Without a doubt, there is a need to redefine the role of the marketer for the digital age. But that's not sufficient. Digital is not limited to marketing, change has to originate from the C-Suite to actively lead the transformation to the social business.
A good contribution to the topic is the report The Case for the Chief Digital Officer (free download) by Ex-Constellation Researcher Peter Kim, who - interestingly - has since become CDO at Cheil Worldwide. Talk about defining your own role. Peter argues that the CDO needs to be separate from the CMO and CIO role to bridge the gap between marketing and IT. Reporting directly to the CEO, the CDO, will be responsible for digital disruption by driving a "digital-first mindset". The report quotes Benny Landa, who predicted in the 90s that "everything that can be digital will be digital". As this appears to be correct, businesses now have to figure out how to leverage "digital" to create customer value or risk being left behind.
Code Halos
This view fits in with the world described in the book Code Halos by Cognizant:
"Every digital click, swipe, "like," buy, comment, and search produces a unique virtual identity – something we call a Code Halo™. While Code Halos are important to each of us, they are becoming increasingly vital to the success of every business."
According to CodeHalos, for a business to create a winning solution:
Beyond the Case for the CDO Since Peter Kim's report about the CDO, Ray Wang, Founder of Constellation Research, has evolved the concept in line with the Code Halos model.
For the Slideshare deck, Seven Design Rules for Digital Transformation and Digital Business, Ray chose the unambiguous sub-title "More than a Chief Digital Officer, we need Digital CXO's":
Here the Abbreviated 7 Rules that Explain Why a CXO is Needed:
"Rule 1:
Rule 2:
Rule 3:
Rule 4:
Rule 5:
Rule 6:
Rule 7:
Read Ray's full post with more great insights here.
LIVE EVENT With Ray Wang
If you are in Silicon Valley on August 11th, you'll have the chance to see Ray present this information himself. Demystifying Digital Transformation: Do We All Need CDO's? will be hosted by the SVForum Marketing & Social Media SIG at Detati Digital in Sunnyvale.
"Ray will break down the forces driving digital disruption, the new business models emerging, and the role of the CDO or CDO-like figures in digital business." A special thanks to Ray, for allowing me to use his firm's research in this blog.
Ray is a great analyst as well as a kind and supportive spirit!
Further Reading:
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