Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz invite you to their first live podcast/skypecast Thursday June 1 at 4pm GMT. Click here for details on how to listen in and participate!

We’re planning on addressing these themes in tomorrow’s show:

* New research from Forrester suggests 49% of marketers don’t plan to incorporate any new media anytime soon!
* How people deal with blog-based attacks to their reputations. We’ll look at a couple of situations, including attacks to Tim O’Reilly based on his company’s effort to retain the rights to the Web 2.0 trademark for its conference and an accusation that Michael Arrington of TechCrunch takes money to review products and services (he doesn’t).

We also have our usual reports from Dan York and David Phillips, and we’d like you to join us in commenting on those, too.

We’re looking forward (like crazy) to your participation! See you tomorrow at 4 pm GMT. (Here’s a site that will help you figure out what time it is where you live when it’s 4 pm GMT.)

Click here to find out how to be a part of this live podcast.

Mark Babej and Tim Pollack's "Who Needs A CMO Anyway" Forbes.com piece is a little masterpiece of insight and simplicity, and if you haven't read it yet, add it to your list of things to check out today. (But since you probably don't have time to read it right this second, here's a quick recap:)

History:

"The CMO title burst upon the scene during the dot-com boom. And like so many things during that period, it was driven by a preoccupation with appearances more than by practical need. Anointing a CMO was a cheap and easy way to create a perception of being marketplace-oriented and customer-centric."

Beyond the hype:

"Since then, the title has caught on. But underlying questions about the roles and responsibilities of CMOs haven't been resolved. The average CMO's tenure is only half that of a CEO, according to a Spencer Stuart survey. If so many CMOs don't live up to expectations, it's a sign that expectations aren't clear enough to begin with. The CMO function needs a better job description."

Course correction:

"Broadly speaking, a CMO should be the interface between the company and the customer--responsible not only for marketing communications but also (sorry to be stepping on toes) for product development and sales."

Bingo. A CMO should be resonsible for product development. Why? Because everything is marketing. Design. Texture. Weight. Feel. Features. Performance characteristics. Color. Packaging. Everything. When you separate product development from Marketing, you... well, just don't do it.

Here's more:

"More specifically, CMO responsibilities should include:

-- Ensuring the company's products and services are in tune with consumer demand. That's why a CMO, more than anyone else at the other C-levels, needs to be familiar with the wants and needs of customers and prospects. In fact, a CMO should be the representative of the customer within the C-suite.

-- Directing new product development and ensuring the continuing appeal of existing offerings. Marketers might lack detailed technical know-how, but, by virtue of their roles as marketplace experts, they are in a position to set research and development's agendas and approve output. This means no more resources wasted on products that customers don't have a reason to choose over the competition.

-- Marketing communications. To those who equate marketing with advertising, this is often seen as the primary CMO function. Marketing communications certainly are part of the CMO agenda, but they shouldn't define it. This is due to the simple reason that a great product will trump a bad ad, but a great ad won't save a bad product.

-- Hold CMOs accountable for achieving top-line growth objectives. Revenue and share offer the best measurement of how well a company fulfills the needs of its customers.

-- Hold CMOs accountable for meeting corporate margin goals. This will ensure that product formulation, pricing, trade and consumer promotion are balanced business decisions."

Perhaps the most important thing just covered here is this: "A great product will trump a bad ad, but a great ad won't save a bad product." (I think I've read this before...)

Read it again. Say it outloud. Write it down on all of your pillowcases. Print it and frame it. Do whatever you have to do to make sure you don't forget it. As one of the world's future great CMO superheroes, this has just become your new mantra.

"The long and short of it: If a company chooses to anoint a CMO, then the position must be invested with responsibilities, authority and accountability that befits a C-level title. Otherwise, why have a CMO at all?

Keep in mind that, for decades, managers with the "lowly" title of marketing senior vice president or executive vice president masterminded and spearheaded legendary marketing campaigns. The CMO function will only ever come into its own if it reflects a new understanding of the role of marketing within the company, as the discipline focused on creating and managing profitable growth in the marketplace."

Right. The beauty of the CMO position is that it goes well beyond just the world of sales and communications, and it's about time. The CMO should be the heart and soul of the companies that live and breathe behind their brands. In a piece I wrote last year, I explained that:

"Brand-building starts at the beginning of the product development cycle, not at its end. Everything that goes into the development of a product, whether it is an mp3 player, a zombie flick, a handbag, a sports drink, a magazine or a faucet - before the designer's pencil ever graces a sheet of paper with its first rough sketch - has to take into account the brand's strengths and weaknesses and relevance. The product managers, designers, manufacturing engineers and marketing gurus have to understand where they are, where they have been, and where they want to go. They have to ask themselves: Will this look, feel, smell, perform and inspire like an Apple product? Like a BMW product? Like a Michelin product? Will this meet the expectations of our customers, or will it exceed them? Will this cement our position for another year, or will it elevate it?

Before. Not after."

One of the most crucial functions of a CMO is to oversee this shift in the product development process (assuming it hasn't happened already), and completely integrate it into their company's Marketing infrastructure. Find out how here.

A CMO may not be the answer for a lot of companies out there, but merging Marketing functions with other aspects of the business (yes, even accounting) most definitely is. Remember: Everything is Marketing.

Everything.

On a different note, take the time to listen to the podcast of the very informative interview of Chris Carfi by Shel Holtz. Chris and Shel discuss a number of topics you're likely to find on this hub just about every day (like the relationship between PR, Marketing Communications and internal communications, and the development of collaborative network tools for businesses - like Haystack). Very, very cool. The best part about podcasts is you can work or drive or cook breakfast while you listen to them. Very nice.

Have a great Thursday, everyone. :)