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From today’s Web Summit blog: CMOs talk about our biggest challenges.

By Eoghan McNeill

The ways in which brands can, and indeed are expected to, reach consumers are changing at a breakneck pace. We talked to the CMOs of GE, Facebook, Forbes, CapitalOne and Lucid – all of whom are set to attend Web Summit in November – to get their takes on where marketing will be in the future.

This year at Web Summit, for the first time Marketing Summit will take place over all three event days. We’re also hosting Marketing X, an invite-only event, where the world’s top marketers can discuss the ever-changing industry.

Elizabeth Brooks – CMO – Lucid

What is the one major change you see in marketing since you first entered the industry?

The major change is actually the speed of change. My first marketing job was at Napster, which created what, at the time, seemed a very rapid shift in consumer behaviour around entertainment. Now, new platforms, tools, data, cultural factors and more affect people so swiftly and become accepted and acculturated at such a pace – it’s amazing. Every day brings new opportunities to reach people and this spawns so much creativity in the marketing space.

What is the hardest obstacle to overcome as a CMO today?

The limitations of the title. As CMOs we are often limited by outside perceptions of what that title means and also can be limited by ourselves if we define ourselves narrowly as “marketers”. You could be running brand, creative, digital, analytics, CRM, UX, customer acquisition, media mix, content, PR, social, and more – it’s a broader brief than many think and needs to be a core role in overall business strategy. I’m more and more preferring CSO (Chief Strategy Officer) or other titles that reflect the CMO’s ideal leadership role in company direction and overall growth.

What do you hope to learn at Web Summit?

The key to personal and professional growth is being surrounded by awesome people – I think the most valuable learnings will be surprises! Web Summit brings out the best of the best, so I’ll be open-eyed and open-eared to everything. I particularly look forward to the global perspectives brought by Web Summit attendees.

Check out all the perspectives of these Web Summit CMO attendees.