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Is Starbucks killing the CMO role? ☕

Is Starbucks killing the CMO role? ☕

Plus: How to hire a content marketer

April 04, 2024

Hey there! Welcome to the new Raisin Bread. We took some time off to re-envision how this newsletter could provide the most value to our readers—and we’re thrilled to finally share it with you. In this newsletter, you’ll find the latest news in marketing hires and trends, plus our best tips for optimizing your marketing practices and managing marketing teams.

We hope you’ll offer feedback on what you like, what you don’t, and what you’d love to see in this new version of Raisin Bread!

P.S. Have 5 minutes? Take our quick reader survey to help us make this the best newsletter for you!

Starbucks Stirs Question: Is the CMO Role Obsolete?

Starbucks is dropping its global CMO role in a move that redefines the company’s global marketing structure.

What happened? Brady Brewer, who formerly held the global CMO position, has been promoted to the CEO of Starbucks International—overseeing regional teams and licensing partners.

The goal with this personnel shift: Create clearer regional leadership with market-specific CEOs working alongside local marketing teams. Starbucks still plans to hire a global brand creative leader reporting to the CEO—a move that industry experts suggest aligns with a "think global, act local" approach.

The takeaway: This move potentially reframes "marketing" as an element of the broader "growth" category, opening paths for CMOs to advance to CEO roles.

Promotions and Layoffs Are Both Increasing in Martech

Last week, MarTech.org released the 2024 MarTech Salary and Career Survey…and shared some contrasting trends.

The good: One-third of surveyed martech professionals said they were promoted in the past year. Plus, the overall median salary for martech professionals is a healthy $128,643. (FYI, the national average salary in the U.S. at the end of 2023 was $59,384.)

The bad: At the same time, 56% of respondents said that employee churn increased last year—and 31% of that group said the churn was involuntary, meaning layoffs or terminations.

…and the ugly: In the most shocking stat from the report, the median salary for women below the C-suite level was 35% less than the median salary for men.

TL;DR: There are good opportunities for advancement and higher compensation in martech roles right now. But cost-cutting seems to be hitting martech teams hard—and women are taking the brunt of it.

Following the trend set by other social media giants, LinkedIn is beta testing a short-form video feed within its iOS app.

What does it look like? Members with access can tap on a video tab to view the TikTok-like, full-screen, vertical feed of short-form videos with shortened post captions. The test allows users to scroll through, like, comment, and share these LinkedIn video posts.

Experts predict mixed reviews. While the feed demonstrates LinkedIn’s ability to innovate, it might blur LinkedIn’s biggest value prop—professional networking—with yet another social video app. And previous failed tests like LinkedIn Stories (piloted in 2020; dropped in 2021) suggest this video push may not stick around.

Anonymous Digital Buyer Behavior Is Reshaping B2B Marketing

75% of B2B marketers say it's taking longer for buyers to commit to purchase decisions, up from 67% who said the same the year before, per a new study from Forrester.

So, why is this happening? Anonymous digital behavior is becoming much more common—buyers prefer to stay anonymous for longer and avoid salespeople until they're ready to buy.

What can you do about it? Experts suggest adopting a "lifecycle revenue marketing" approach. This means orchestrating engagement across the entire buyer lifecycle, sharing insights from both marketing interactions and sales, and coordinating efforts from acquisition through upsell and retention.

Today From MarketerHire: When + how to hire a content marketer

ISO: Someone who can increase organic traffic to your site and socials, boost funnel conversion, build customer trust and loyalty…and write clearly and effectively.

Sounds like you’re ready for a content marketer.

But before you blast the JD to your network, there are a few things you need to know. In this post, we walk you through it all:

Where content marketing lives in your organization
Every question you need to answer before hiring
What skills a content marketer should have (plus the bonus skills you should keep an eye out for 👀)
…and more.

Need to hire a content marketer ASAP? We’re ready to play matchmaker.

The Raisin Bread Roundup

Fiverr saw an 1,646% increase in searches for “AI Reels” at the end of last year.
Is Meta actually "broken" for DTC brands? This article has your answer.
Check out our recent webinar on building a modern marketing org.
72% of companies will hire entry-level marketers in the first half of 2024.
LinkedIn is rolling out company page messaging—here’s what you need to know.
Marketers are seriously upping their investment in generative AI creator content in 2024.
Adobe and Microsoft are partnering to bring new AI capabilities to marketers.

Thanks for joining us! We want to know: What did you think of this revamped edition? Let us know here! We’ll be incorporating your feedback into future editions—so stay tuned for next Thursday!