Communicators and marketers battle for the brand
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Illustration: Aïda Amer / Axios
There's a push-pull between creating cultural relevance and avoiding corporate risk, and that tension was on display last week at Cannes Lions.
Why it matters: Those two concepts are often at odds and add to the strained relations between marketing and communications.
State of play: Throughout the week, I was having two very different conversations with communicators and marketers.
- While CMOs were focused on grabbing attention with creative — and expensive — partnerships, CCOs were talking about staying under the radar to avoid stakeholder backlash and potential reputational exposure.
- In short, CMOs want breakthrough, while CCOs want cover.
By the numbers: CEOs, for the most part, seem to be more aligned with the CCO train of thought.
- A new McKinsey & Co. study found that marketing and other parts of the business are increasingly disconnected, and only 31% of CMOs believe their CEOs are comfortable with modern marketing strategies.
- CMOs are also losing ground at the decision-making table. Forrester Research found that only 63% of Fortune 500 companies have a marketing leader who sits on the leadership team and reports directly to the CEO.
- Meanwhile, the number of CMOs at Fortune 500 companies is down from 71% in 2023 to 66% in 2024, per Spencer Stuart.
What they're saying: Heightened political polarization, economic instability, AI advancements and cultural tension have made this moment more complex than ever, Weber Shandwick global president Jim O'Leary said at an Axios event in Cannes.
- It's the battle between "cultural relevancy and cultural resilience," he said. "And I think that it's been a challenge for some companies to navigate that complexity."
- But it has led to brands being more purposeful and less performative, by tying their brand campaigns to action or back to the business, as opposed to just capitalizing on a marketing moment, he added.
Between the lines: At the heart of it, communicators and corporate affairs professionals are wary that one shallow marketing campaign could do years of reputational harm.
- Look no further than Bud Light and Target, which were still top of mind for many in attendance last week.
- "I think that for a long time, people were convinced that trust was the only thing that really mattered with reputation, that it was almost a binary — are you trusted or not trusted? And of course, for anyone sitting inside of a company or a brand, you know that there are a multitude a multitude of levers that make up reputation," said Burson global CEO Corey duBrowa.
- "It's not just what you say, it's what you do, and how that ties to values," he added.
What to watch: The shifting organizational structures of communication and marketing teams, and which function truly owns "brand."
- "What's exciting about this moment as communicators is we're finally seeing a true opportunity to try to integrate brand strategy with reputation strategy, with marketing and anything that is more enterprise wide strategy," said Chris Foster, CEO of Omnicom Public Relations Group.
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