Exceeding the Requirements of the Trust Economy

Marketers know the modern consumer expects trust and transparency from the brands they do business with. Trust now outweighs brand advocacy and purpose, and consumers are walking away from brands that fail to behave responsibly. Is now the moment the CMO must adopt the mantle of Champion of Trust, or should securing brand trust be left to others to advance?

CMO Council in partnership with Akamai, will develop a timely strategic brief focused on the steps marketers must take to adopt a strong security posture to serve as the brand’s champion of trust. To better understand the opportunities that an elevated trust stance can deliver, and to outline the roadblocks and challenges brands face in today’s threat landscape, the CMO Council will interview marketers with brands focused on transforming their customer engagement strategies through optimized trust, frictionless engagements and crystal-clear transparency.

When the CMO Council asked global marketing leaders what they believed the most critical demand of the modern connected customer was today, 57 percent pointed to data security, privacy and accountability, elevating the demand for trust and transparency to top the CMO's agenda. As much as today’s customer craves personalization and being part of brand experiences that are as exciting as they are relevant, transparency and accountability out-weighted brand advocacy and purpose.

Consumers are also clear about the consequence of breaking that bond: Fail to behave responsibly and we will walk with our wallets. According to a recent PwC study, 87 percent of consumers said they would take their business elsewhere if they don’t trust that a company is handling their data responsibly. Consumers also understand that their data is currency, as 88 percent indicate that the extent of their willingness to share personal information with a company is directly tied to how much they trust that company.

This leaves CMOs with a critical question each leader must ask: Is now the moment the CMO must adopt the mantle of Champion of Trust, or is securing this trust in brand experiences going to be left to others to advance?

To elevate the discussion and kick off a peer-powered knowledge exchange, the CMO Council, in partnership with Akamai, will develop a timely strategic brief focused on the steps marketers need to take to adopt a strong security posture to serve as the brand’s champion of trust. To better understand the opportunities that an elevated trust stance can deliver, and to outline the roadblocks and challenges brands face in today’s threat landscape, the CMO Council will interview marketers with brands focused on transforming their customer engagement strategies through optimized trust, frictionless engagements and crystal-clear transparency.

This look into where and how marketers are getting involved in the security discussion is intended to reveal the critical partnerships, conversations and strategies marketers are advancing in order to make security a brand differentiator and revenue driver, not just an IT task and cost line item.