How are marketing leaders helping their companies cope with the fundamental shifts transforming business and the world?

To find out, we conducted more than 1,700 face-to-face interviews with CMOs in 64 countries, including 88 marketing leaders from midsize organizations.

Our interviews reveal that marketing leaders see four challenges as pervasive, universal game-changers: the data explosion, social media, proliferation of channels and devices, and shifting consumer demographics. To respond to this, marketing leaders in midsize firms are focusing on understanding individuals as well as markets, determining how data can help build customer relationships, strengthening brand identity and customer loyalty, and demonstrating marketing's return on investment (ROI).

In the course of our conversations with marketing leaders worldwide, an overwhelming consensus emerged. The vast majority of marketing leaders believe there are three key imperatives that will enable them to respond to the marketing challenges in today's complex world. They must understand and deliver value to empowered customers; create lasting relationships with those customers; and measure marketing's contribution to the business in relevant, quantifiable terms.

Marketing leaders from midsize organizations find themselves facing similar issues, regardless of geography or industry. Our conversations reveal that these leaders are striving to:

• Understand individuals as well as markets
• Determine how data can help build customer relationships
• Strengthen brand identity and, by extension, customer loyalty
• Demonstrate the ROI of marketing programs