Source: Fortune
Summary
Chief marketing officers (CMOs) are facing a new reality as product discovery shifts from search engines to AI-driven interfaces. Adobe’s CMO, Lara Balazs, discusses how marketing metrics, team structures, and leadership skills are changing. Traditional marketing playbooks no longer apply, and CMOs must adapt to AI-driven decision-making. Balazs emphasizes the importance of collaboration with finance, engineering, and IT, as well as financial fluency, technical literacy, and organizational leadership.
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Adobe’s CMO, Lara Balazs, is navigating the changing landscape of marketing, where AI-driven interfaces are redefining product discovery. With no established playbook, CMOs are building new strategies in real-time. The shift is already impacting metrics, with declines in traffic and revenue from traditional search. Balazs emphasizes the importance of collaboration and financial fluency, and notes that the role of the CMO is evolving into a “chief marketing orchestrator”.
The pivot to AI-driven decision-making is forcing CMOs to rethink their skills and mindset, with Balazs emphasizing the need for comfort with ambiguity and a willingness to learn.
Author: Evan Null
