Business Insider’s O’Reilly: Innovative CMOs ‘A Mixed, But Talented, Bag’

“Innovation is now embedded into the CMO role,” says the publication’s senior advertising editor, who is responsible for compiling the inaugural list of the world’s 50 most innovating CMOs.

This week Business Insider celebrated the best and brightest global marketers with an inaugural ranking of the world’s 50 most innovative CMOs. The list includes some of Europe’s top names, such as Unilever’s Keith Weed, Björn Annwall of Volvo, Marie Gulin-Merle of L’Oreal, and, of course, we’d be remiss not to mention Ann Lewnes of Adobe, CMO.com’s parent company.

We began by asking the publication’s senior advertising editor, Lara O’Reilly, who was responsible for compiling the list, what criteria they had used to identify the most innovative marketing leaders on the planet.

CMO.com: What were the broader characteristics, trends, and traits you were looking for when picking the world’s most innovative CMOs?

O’Reilly: We identified four key characteristics that made these CMOs stand out from the rest of their peers. We defined them as:

1. The Connectors—CMOs who have mixed art, science, and technology in their work;
2. The Rebels—CMOs who are leading their marketing efforts in a completely different direction from their peers;
3. The Integrators—CMOs who have excelled in integrating multiple channels;
4. The Storytellers—CMOs who have mastered the art of storytelling across platforms.

Other factors we took into consideration included the size of the CMO’s brand, the breadth of their role and responsibilities, their effect on the marketing and advertising industry beyond their own brand, and the extent to which their marketing efforts can be linked to their company’s performance.

CMO.com: Were these characteristics or traits consistent across the different candidates you considered?

O’Reilly: There were several CMOs in our inaugural ranking who could easily have fit into all four of those categories, whereas some clearly excelled in one of those particular areas. It was a mixed, but very talented, bag.

CMO.com: What were the key trends around innovation that came out from putting together the list?

O’Reilly: Innovation is now embedded into the CMO role. Marketers are no longer just thinking campaign to campaign, quarter to quarter. The most innovative CMOs are creating work year-round that pushes the boundaries of what the man-on-the-street definition of a marketer might be. That work can include anything, from forming major partnerships with nascent tech companies to creating products that extend their brand into new verticals and widen their customer base.

CMO.com: Is there consistency in the language used by the different candidates around innovation?

O’Reilly: “Innovation” isn’t necessarily a term that marketers should be using as a buzzword on conference stages, as it can appear quite nebulous, but it should be a mindset. Marketers shouldn’t just be looking back to use the past to predict the future, they should also be creatively thinking about how they can disrupt new areas.

CMO.com: Is there a “new school” of CMOs? If so, what are they doing differently?

O’Reilly: The “new school” of CMOs is an ambitious set. No longer is landing the top marketing job at a major brand the endgame. We’re seeing more marketers break into the boardroom—some, like Steve Easterbrook at McDonald’s, are even being promoted to the CEO role. We’re also seeing our “Class of 2016,” if you will, taking on more responsibility than marketing alone, from leading their companies’ sustainability efforts to championing industry diversity.

CMO.com: Many of the CMOs who were picked work for large multinational brands. Did you consider any candidates from smaller businesses that are known for being innovative?

O’Reilly: We considered a range of candidates from companies large and small. We gave our readers the opportunity to submit the CMOs they find the most impressive, and we also called on our independent council of experts (DDB North America CEO Wendy Clark, CMO Council executive director Donovan Neale-May, and ID Comms founder and chief strategy officer Tom Denford) to ensure we were spreading our net far and wide.

CMO.com: What role do agencies play in driving innovation for their clients on the list?

O’Reilly: As marketers attempt to navigate the changes of an ever-digital, more-fragmented media landscape, the role of the agency is arguably more important than ever to help guide brands towards success. Throughout the list you’ll see examples of the big creative idea generated by agencies (that the CMO ultimately signed off on) and moments when the strength of the client/agency partnership led to ambitious media firsts.

CMO.com: How has the relationship with their agencies changed, are they using them better?

O’Reilly: That’s a huge question, especially as we are now post-publication of the ANA report into media agency transparency. While many people in the industry frowned upon the anonymous allegations of malpractice in the report, it can’t be denied that it sparked a debate and prompted marketers to meticulously assess the value of their agencies. The result, I hope, is a more transparent and fruitful partnership on both sides.

CMO.com: Some big names famous for their marketing are missing from the list (e.g. Diageo, British Airways). Why do you think that is?

O’Reilly: We went through an extremely rigorous process to come to our final 50 CMOs. We assessed dozens and dozens of potential candidates, measuring them up against each of the aforementioned attributes, and leaned heavily on the knowledge of our expert council. The list could have easily been the “Top 100 Most Innovative CMOs,” and there were some big-name brand marketers who only very narrowly missed the cut—and some CMOs from lesser-known brands too.

CMO.com: You ranked the CMOs based on four attributes—The Connectors, The Rebels, The Integrators, and The Storytellers. If you had to pick your number-one attribute, which one would it be and why?

O’Reilly: This is personal, and perhaps it’s because I’m a news hound, but my favourite attribute has to be “The Rebels.” These are the CMOs that are making history in the industry by challenging pre-conceived notions of what a marketer should or should not do or say. Given that the average CMO tenure is only around 44 months, it requires guts to take those risks, and all the while meeting the growth targets set by their chief financial officers. That you have to admire.