CANNES—A year into the work of the CMO Growth Council, its participants are looking beyond individual brands to embrace the realization that they “touch all of humanity” and human purpose has risen to the fore, says Deloitte Digital CMO Alicia Hatch.
The Association of National Advertisers and the Cannes Lions Festival started the CMO Growth Council to reinforce and elevate the role of marketing in the C-Suite and corporate boardroom. In this interview with Beet.TV, Hatch gives her vision of what’s been accomplished so far and what lies ahead.
“I think what we’re recognizing is that we’ve broken marketing apart into different components that all need their focus and we need to get down to business and actually make change and action happen,” Hatch says. “A lot of that is foundational, but what does it really ladder up to?”
The answer is a common recognition within the Council that while marketing must drive businesses, it’s also paramount for brands to drive good.
“And so there’s a higher purpose in all of the work that we’re doing together, which is really unleashing the true power of brands today in the world and ultimately helping to impact all of humanity in a way that is incredibly important.”
Whether it’s social responsibility or environmental sustainability, “the roles that these companies that we’re in are playing in the world today has changed and we have to respond to that and use the power of brand to make that a reality,” Hatch adds.
Asked by interviewer Joanna O’Connell, VP and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, what lies ahead for the Council, Hatch says the power of brands lies in their ability to influence people.
“We’re seeing that our purpose conversations are getting bigger than any individual brand,” Hatch explains. “We’re starting to see partnership happen. We’re starting to see brands say ‘what can we do about climate change? What can we do about issues that affect all of us in a way that’s larger than just your brand purpose but it’s about human purpose?’”
She believes that the communications industry, working together, can wield more influence than any single company or government.
“We have a lot of influence and I think we’re all really recognizing by the simple act of organizing, we’ve gotten together. That’s what the Council is. We brought everybody together and magic happens. It will continue to happen and the conversation is expanding.”
How does Deloitte itself benefit from its participation in the Council?
“For our company, what we’re able to do is actually benefit not only from the learnings of other CMO’s, of other brands, we’re all working towards common vision in many ways.”
You are watching Beet.TV coverage of the CMO Growth Council Summit in Cannes. This series is presented by Teads. For more videos from our series, visit this page. Please find all our coverage from Cannes 2019 right here.
