Jayashree Rajan

expert panel

Despite regular stories about declining social media participation and algorithm fatigue, both B2B and B2C marketing teams are still convinced that social media marketing delivers real ROI. However, if brands don’t proceed with care, the line between engagement and extraction can get thin fast. Followers usually welcome a useful recommendation, a smart point of view, or even a clear offer, but if every post feels engineered to move them down a funnel, the relationship starts to feel less like a conversation and more like a checkout lane. That’s a critical misstep, especially as younger generations enter the workforce and command more purchasing power. Surveys have shown that Gen-Z turns to social media first for information—including when they’re on the hunt for products and services. If a brand’s presence on social media becomes too sales-heavy, it can weaken the very trust and attention that make conversion possible in the first place. So how can marketing leaders create momentum toward sales without turning every interaction into a transaction? Below, members of the Senior Executive CMO Think Tank share strategies for balancing value, relationship-building and sales intent in ways that help followers see becoming customers as a natural next step.

expert panel

For many marketers, Reddit is treated simply as a community platform—a place to monitor conversations, answer questions and occasionally engage with niche audiences. But its role in the digital ecosystem has expanded. And that evolution creates a new challenge for CMOs.Brand perception is no longer shaped only by owned content, paid campaigns or carefully managed social channels. It’s also shaped by open, peer-driven exchanges where customers compare options, challenge claims, share frustrations and look for trusted perspectives before making decisions. These are exactly the type of discussions that happen on Reddit. Today, Reddit threads—including complaints about brands—are favored sources for AI engines. The platform has even struck a deal with Google that allows the search leader to use posts from the site to train its AI models. With consumers increasingly turning their attention to AI results when researching products and services, marketers can’t afford to underestimate Reddit’s influence. So how should marketing leaders rethink Reddit’s role in the marketing mix? Below, members of the Senior Executive CMO Think Tank share practical insights on how CMOs can better understand and tap into Reddit’s growing influence on brand discovery, customer trust and the broader digital conversations that shape purchasing decisions.

expert panel

Marketing is often treated as the part of the business that responds to strategy: launch the campaign, refine the message, fill the funnel and report on performance. But CMOs are in a unique position to spot changing consumer behavior and signals early on, making them highly effective “scouts” for spotting critical market and customer shifts. Before a concern shows up in revenue reports, product reviews or support tickets, it may first appear in the way buyers search, engage, compare options, question value or quietly lose interest.That early insight becomes essential as customer expectations rise and market behavior becomes harder to read. Salesforce research has found that 65% expect companies to adapt to their changing needs and preferences. When CMOs effectively interpret customer and market signals, the knowledge gained can provide a real competitive edge in terms of marketing messaging, product enhancements and sales support.So what should CMOs be watching for, and how can they turn customer and market understanding into smarter decisions across the business? Below, members of the Senior Executive CMO Think Tank share the signals they’re often in a position to spot first, along with how those insights can help product, sales, service and strategy teams make better decisions.

expert panel

Automation has a way of making marketing systems look busy—and therefore, healthy. Dashboards fill up, campaigns launch on schedule and follow-up happens at machine speed, creating the impression that marketing teams are becoming more efficient and effective.  But activity isn’t the same as results. For a growing number of marketing organizations, automation has become a way to run faster in the wrong direction. Automation doesn’t fix fuzzy underlying strategies, scattered data or poorly defined handoffs between marketing, sales and product teams. It just moves them out of sight. A workflow that runs smoothly isn’t necessarily a workflow that works. Further, tool sprawl can leave teams struggling to manage and achieve ROI from an ever-growing, unchecked tech stack.  That’s the uncomfortable reality many CMOs are grappling with right now. The proliferation of martech tools has made it easier than ever to automate nearly every touchpoint in the customer journey, yet in too many cases, revenue stalls, churn climbs and teams struggle to explain how—or if—automation is making a positive difference. The real job, then, isn’t just adopting better tools. It’s figuring out what the underlying problem is and whether technology will merely simply help a flawed process fail more elegantly. Members of the Senior Executive CMO Think Tank—a curated group of marketing leaders with deep expertise in digital advertising and technology’s growing role in marketing—have been at the forefront of the AI revolution. Here, they break down the process flaws automation most commonly conceals and share practical diagnostics to help CMOs build on solid ground before adding more speed.

expert panel

Many marketing campaigns are built to grab attention—the scroll-stopper, the headline, the viral hit—with little planning for what comes after. Global ad spending is expected to reach unprecedented levels in 2026—topping $1 trillion—but a viral video, clever headline or packed webinar won’t translate to revenue if follow-through is an afterthought. The problem isn’t the creative; it’s the system.  Marketing campaigns designed as moments in time rather than journeys can’t sustain buyers’ interest, achieve conversions or build customer loyalty on their own. Keeping customers engaged throughout every stage of the buyer journey is essential. Yet, in too many organizations, marketing hands off a lead, sales chases it down, and somewhere in the middle, the momentum built by that clever creative quietly dies.  Marketing teams who focus solely on maximizing clicks, impressions and traffic often celebrate winning before the game is actually over. Tackling the harder work of conversion and retention requires rethinking how campaigns are planned, how teams are structured, and how success gets defined. The question, “Will this get their attention?” must be followed by, “Do we have a plan for what comes next?” Members of the Senior Executive CMO Think Tank—a curated group of marketing leaders with expertise in brand storytelling, digital advertising, customer engagement and the rise of AI in marketing—have seen this challenge from every angle. Below, several of them share how to design marketing campaigns that are just as intentional about follow-through as they are about reach.

expert panel

Marketing has always been part science, part art. Increasingly, AI is bringing the science: It can process data at a speed and scale no human analyst can match, instantly spotting patterns across channels and audiences. AI is proving its value by helping teams process more data, identify patterns faster and move from raw information to action with far less manual effort. But effective marketing demands more—context, empathy and the kind of nuanced decision-making that comes from lived human experience.  The question CMOs are wrestling with isn’t whether to adopt AI; most already have or are planning to do so. It’s how to deploy it in ways that genuinely sharpen performance without hollowing out the human judgment that makes marketing resonate. CMOs who get the division of labor right won’t be those who automate the most. Rather, they’ll be the ones who design teams and workflows that leverage the unique strengths of both technology teams and human beings. The members of the Senior Executive CMO Think Tank share deep expertise in brand storytelling, digital advertising, customer engagement and the rise of AI in marketing. Below, several of them share their perspectives on where AI delivers its greatest value and where human judgment remains irreplaceable—and how CMOs can architect ways of working that bring out the best of both.