Marketing is changing fast – but are marketers keeping up?

Surprisingly, no.

Your brand’s reputation is at stake


APEX & ruckus Digital have launched the CMO Lab project, a deep dive into the world of the CMO to uncover how marketers are (or not) responding to industry disruption.

It’s been evident for some time that conventional marketing no longer delivers the audience, engagement or impact that brands need today, and it’s clear from the results of our study that marketers who are unable to shift from traditional tactics to a strategic and integrated approach are putting their organizations’ brand reputations at-risk.

Nearly two-thirds of CMOs’ plans are not fully prepared to pivot if required by external factors

53% of CMOs have not changed their marketing approach in the last few years

90% believe brand and organizational reputation has become more important in the past few years

CMO Lab has the answers you need


Whether you’re looking to measure your progress or looking for a competitive edge, our CMO Lab is designed to help marketing executives rethink their approaches and conventions and forge new paths.

55% of CMOs agree that they could have been more proactive when managing a risk

33% claim to have never had a project impacted by a reputational issue

44% are placing greater emphasis on public relations

View all results

“CMOs need to define a broader vision for marketing as the orchestrator of the customer experience and prove that marketing is not a cost center but a revenue generator.”

– Harvard Business Review

Marketers are risking their brands and budgets by not diversifying and expanding their programming.


Integrated communications as practiced by PR/digital pros is the one part of the marketing agency pie that fully realizes and gets the reputational risks and opportunities at play in today’s volatile market. As with storytelling, we see everything through the prism of brand image and reputation, managed not just across the media, but via social, influencers, employee communications and stakeholder engagement.

About the CMO Lab Project


To better understand the evolving role of the CMO and the emerging risks, challenges and opportunities facing marketers and brands, APEX Public Relations, ruckus Digital and Maru/Blue came together to launch CMO Lab, a proprietary research-driven project to equip senior-level marketers with the actionable insights they need to help their organizations succeed in a disrupted environment.

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