How much money do chief marketing executives make? Are CMOs located in Asia compensated more than those in Europe or North America? Do B2B CMOs earn more than their B2C counterparts? While CEO compensation has been reported and analyzed for decades, there hasn’t been any substantial or detailed analysis on CMO salaries, bonuses, benefits, and performance incentives. That is, until now.
To address these questions, the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council and I conducted the inaugural CMO Compensation Report. With the able assistance from Tom Thistleton, Graduate Assistant extraordinaire from Indiana University and current Associate Brand Manager at KFC Corporation, the report includes over 50 different tables that break out various factors contributing to differences in CMO compensation.
Donovan Neale-May, the executive director of the CMO Council notes: “We have been receiving many inquiries regarding CMO compensation, including basic questions regarding average pay, the size and nature of bonuses and commissions, as well as whether titles matter. After talking to our members, we realized there wasn’t any credible body of compensation data that was refreshed on an annual basis. To provide value to our members, we decided to tackle this sensitive topic in this year’s State of Marketing Audit, which gathers peer-based insights from a sample of our 7,000 members in 110 countries. And we are glad we did. The findings can be used in a variety of ways to help CMOs and their employers and consultants better recruit talent and fairly manage compensation.”
What follows are a few key insights from the study and some perspectives from Neale-May on what this means for CMOs.
Key Findings
- Most CMOs make between $100,000 and $350,000 in base compensation. However, base compensation is correlated with firm size so those CMOs working at firms with greater revenue tend to make more.
- In terms of additional compensation, most CMOs (85%) receive a bonus. A lesser number (7%) earn a commission, receive stock options (30%), or qualify for additional perks (38%). B2B CMOs are more likely to receive short-term compensation incentives (i.e., bonus), while their B2C counterparts are more likely to receive long-term compensation incentives.
- Interestingly, CMO compensation does not correlate with the title of the senior marketing position. In other words, just having a title of CMO (instead of a VP of Marketing) doesn’t ensure higher compensation. There are regional differences regarding titles which can contribute to this, but having a more prestigious title doesn’t necessarily mean you will earn more money.
- Who the CMO reports to in the organization is related to CMO’s compensation. Those reporting directly to the CEO are more likely to have better compensation.
- Less than half (48%) of CMOs feel fairly compensated. While we don’t know if CMOs are actually fairly compensated, those who feel they are not fairly compensated may be more likely to seek other opportunities, contributing to CMO churn.
What the Results Mean for CMOs and Others in the C-Suite.
Below are five tips from Donovan Neale-May regarding how CMOs and others may use this study.
- Benchmarking your compensation against peers in other regional markets, industry sectors and companies can have an upside.
- Ensuring you are well informed about current CMO compensation practices during your annual review or when negotiating new contracts or packages for another position.
- Integrating a credible point of reference when recruiting new marketing leaders across your global organization.
- Understanding the motivators and drivers contributing to CMO job satisfaction and extended tenure.
- Verifying that your company’s CMO compensation structures and incentives are competitive with the global market.
While there is a lot of information on CEO compensation, there is really very little on the CMO. This first foray into understanding not only the structure and dynamic of CMO compensation, but also the perception that CMO’s have of their pay is quite interesting. If you are interested in learning more, the full 36 page CMO Compensation Report can be sourced online from the CMO Council for a cost of $495 USD. To download, click here or visit: www.cmocouncil.org/r/cmo-compensation-report.
Any comments or thoughts on the CMO Compensation Study, please leave a comment or tweet @KimWhitler.
About the CMO Council: The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council is dedicated to high-level knowledge exchange, thought leadership and personal relationship building among senior corporate marketing leaders and brand decision makers across a wide range of global industries. The CMO Council's 7,000-plus members control more than $400 billion in aggregated annual marketing expenditures and run complex, distributed marketing and sales operations worldwide. In total, the CMO Council and its strategic interest communities include more than 20,000 global executives in more than 110 countries covering multiple industries, segments and markets. Regional chapters and advisory boards are active in the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East, India and Africa. The council's strategic interest groups include the Coalition to Leverage and Optimize Sales Effectiveness (CLOSE), LoyaltyLeaders.org, Marketing Supply Chain Institute, Customer Experience Board, Market Sense-Ability Center, Digital Marketing Performance Institute, GeoBranding Center and the Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience (FAME). More information about the CMO Council is available here.
