In 2016, over $30 billion of media spend was put under review, with a majority of marketers citing transparency as a main reason. Several major agencies were put under legal investigation, and Facebook admitted to substantial errors in several of their metrics that influenced the marketers’ buying behaviors. Large and small brands woke up to realize they’ve been making decisions based on data they cannot trust or truly understand. No wonder the Association of National Advertisers’ “Word of the Year” for 2016 was “transparency.” Moving into 2017, data reporting will continue to be shaken from the ground up, with more investigations and admissions of inaccurate metrics from different distribution channels and even agencies. The industry will become more and more ruthless toward those who’ve either created the mess or turned a blind eye to it. But the real question at the onset of 2017 is: Can this modus operandi really change, and if so, who are the players who can change it and what can they do?

As a “marketing outsider,” having recently moved from Silicon Valley to New York, I’ve spent the past two years learning about the chain of data reporting and realizing how great the need for transparency is. More than anything, what became apparent is that the only player who can truly change how this industry operates is the CMO. This is yet another addition to the growing responsibilities of a CMO but one of the most important ones, because it impacts not only one brand but how the entire industry operates.

Read the full Forbes.com CMO Network article here.
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