Experts have advised chief marketing officers and aspiring officers to redefine their roles in the business of integrated marketing communications.
This call was made by two marketing professionals – Managing Director, P&G Nigeria, Mokutima Ajileye, and marketing professional, Oare Ojeikere – at the Advertisers Association of Nigeria’s Chief Marketing Officer Forum.
The forum themed, “The Evolving Role of the CMO,” held in Lagos on Friday.
Mokutima said time had come for CMOs to be adaptable and evolve in order to keep functioning efficiently.
According to her, “Adaptability is about change and change itself is inevitable, hence the continuous need for CMO to make sure they follow the current trends and quickly adapt to new developments in the industry.”
She said this adaptability was necessary because CMOs must see themselves as business leaders with the duty to focus on increasing the growth of their brands.
Also, she said CMOs must strive to safeguard consumers by having a clear vision of consumers’ wants and needs. They must also operate against the backdrop of increased consumers’ expectations and address them with great sensitivity.
Oare Ojeikere, who spoke on “Changing Roles, Capability and deliverables: Implication for Business and Marketers” said CMOs and other brand custodians must recognise the emerging trends and paradigm shifts in the industry.
He said, “What is responsible and as well accelerating this new shift is the availability of internet, mobile phone and social media.” According to him, because of these factors, the playing field had been levelled and was dictating how to buy media.
Speaking earlier, ADVAN president, Osamede Uwubanmwem, had said the choice of the topic was necessitated by current changes in marketing business. It was also meant to get CMOs and other marketing professionals ready for evolution in the marketing profession.
