As a result of these trends, it is no longer possible to place
television ads on the major networks in prime time and automatically
reach 50% of households in the US. Like it or not, marketing is
no longer about mass media but about precision targeting. And
some targets are becoming almost impossible to reach. An example
is young men age 18-34 who are becoming hard to reach using traditional
media including not just television but also newspapers and magazines.5
While these trends are real, advertisers and ad agencies are
reluctant to face reality. The vast majority of marketing dollars
continue to be spent on brand advertising in general and on television
advertising in particular. This has led to a divide between CMOs
and the CEOs who hire them. Today, marketing focuses too much of
its time on brand guidelines, providing advice and counsel to the
divisions, and sharing best practices; things that are of little
importance to the CEO who is obsessed with driving growth and
innovation:6
In short, CMOs are increasingly disconnected from the CEOs who hire
them. This disconnect may help to explain the short tenure of
CMOs. One study found that CMOs last an average of only 23 months
in their jobs versus 54 months for CEOs.7