Last year, we published an analysis showing that U.S. companies’ advertising expenditures decreased from 1% of total expenditures in 1975 to 0.8% in 2017. We concluded that the importance of marketing must have been reduced in the organizational hierarchy, especially compared to, say, engineering, technology, and innovation. (R&D expenditures increased from 1% to 8% in the same time frame.)
Is Technology Subsuming Marketing?
An analysis finds CMO pay declining while CTO pay skyrockets.
February 25, 2020
HBR Staff/boonchai wedmakawand/Getty Images
Summary.
Data suggests that the importance of marketing in organizational hierarchies has declined, especially compared to functions like engineering, technology, and innovation. The authors previously found that U.S. companies’ advertising expenditures decreased from 1% of total expenditures in 1975 to 0.8% in 2017. In new research, they looked at the top leadership of S&P 1500 firms, and found a dramatic decline in the number of chief marketing officers (CMOs) in the group of top five compensated officers of a firm from 1999 to 2017. Meanwhile, the number of officers representing information or technology in the top five highest-paid category increased.
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New!
HBR Learning
HBR Learning
Marketing Essentials Course
Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Marketing Essentials. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
Learn how to communicate with your customers—strategically.