Navigating the Marketing Maze: Why the Value of Marketing Has Never Been Greater

Let’s talk marketing. Not the buzzwords, not the fluff, but what’s really happening behind the scenes as marketing professionals navigate one of the fastest-paced, high-stakes business environments we’ve seen in years.

Marketing is facing a series of complex, sometimes contradictory expectations. We are being asked to do more, prove more, and justify more, all while technologies shift, consumer expectations rise, and budgets tighten. Yet despite all the noise, one thing has never been clearer: marketing is more valuable than ever.

And yet, many marketers still find themselves battling for recognition. In boardrooms across the UK, marketing is too often seen as a cost centre, not a strategic engine. That tension was the focus of a recent episode of the CIM Marketing Podcast, “Are CMOs Set Up to Fail?”, where experts Sandrine Desbarbieux-Lloyd, Robert Stevens, and Kamila Miller explored the pressures facing marketing leaders and the practical strategies needed to elevate marketing's role in the boardroom. The episode offers actionable insights on building cross-functional credibility, aligning marketing with business outcomes, and repositioning the CMO as a strategic growth driver, not a cost centre.

This article unpacks what’s changing, where marketers are rising to the challenge, and how the profession is proving its worth in an age of scrutiny.

The AI shift: hype or transformation?

Artificial Intelligence is no longer a future concept or a shiny tool to impress stakeholders. It’s embedded in the way marketing teams operate, from personalising customer experiences to powering content generation and automating real-time decisions.

But amid all the hype, one truth remains: AI does not replace marketers. It empowers them. The creativity, context and cultural sensitivity that marketing demands cannot be coded. In fact, as machines take on the tactical, marketers have more space to think strategically, if they choose to step into that role.

Visibility is evolving. So must we.

Consumer discovery habits have changed dramatically. Zero-click searches and short-form video dominate attention spans. People do not want to be chased by ads. They want relevance, value and human connection in the spaces they choose to spend time in.

That means marketers must rethink visibility. Homepage traffic and email open rates are no longer sufficient indicators of engagement. Instead, the goal is to be meaningfully discoverable across fragmented channels and to show up with authenticity rather than overproduced gloss.

The brands that win are not shouting louder. They are listening better.

Experience is the new currency

The customer experience has long been cited as the key differentiator in a saturated marketplace. But now it is the expectation. Brands that cannot offer joined-up, consistent journeys across physical and digital touchpoints will quickly fall behind.

AR and VR are no longer experimental. Loyalty programmes must be more than points. Customers expect brands to anticipate their needs and reward their attention. Marketing is the function most closely aligned with that demand. Experience is strategy, and marketers are its architects.

When more data becomes a disadvantage

Data was once our superpower. Today, it risks becoming a burden.

The volume of consumer data available is greater than ever, but many marketers report lacking the time, tools or support to translate that information into actionable insight. According to industry surveys, over half of marketing teams feel underprepared to make sense of the metrics that matter.

And with third-party cookies phasing out, the shift towards first and zero-party data is not just technical, it is philosophical. The brands that will thrive are those that build trust-based data relationships and invest in analytics capability that supports storytelling, not just reporting.

Recession pressures and the return on marketing

The Q1 2025 IPA Bellwether Report revealed the first dip in UK marketing budgets since the pandemic. Economic pressures, cautious consumers, and leadership scepticism are converging to put marketing under the microscope.

Yet even in this climate, some marketing functions are growing in influence. Those that can clearly link investment to outcomes and that align marketing objectives with business goals are earning their seat at the table.

But that seat is not guaranteed. It is earned.

The tension was clear in the roundtable conversation: Has marketing earned its seat at the top table, or is it still waiting in the wings?

Kamila Miller, marketing director, lecturer in marketing and PhD researcher, put it plainly:

“Marketing leaders must do more to prove and promote the strategic role they play in business. It’s not about ego. It’s about effectiveness and about ensuring marketing is seen not as a function, but as a force that drives growth, relevance and resilience. We need to speak the language of the boardroom, align with business priorities, and show how marketing drives long-term value. That means thinking commercially, acting collaboratively, and leading with data and empathy.”

Strategic marketers don’t just wait to be seen. They make themselves indispensable.

More than metrics: the emotional intelligence edge

'Empathy' isn't just a 'nice-to-have' word; it’s the strategic linchpin for marketers aiming to become truly indispensable. In an era demanding more than just metrics, this emotional intelligence edge is what separates effective leaders from mere functionaries. It’s about moving beyond surface-level communication to genuinely understand people: reading between the lines, identifying subtle shifts in behaviour, and building the kind of trust that underpins real customer loyalty.

This human layer of marketing isn't a distraction from ROI; it drives it by ensuring the customer's voice is heard, stakeholder empathy is cultivated, and cross-functional influence is built from a place of genuine understanding. But where do these profound insights into the evolving human experience truly come from, especially when the old playbooks fall short?

This is precisely where the rigorous inquiry of academia offers invaluable perspectives for practitioners. Dr. Rodrigo Perez-Vega, Associate Professor in Marketing at Henley Business School, champions this vital connection between academic research and real-world marketing challenges. His work delves into the deep-seated ways that changing lifestyles, like digital nomadism, are fundamentally reshaping how people live, connect, and make decisions. While sometimes seemingly specific, his research offers a powerful lens for marketers seeking to develop greater empathy and more nuanced insights into the whole person, not just a consumer profile. In one of his most recent publications, Dr. Perez-Vega explains:

“Understanding the deeply personal ways in which evolving work patterns, like digital nomadism, reshape fundamental aspects of life, including relationships and future planning, is becoming crucial. For marketers, this means a need to develop far greater empathy and nuanced insights into how these emerging consumer segments, and even workforce members, experience the world, build connections, and make decisions. It’s about seeing the whole person, not just the professional or the consumer.”

This kind of academic insight, as Dr. Perez-Vega’s work illustrates, is no longer a peripheral concern but a central imperative for modern marketing. Recognising these emotional and relational dimensions of consumer life is key to building relevance that is not merely functional, but deeply felt. The marketers who embrace this—those who can translate such human-centric understanding into strategy—are the ones who will lead with both intelligence and heart.

The marketers who will lead the next decade

The most effective marketers today are not just campaign builders or content creators. They are business people. Analysts. Storytellers. Strategists. Translators. Change agents. Educators.

Not just participants, but engines, driving critical thinking, fuelling capability, and shaping the future of the profession.

They understand data, but do not drown in it. They adapt to tech without being defined by it. They lean into ambiguity, learn fast, and bring cross-functional fluency to the boardroom.

More than anything, they remain curious.

And they invest in themselves. Whether through CPD, mentoring, formal study or peer learning, the marketing professionals who stay sharp are those who never stop developing.

Why CIM still matters

In a time when the profession is evolving at speed, CIM remains a vital resource. Through its qualifications, research, chartered status and network, CIM provides the rigour, standards and support marketers need to stay credible, competitive and connected.

It is not just about getting better at marketing. It is about elevating marketing within business and beyond.

We are not just navigating the maze. We are redefining the map.

Marketing is not decoration. It’s not a colouring department. It is direction. And marketers - and marketing educators - are no longer just in the room. We are shaping the agenda.

With the right mindset, tools and support, the future of marketing leadership looks not only valuable but essential.

By Kamila Miller, Communication Ambassador - Greater London Regional Group