There is a lot of talk about how Digital is transforming the marketing organization, how the CMO is becoming more technology savvy and data-driven, how the CTO/CIO is taking on Marketing responsibilities. We are also seeing Data Science graduates hired into Marketing roles and paid high salaries, but is that at the expense of traditional marketers? Does Digital signal the end of Creative Marketing?

Let’s step back and think of Digital as a mindset rather than a separate universe. We are all digitally connected individuals. Whether we are in Marketing or Technology, we all have to embrace Digital and make it part of our work routine. Whatever our roles, we have to gain a good level of comfort with both technology and creative.

Reality is, the CMO cannot drive Marketing strategies with a limited understanding of the technology required to reach customers in the digital age. The CTO/CIO cannot make Marketing technology decisions without understanding Marketers’ and consumers’ needs. As such, the creative staff cannot develop creative strategies without understanding the customer view enabled through big data. Nor can the technologists and analysts rely on data alone to develop a customer contact strategy, as they need to take into account the emotions and other subjective factors that drive response.

And so we shouldn’t be worried about a future where the CMO turns into a CTO/CIO or where the latter becomes a CMO. The skills they each have are intertwined and the two roles are becoming increasingly critical to the other’s success.

A close partnership between the CMO and the CTO/CIO is therefore key to succeed and to grow the business in this new age. So where does Digital stand in all this? It actually plays a critical role – it’s the enabler that breaks existing silos and joins up the organization.