Maintaining Client Relationships During a New Chief Marketing Officer's Arrival in Agencies
The role of Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) in the U.S. has become increasingly complex and unstable, with the median tenure of a CMO at top 100 advertisers standing at 25.5 months. This trend, primarily driven by economic uncertainty, cost-cutting pressures, and rapidly evolving marketing demands, presents a significant opportunity for advertising agencies.
According to recent reports, the average tenure of CMOs at Fortune 500 companies dropped from 4.1 years in 2024 to 3.9 years in 2025. The energy and mining industries have seen even shorter tenures, around 3.2 years, while healthcare CMOs stay a bit longer at 4.3 years.
Economic instability, ongoing trade wars, and budget restraints force companies to cut marketing budgets first, leading to increased turnover in the CMO role. As Ian Bruce of Forrester points out, "marketing is often the first place to feel cuts and the last place to see reinvestments," contributing to the shortened tenures compared to CEOs, who serve around 9.5 years on average.
Moreover, the CMO role itself is evolving rapidly, with nearly 90% of CMOs acknowledging significant changes in their responsibilities. This added complexity and pressure for quick, measurable results contributes to the shorter tenures compared to CEOs.
Additionally, the CMO position is losing visibility in executive leadership. Only 58% of Fortune 500 companies now have a marketing executive reporting directly to the CEO or sitting in the C-suite, down from 63% the previous year.
Advertising agencies can capitalize on this trend by offering strategic, agile support aligned with shifting business needs. They can step in to provide continuity as CMOs come and go rapidly, especially amid economic and organizational fluctuations.
Agencies that can deliver advanced analytics, customer insights, and targeted campaigns are well-positioned to partner effectively with CMOs, who are increasingly focusing on data analytics and personalized customer experiences.
The volatility and pressure on CMOs create openings for agencies to provide specialized capabilities in brand strategy, digital transformation, and innovation—areas often strained internally during rapid role changes.
Frequent CMO and marketing leadership changes also increase demand for external partners who can maintain marketing momentum and strategic consistency even as internal leadership cycles.
In summary, shorter CMO tenures reflect broader economic and organizational challenges alongside the evolving nature of marketing leadership. Advertising agencies can capitalize on this by offering strategic, data-driven, and integrated services to support companies through continuous leadership change and increasing marketing complexity.
Each new CMO brings new priorities, and John Moore, global CEO of Mediahub, stated that a new CMO brings change. Moore considers a CMO change to be an opportunity for the agency to improve its position, offering a chance to redefine partnerships and align services with the new strategic direction. The average tenure of a CMO is 40 months, providing agencies with regular opportunities to establish and strengthen relationships.
Finance and business leaders should take notice of the significant changes in marketing careers, particularly the shortened tenures of Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) in various industries. As the role of CMOs continues to evolve and become more complex, advertising agencies could find opportunities to offer their strategic, agile, and data-driven capabilities, filling the gaps created by rapid leadership changes and increasing marketing demands.
