The fight for the future of marketing spills out onto the streets

Further to Ad Age Editor, Jonah Bloom's, remarks to the ANA last week about the current role of procurement in the marketing industry, the IAB's CEO, Randall Rothenberg, has published a comprehensive review of how we got here, to the point where as an industry we are convulsed by the question, "Is Marketing a Strategic Resource or a Procured Commodity."

Back at Ad Age, Jeff Jones, a partner at ad agency McKinney chimes in on the need for marketing leadership. Says Mr. Jones:

"I'm frustrated by marketing being so misunderstood by so many, and I'm tired of reading articles placing all of the responsibility on the CMO."

We should regard each of these items as part of the same awakening: marketing cannot be allowed to hit bottom. Within a consumer-driven world, marketing must have purview to engage consumers in a way that builds trust with consumers - which can mean something very different from using marketing for results in the short-term.