Companies looking to hire CMOs and other top-level marketing executives amid an economic downturn are increasingly favoring candidates with deep experience in so-called performance-marketing. Performance-marketing campaigns push consumers to take a specific action, such as clicking a link or providing an email address, while brand marketing aims to increase awareness of a company and shape perceptions of that business. The trend will create a challenging job market for senior executives whose careers have centered on more traditional, brand-based marketing. “If we are awesome at performance marketing and don’t understand what it means to engage a consumer—in reality that means brand-level marketing as well—we will lose,” Mr. Kanter said. PREVIEWIndustry leaders frequently debate whether brand and performance marketing should be separate disciplines run by different people.

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