Marketers were able to do what they wanted because they were given a bye from a corporate governance aspect by the C-suite," Mr. See said, using the shorthand term for leaders like chief executives. "But now," he added, "the C-suite sees marketing as the last bastion of uncontrolled spending, and it's being viewed as a risk, a financial risk.""It's the old story of the C.E.O. who asks the chief marketing officer, 'What happens if I take 10 percent out of the marketing budget?' and the C.M.O. replies, 'I don't know,' " Mr. See said, "so the C.E.O. says: 'O.K., I'll take 20 percent.' "
John Nardone, executive vice president and chief client officer at Marketing Management, said the survey showed that it was more important than ever for advertisers to give their marketing departments the types of controls, models and "repeatable processes" they use in areas like supply-chain management and human resources.