Digital has helped upend traditional business models and redefine the way organizations interact with customers. Diana O’Brien, CMO of Deloitte LLP, and Alan Schulman, national managing director for brand creative & content marketing at Deloitte Digital, discuss the role of marketing in an environment characterized by disruption and the emergence of the CMO as one of the C-suite’s most valuable players.

Ad spending is up 12.3 percent over the past four years, but ad recall is down 11 percent—a troubling trend that is causing marketers to rethink their strategy and creative. To increase advertising’s effectiveness, CMOs should consider using custom ad formats, real-time content programming, and the element of surprise to help audiences recall—and embrace—the brand.

Companies tend to think improving customer experience requires an omnichannel, “go big or go home” approach. But large-scale CX overhauls don’t always make sense—especially if they take time, money, and attention away from customers. Using customer experience management (CEM) concepts and Agile management methodology, organizations can pursue—and achieve—incremental gains that add up to meaningful improvements.

The CMO role continues to evolve rapidly, and companies searching for top marketers are seeking executives adept at using both art and science to connect with today’s audiences. Richard Sanderson and Norm Yustin, co-leads of the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) practice at executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates, offer their insights into the latest search trends, the skills top marketers need to succeed, and how executives can land their dream jobs.

Advertising has changed significantly in the 30 years since Steve Stone, chairman and executive creative director at Heat, started out as a young ad creative. Yet while marketers have to be faster and more focused than ever—embracing data, analytics, mobile, and social media—the best ads still start with big ideas, strong relationships, and a willingness to take risks, Stone says.

Risk traditionally hasn’t been within the purview of CMOs, but in today’s technology-driven business environment, brands are more vulnerable than ever. Working with their C-suite counterparts, CMOs can follow leading risk management practices to plan for and, ideally, avoid damaging incidents.

For today’s CMOs, success requires true leadership, an understanding of the creative process, and the ability to stay ahead of technology. Nidal Haddad, Deloitte Digital’s chief of markets, Deloitte Consulting LLP, discusses the state of marketing and expectations of today’s and tomorrow’s CMOs. “You cannot stand still,” he says. “This is not 1950s radio-broadcast marketing. This is really a new era.”

Data doesn’t have to be flawless to be useful; in fact, many marketers are surprised at what they can do with the less-than-ideal information they collect. The key, says James Guszcza, chief data scientist for Deloitte Consulting LLP, is recognizing that the first step isn’t buying specific technology—it’s identifying a business challenge and determining how data can help.

Digital disruption and consumer empowerment have expanded branding to include customer experience, core operations, and the broader business vision. Andy Main, principal with Deloitte Consulting LLP and head of Deloitte Digital, says the CMO’s charge is to coordinate every one of those touch points—both direct and indirect—to foster customer loyalty.

Corporate accelerators—programs that enable companies to invest in and nurture start-ups—are gaining steam as an innovation tactic, with more than 105 launching globally in the past three years. While the model is still maturing and will continue to evolve, it’s one that could give CMOs and their C-suite counterparts exposure to breakthrough ideas and technologies.