identity theft and internet fraud are on the rise across every sector of business, public and consumer life.

Are CMOs stepping up to play their part in assuring brand trust, confidence and reputation in the connected economy with multiplying digital payment and customer engagement options? Are they effectively teaming with C-level peers to proactively engage key stakeholders in brand safety, privacy protection, threat deterrence and security compliance? These are the questions we asked marketers

VIEW: CMOs Need to Apply More Diligence to Cybersecurity Resilience