Danone's first global CMO in ten years, Valerie Hernando-Presse, says traditional marketing is over for consumers - they don't care about brands or names. The way to "thrive and survive" is for marketers and brands to have relevancy, meaning and the boldness to hold a strong position in society (Marketing Week).

Key points

• Danone's new CMO has a remit from global CEO Emmanuel Faber, who pledged two years ago to create "manifesto brands" that align with Danone's aspirations to become a certified "B-Corp", similar to that of a Patagonia which change their company articles to deliver on social and environmental objectives as well as profits
• "Health is becoming holistic and in tandem with the environment so you cannot be healthy if the planet isn't healthy", says Hernando-Presse
• She says she had "the freedom to create the function, my team, our roles, our priorities"  
• Marketing and brands must have a strong point of view on society and be ready to be divisive
• "Don't hide yourself behind a customer research agency and ask 'is my purpose ok?'," says Hernando-Presse
• In addition to traditional success KPIs, Hernando-Presse has developed new metrics for Danone's marketers which include culpability; how far is marketer content engaging; how are they impacting society with their purpose; how they contributed to raise awareness of their purpose/issue in their country; how many people did they touch with their nutritional program?