Deep Dive

Guzman y Gomez's Lara Thom and Uber's Andy Morley don't exactly have the same role and remit, even if they both bear the title of CMO. They don’t own the same Ps, they work for brands and businesses at different stages of maturity in distinct categories, and they use different lenses when thinking about how marketing leadership should be delivered. But the duo, two of this year’s top 10 CMOs of the Year in the inaugural CMO Awards, were both recognised by judges for being stellar examples of marketing effectiveness. And Morley and Thom have surprisingly more in common than you’d first think. Whether it’s a belief in risk-taking and fostering learning cultures, or bold, attention-grabbing and progressive brand plays that strike the right cultural chords with consumers, this self-described “Bert and Ernie of marketing” also demonstrate adaptability and a willingness to innovate – critical attributes if you’re a marketing chief wanting to achieve effectiveness wherever you happen to work.

The IAB’s Tech Lab arm is trying to rapidly deploy a framework that helps publishers – and brands – stay viable as search engines are displaced by AI-based answer engines and referral traffic craters, upending performance marketing. Global CEO Tony Katsur aims to have the framework – including a biddable cost per crawl metric – live within a few months along with a publisher coalition forcing AI platforms to the negotiating table, but admits big AI platforms won’t willingly pay without legal enforcement. IAB Australia boss Gai Le Roy says brands are deeply concerned about AI search taking customers off their sites altogether. Local publishers are pivoting hard as reach-based digital economics bleed out. But some see upside from the referrals coming via chatbots: big conversion swings.