CMO influence is growing inside the enterprise. As every executive team hunts for growth, marketing is getting a bigger seat at the decision table. But research from brand consultancy Lippincott and Bloomberg Media suggests that influence has come at a cost: the internal credibility CMOs win through short-term results may be undermining the external trust their brands depend on. That tension took center stage at a panel during Advertising Week New York.
Among CMOs surveyed, 41% said they feel culturally tuned in but see their organizations as laggards. Of respondents already active in cultural marketing, 81% said they would do more if not for obstacles such as localization challenges, legal or regulatory hurdles and societal polarization.
The report puts it bluntly: CMOs are winning influence internally to the long-term detriment of the brands they steward and the customers they serve. In other words, the pursuit of internal trust can undermine external trust. Performance marketing may have bought credibility in the boardroom while costing brands enduring cultural relevance and brand love.
Aude Gandon, global chief digital and marketing officer at The Estée Lauder Companies, called this the best time to join marketing, because companies hunting for growth are increasingly bringing marketing into key decisions.
Carina Ertl, CMO of luxury watch retailer Bucherer USA, argued that the two ends of the funnel are not inherently in conflict. The bigger problem, she said, is changing strategy, products or campaigns every quarter or year. Stay consistent, and a brand can be built long-term even when you start with short-term performance.
Churn amplifies that inconsistency. Research from Findem and CMO Huddles found average CMO tenure has dropped 35% since 2010 — see CMO Tenure Has Fallen 35% Since 2010 — The C-Suite's Pressure Cooker, in Numbers. Short tenures fuel the urge to prove results fast.
Gandon said strong brand-building campaigns also drive short-term sales, and that marketers need to re-educate their teams, CFOs and leadership on that point rather than letting performance metrics tell the whole story.
Only 11% of surveyed CMOs said their organization has an excellent ability to adopt and innovate with new marketing technology, while just over one-third rated their companies as average. Consumer backlash to AI-generated campaigns adds another layer of risk.
Estée Lauder uses AI for parts of the creative process but has committed not to use it on anything related to humans, since it sells products with specific benefits it wants to show authentically. Gartner expects a majority of advanced marketing organizations could eliminate entry-level jobs by 2030 due to AI and urges CMOs to give junior staff meaningful work earlier to protect the talent pipeline. Panelists still argued that people managing the machines, creativity and emotional intelligence remain essential.
Report brand health alongside performance in the same dashboard, so internal credibility does not crowd out the case for brand investment. Treat strategic consistency as a metric in its own right: agree with leadership on core messages and hero products for at least a year. For more from the same event, read Advertising Week New York 2026 Bids for $100M in Creator Deals — A Show Built Around Budget Holders.
With growth a top priority across companies, marketing is increasingly part of key decisions, and results-focused performance marketing has given CMOs fresh credibility with boards.
Lippincott and Bloomberg Media found that CMOs may be winning internal influence through short-term results at the expense of cultural relevance and brand love, which can weaken consumer trust.
Advertising Week panelists pointed to strategic consistency and to educating CFOs and leadership that brand campaigns also drive short-term sales.
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