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I plan on attending this conference. If you are going, let me know at Lbodine [at] LawMarketing.com. 

Chief marketing officers have been hit with a double whammy in the current financial turbulence: the slowing economy is forcing most of them to become cost-cutters just at the time they are being asked by their CEOs to take more responsibility for building brands and increasing revenue. At the same time, media consumption habits are changing significantly, leading CMOs to struggle with how to build brands in the digital age. They need to use their marketing dollars more effectively, decide on the proper mix of online and offline spending, take advantage of new technology and learn to reach and engage customers in new ways that underline two-way dialogues rather than simply pushing out one-way marketing messages.

CMOs also are being asked to take the lead role in "greening" their companies, as sustainability has become a smart way to do business and win customers rather than a simple buzzword. Plus, given the flattening of the world, they need to expand the reach of their brands globally. All this occurs as the average tenure of a CMO continues to decline and they have to fight influence in the executive suite. These and many other paradigm shifting changes in marketing will be discussed at Economist Conferences' Seventh Annual Marketing Forum.