Program Details

CMO: The Force Multiplier

Driving financial value through better technology strategy, investment, selection, integration, management and innovation.

Sponsors and Partners:

Sponsors and Partners:

Overview

Today’s increasingly complex, distributed and digitally-driven marketing ecosystem is challenging global marketers to better integrate and manage data, best of breed solutions, creative resources, brand assets and go-to-market functions. Marketing process improvement, efficiency and yield is directly tied to more effective use of budget, automation, processes, front-office partnerships, data, analytics and intelligence that improve content creation, relevancy, delivery, access, control, workflow, agency/partner collaboration, market engagement, sales lead provisioning, as well as campaign measurement and tracking. All of this requires tighter coupling and collaboration between the CMO and his/her peers - CIO, CPO (Procurement), CISO (security), CRO (Sales) and CFO.

To understand the challenges and best practices, the CMO Council will team with KPMG to lead a series of executive interviews and primary research studies around the evolving need of the CMO to more tightly align across the C-Suite and drive towards today’s increasingly complex marketing mandate.

Learn more about all of our research initiatives below.

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Marketing and Security Collaboration
Navigating Recent Developments through the CMO-CISO Partnership: Strengthening Customer and Employee Experiences in a Dynamic Landscape
 
The extraordinary 60% increase in digital ad revenue observed by the Dutch public broadcaster, Nederlandse Publieke Omroep, after removing tracking cookies from their website, showcases the potential of a cohesive CMO-CISO collaboration. Establishing brand credibility through these partnerships can not only enrich the customer experience but also foster customer loyalty, derive meaningful insights into customer behavior, and elevate employee experiences through the cultivation of a proactively compliant culture.
 
Amid an ever-evolving digital landscape marked by recent developments, such as the impending phasing out of third-party cookies, ever-growing privacy and security concerns, and the GDPR, CISOs can effectively guide CMOs. By working together, they solidify a secure foundation for customer data, facilitate stronger and more reliable customer engagements, and create an optimal environment for both customers and employees.
 
The latest CMO Council research, conducted in partnership with KPMG, delves into redefining the CMO-CISO relationship in the context of these topical developments. The study emphasizes the pivotal role of customer confidence in enhancing customer experience (CX) and employee experience (EX) and explores:
  1. Opportunities for CMOs and CISOs to forge collaborative efforts in building customer confidence, navigating recent digital marketing changes, and strengthening customer experiences.
  2. Key alignment initiatives and relationship competencies that promote a compliant and customer-centric internal culture amid the evolving landscape.
  3. Strategies to align mutual objectives and yield outstanding outcomes, keeping up with the recent developments in the digital realm for customers and employees alike.
Our analysis will specifically focus on:
  • The impact of a credible brand on customer experience in the context of the phasing out of third-party cookies and other recent changes, subsequently affecting a company's immediate financial health, customer lifetime value, and employee productivity/confidence.
  • Identifying areas with potential for improved alignment, collaboration, and performance enhancement in critical capabilities while staying up-to-date with recent developments in the privacy and security realm. 
  • Formulating solutions to overcome challenges in establishing a flourishing CMO-CISO collaboration that can effectively address and adapt to the dynamic digital landscape, fostering the best experience for both the customer and the employee.
This enlightening initiative is designed to highlight methods organizations can adopt to enhance the CMO-CISO working relationship amidst current developments and seize novel data marketing opportunities. By fostering customer confidence in an ever-changing context, companies can drive significant improvements in customer and employee experiences, ultimately augmenting the overall value of the brand.

 

Research: Survey & Reports

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Curated Facts & Stats

CMOs are no longer focused solely on marketing—they’re now expected to influence the success of the entire business.

Source: Camphouse

The Deloitte CMO Survey offers insights into the opinions of over 250 marketing leaders on marketplace trends such as profitability, talent sourcing, AI automation, and brand spending.

Source: Deloitte

While marketing tools and technologies are evolving at unprecedented speed, the fundamentals of strategy, leadership and patience to get to a world class marketing product, remain as important as ever.

Source: Nxtmedia

In 2026, CMOs must position marketing not as a cost center or service bureau, but as the enterprise’s growth engine. Some in the C-suite may be skeptical, but marketing is uniquely positioned to drive revenue and resilience by transforming brand, data, creativity, and customer connections into measurable business impact.

Source: Prophet

AI-driven changes are not just technological — they will be strategic, structural, and cultural. In 2026, CMOs must lead the shift to hybrid human-agent teams, adopt a zero-based approach to channel strategy, and use AI to rapidly enhance marketing’s distinctive strengths.

Source: Gartner

B2B marketing leaders are surprisingly bullish about next year’s budgets with 83% of B2B marketing decision-makers expecting increased investment over the next 12 months, and 40% anticipating at least a 5% boost, despite volatile times.

Source: Forrester

Discover how CMOs are tackling 2026’s biggest challenges—from ROI pressure to AI integration—and turning disruption into growth.

Source: NIQ

Agencies and clients alike have faced a wide range of challenges this year, including rapid developments in AI, internal pressures from senior executives, ‘sky-high’ consumer expectations, and persistent geopolitical and economic headwinds.

Source: Carat

As organizations head into 2025, marketing faces extraordinary expectations and CMOs cannot risk incremental change when the enterprise expects transformative results.

Source: Gartner

CMOs must bridge marketing strategy and operations; and create a strategy framework to avoid mistaking tactical execution for agile planning

Source: Gartner
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