I read two posts last week that got me thinking about superheroes and sidekicks. One was by Rob Enderle entitled HP’s Hurd, Dunn and Fiorina Could Learn from Superheroes. The other was on AdAge.com by Jack Neff entitled Meet the New and Evolved CMO Rock Stars.
As I’ve been interviewing CMOs for my upcoming book, I’ve met some very talented leaders who go about their roles in very different ways. Some view their roles as supporting their CEOs and bringing about the vision that their bosses have set forth. Others are the lead change agents for their brands and find themselves (comfortably) in the spotlight as they share their plans.
So my question for you is, should CMOs be Batman or Robin? Or is there a better tandem to use as a model for CEO/CMO partnering?
John Ellett is CEO of nFusion Group, LLC, a digitally-focused marketing agency based in Austin, TX. He has a passion for encouraging and supporting marketing leaders who have the courage to be change agents in their organizations.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
As a fan of comic books, I think I can take a stab at this more in the defining of what Batman truly is – he is the worlds greatest detective, an expert in hand to hand and weapons combat and world class strategist. Basically, he is an idea man with the know-how and brawn to get the job done. At the end of the day, it’s rarely just his brawn that wins the fight – it’s his tactical mind and willingness to do what it takes to save the day. It is never luck. Comic writers love to pit Batman against Superman and while the odds-on favorite is Sups…Batman is often times the one standing when the dust settles. He comes prepared. He is willing to make the hard decisions and he always, always, always, has contingency plans. To me, it sounds very much like what a CMO should be.
(Robin is what is waiting in the wings to take over the mantle if the CMO – or any manager for that matter – is doing their job. They must be developing talent at all times.)
As one who is not a CMO, I can’t speak to what one actually is, but in keeping with the comic book motif, I’d liken the job to that of Superman. Being Superman is a curse (Five For Fighting lays it out beautifully in the song titled “Supeman”). It is the worst job on the planet. Being Superman means failing an infinite amount of times more than succeeding. Making choices that literally affect lives every second. While a bit dramatic, a CMO can make decisions that affect the lives of their companies. While Superman needs to determine whether or not to save the run-away train or stop the crashing airplane, a CMO must make similar ‘lesser of two evils’ decisions. While Superman may choose the falling plane to avoid more casualties, he may have inadvertently forsaken the next Einstein by allowing him to die on the rails. Likewise, a CMO may decide to run a billion impressions on an adnetwork for more exposure only to miss that one person they needed who only plays on a small niche content site.
I suppose if I were Superman, I’m not sure much more than a year and a half would elapse before I either went out in search of Krypton, or I got run through with a Kryptonite stake from an angry mob (or Batman!) Which basically matches up to the average life span of a CMO (19 months at last check).
Happy to discuss in more detail and provide examples of Batman showing Superman who the real man is!
Chris, I appreciate the insights of a real comic buff. Thanks!
I’m going to go with Batman by a long shot. A good marketing group with solid leadership should be pushing the envelope. They are the experts at what they do and should be trusted to steward the brand. The CEO can provide framework, but the CMO should always be looking for ways to push the framework to its breaking point.