weekly brief February 9, 2026
Monday Briefing: The Super Bowl's AI Contrast
Plus: TikTok's design is 'addictive' says the EU, Collectors lures away the NFL's fan engagement lead, and why SEO is becoming GEO.
James Murray
Founder · Pivotal Consulting Group
27 articles published
James Murray is a Google, Amazon, and London Business School alum who left the Big Tech world to build Pivotal Consulting Group out of Kansas City. He spends his days turning messy ad accounts into profit machines for CMOs who are tired of getting poor results from their agencies. He started Behind the CMO because the most useful conversations in marketing happen when the consultants leave the room—and he wanted to write those down.
Articles by James Murray
ai tech February 5, 2026
The Judgment Call
Svedka bet their biggest moment on AI. Some CMO approved that. That CMO is about to find out if they were right.
weekly brief February 2, 2026
Monday Briefing: Super Bowl LX - $8 Million for 30 Seconds of Your Attention
Plus: LinkedIn now penalizes external links by 60%, P.F. Chang's and Edible Brands name new CMOs, and TikTok's algorithm gets an American makeover.
brand January 29, 2026
The Authenticity Arbitrage
The gap between usage and belief is your 2026 opportunity.
weekly brief January 26, 2026
Monday Briefing: TikTok Has a New Owner. Now What?
Plus: Google opens prediction markets to ads and Sonos hires Adweek's Creative Leader of the Decade.
career January 22, 2026
The CMO-to-CEO Pipeline Is Finally Opening
She's not the only one. Here's what separates CMOs who ascend.
weekly brief January 19, 2026
Monday Briefing: ChatGPT Just Became an Ad Platform.
Plus: Disney names its first-ever CMO, Instagram caps hashtags at five, and Threads quietly beats X.
leadership January 15, 2026
The K-Shaped CMO
Two types of marketing leaders are emerging. Same title, diverging trajectories. Which arm are you on?
weekly brief January 12, 2026
Monday Briefing: Pinterest's CMO Era Ends After Eight Years
Plus: TikTok's deadline is this week, NVIDIA hires its first-ever CMO, and a stat that should terrify your SEO team.
strategy January 8, 2026
The Confidence Gap
CMO budgets are up. CMO confidence is at a five-year low. The math doesn't add up until you understand what's actually being measured.
weekly brief January 5, 2026
Monday Briefing: Meta's AI Is Listening. Now It's Selling.
Plus: LinkedIn's algorithm overhaul punishes external links, Super Bowl ads sell out at record pace, and Geico makes a Goldman hire.
growth December 31, 2025
Why the Best Marketers Don't Get Promoted
The unspoken skill that determines who advances and who plateaus
weekly brief December 29, 2025
Monday Briefing: Spotify Wrapped Is Marketing's Master Class
Plus: 7 trends that will define 2026, AI traffic is tiny but converts better, and Hormel's first enterprise CMO.
leadership December 26, 2025
The CMO Is Dead. Long Live the CMO.
Only 49% of Fortune 500 top marketers hold the title today, down from 55% last year. Here's what's actually happening.
weekly brief December 22, 2025
Monday Briefing: TikTok Got Its Deal. Now What?
Plus: Meta's $3 billion ad fraud problem, Omnicom-IPG cuts 4,000 jobs, and the CMO who became a CEO.
weekly brief December 15, 2025
Monday Briefing: Meta's AI Starts Listening Tomorrow
Plus: Google’s third core update of 2025, LinkedIn’s algorithm faces gender bias accusations, and Mastercard’s marketing era ends.
career November 25, 2025
10 Things to Be Thankful For (CMO Edition)
growth November 11, 2025
The Illusion of Optimization
Why everything’s green in your dashboard and red in your P&L.
growth November 4, 2025
The Uncomfortable Truth About Incrementality
Platforms sold us precision. Now leaders want proof. And that’s a harder story to tell.
ai tech October 14, 2025
Why “LLM Optimization” Will Replace SEO Faster Than You Think
Discovery is shifting from Google to GPTs. Your brand is already being summarized. You just can’t see it yet.
leadership March 20, 2025
Sales + Marketing = The Ultimate Power Couple
career February 27, 2025
The 5 Types of Marketing Wealth
True wealth for marketing leaders come in many shapes and sizes
strategy February 24, 2025
Stop Being Data-Driven, Start Being Data-Obsessed
leadership February 12, 2025
Unlock Speed in Your Marketing Org: 3 Steps to Decision Velocity
Is your marketing team stuck in a slow-moving rut?
leadership February 9, 2025
What CMOs Can Learn from NFL Coaches: Winning Strategies for Marketing Success
How you can learn from the best.
growth February 8, 2025
Are You Fully Leveraging AI in Growth Marketing?
Artificial Intelligence is your unfair advantage.
weekly brief January 27, 2025