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Forbes recently rolled out a special episode filmed live at its CMO Summit in Aspen where more than twenty chief marketing officers and senior marketing leaders were asked two deceptively simple questions about the state of marketing. The footage—part of a series recorded at the summit—captures the industry elite trading notes about how marketing has evolved and what they expect next.
The producers asked leaders to define what marketing is today and to explain what a CEO who “doesn’t understand marketing” should know first. Those are honest, practical questions on their face, but they also reveal the growing distance between corporate communicators and everyday Americans when the answers drift into jargon and managerial orthodoxy.
One clear theme from these conversations is the embrace of data, AI, and algorithm-driven messaging—technology the industry now treats as inseparable from marketing itself. Marketers rightly tout efficiency and personalization, but conservatives should warn that this shift also hands unprecedented influence to private companies that decide what messages Americans see, when they see them, and why.
Forbes has elevated marketing into a boardroom-level discipline, even codifying the rise of marketing leaders through features like its CMO Hall of Fame and high-profile events that convene the industry’s top voices. That institutionalizing of marketing power is not inherently bad, but it demands accountability: when marketers sit beside CEOs at the highest levels, their job must be to sell real value and not to peddle hollow virtue signaling.
At the same time, the marketing world is unsettled—CMO churn and role turnover remain notable as companies search for a leader who can both steer brand and prove ROI. This instability, paired with the rush to AI and narrative-driven campaigns, helps explain why consumers increasingly push back against brands that prioritize trend-chasing over product and service quality. CEOs should take note: mass marketing’s glamour can mask wasted budgets and cultural overreach.
Hardworking Americans want companies that make dependable products, respect privacy, and speak plainly instead of delivering moral lectures from a corporate podium. If a CEO asks what marketing’s job is, the answer should be simple: focus on the customer, measure real results, protect customer data, and leave political sermonizing to politicians. That is how businesses earn trust, create jobs, and keep America competitive—values any responsible marketer ought to serve.
