Inaugural Summit Honors Europe's Best Chief Marketing Officers
Booz Allen co-sponsors first-time award that focuses attention on marketing’s critical role in business success.
On September 1, 2006, the first annual Global Marketer Summit debuted in Frankfurt, Germany.
And in another industry first, Booz Allen Hamilton co-sponsored the new Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of the Year award, bestowed on three individuals for their leadership in branding, services, and retail:
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David Magliano, marketing director for London’s 2012 Olympic Games bid
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Erich Stamminger, CEO of Adidas and board member of Adidas AG
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Steve Sharp, marketing executive director at Marks & Spencer
The winners were recognized for their expertise in setting a marketing agenda and making a substantial marketing impact in corporate management. They were selected by a jury of 14 leading global marketing experts, including Booz Allen Vice President Gregor Harter, who presented the summit’s keynote address.
The role of the CMO is evolving from a creative “campaign manager” into a strategic general manager. “With the CMO of the Year Award, we are honoring the crème de la crème of marketers,” Harter said in his address. “The winners embody excellent strategic marketing, which brings additional value to companies across all industries.”
Combined, the three biggest brands in the world are worth more than 140 billion Euros—“a good reason to honor the best creative work in building brands and finding audiences as we see in many other awards ceremonies,” Harter continued. “There had been no award, however, for leaders who are spearheading unique marketing initiatives and creating shareholder value… until today.”
More than 150 chief marketing officers (CMOs) and industry experts attended the summit, where they also discussed creating and marketing global brands and the best practices for expansion into fast-growing Eastern European nations.
A Booz Allen-ANA global study found that there is a close connection between brand management and corporate success: Organizations that establish a clear brand focus often achieve greater success than their competitors—frequently achieving twice the profits and maintaining that success over time. As Harter said, “Building and maintaining a strong brand pays off.”
Booz Allen’s survey also identified six types of marketing organizations, two of which consistently yielded superior results: “Marketing masters”—who create effective marketing capabilities for the entire company—and “growth champions.”
“Growth champions represent something new and powerful in marketing,” said Harter. “To them, marketing is a strategic force, not an afterthought. They work closely with other functions to promote growth and innovation across the enterprise, and are more proactive in measuring its results.”
Booz Allen found that both marketing masters and growth champions averaged higher business success than other types of marketing teams. “Marketing for these individuals is not a silo or even a specialty, but a well integrated and networked function with a clear role in creating value,” Harter said.
The summit was presented by Booz Allen in partnership with Horizont, a Germany-based trade magazine, and Advertising Age, North America’s premier advertising, marketing, and media publication.
story posted September 25, 2006
