The 2025 CMO Survey, conducted annually by Deloitte, The Fuqua School at Duke University, and the American Marketing Association, was published recently. While the survey offered some good news for marketers, concluding that marketing’s role in organizations has broadened and marketing’s influence has increased modestly over time, a deeper analysis of the survey results reveals some problems, especially for marketing’s contributions to brand building, growth, and profitability.
In 2000, political scientist Robert Putnam lamented the growing social isolation and loss of social capital in American society. In his book Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, Putman documented the declining participation in civic, religious, sports, volunteer, and fraternal organizations, among others. Associated with this decline is a loss of the social relationships that create a sense of shared values and common purpose.
It is axiomatic that a successful brand should command a premium price in the marketplace. Customers willingly pay such premiums because the brand offers higher quality, more innovation, greater trustworthiness (and associated reduction in risk), or more personal relevance, among other things. While this is true and justifies investment in brand building, it misses an important strategic advantage of successful brand building.
Everyone knows what a brand is, and few consumers do not have a few favorite brands for which they will pay a premium price or exert extraordinary effort to obtain. Consumers routinely talk about “loving” a brand or feeling incomplete without a specific brand. Such comments reflect more than just familiarity or loyalty; they suggest a deep emotional attachment. Despite such common experiences, the process of creating a strong brand remains mysterious and the value...
The recent criticism of the new identity for Jaguar has focused attention on when repositioning of a brand is necessary and effective. The positioning of a brand is defined by the psychological space the brand occupies in the minds of consumers: the unique identity of the brand in terms of what it is (and is not), what value it provides, and how it differs from competitors.
