Key takeaways
- The VP of marketing turns company goals into a marketing plan with a budget and owners.
- Where there is no CMO, the VP carries both the strategy and the running of the team.
- Pipeline contribution and message consistency are the two things they are most often judged on.
- In a software purchase they are often the budget holder for marketing tools.
What a VP of marketing is accountable for
A VP of marketing is accountable for marketing's plan, its spend and what it delivers to the business. The role is less about running campaigns and more about choosing which campaigns run, who runs them and how the results are judged.
- Set the annual and quarterly marketing plan against company targets.
- Allocate the budget between people, programmes and tools.
- Agree with sales how much pipeline marketing is expected to create.
- Keep positioning and messaging consistent across every team.
- Hire, develop and organise the marketing managers and directors.
VP of marketing vs CMO
The difference between a VP of marketing and a CMO is mostly scope and seat. A chief marketing officer sits on the executive team, shapes company strategy and speaks for marketing to the board; a VP of marketing makes the marketing function deliver on that strategy.
In companies without a CMO, the VP does both jobs, which is why the titles get confused. A useful test is who decides the company's market position: if that person is in marketing and on the executive team, they are acting as a CMO whatever the title says.
How a VP of marketing decides where the budget goes
A VP of marketing decides where the budget goes by weighing what brings pipeline this quarter against what builds demand for next year. Demand programmes such as events, paid media and outbound campaigns show results quickly; brand, content and search take longer and are harder to trace.
The other trade-off is people against programmes. Hiring a specialist is a long commitment, while a programme can be stopped, so many VPs test a channel with existing staff or a contractor before building a team around it.
The VP of marketing's part in a software purchase
In a software purchase, a VP of marketing is usually the budget holder for marketing tools and a sponsor for tools shared with sales. Their managers find and test products; the VP decides whether the cost fits the plan and whether the team will actually adopt it.
What they weigh is predictable: time saved for the team, whether the tool keeps the message consistent, how it fits the CRM and data the company already has, and what it means for customer data and compliance.
How to sell to a VP of marketing
To sell to a VP of marketing, tie your product to their plan, not to a feature list. Read what the company has announced, find the goal marketing is likely to own and show where your tool removes work that stands in the way.
Bring their managers in early, because the VP will ask them anyway. Offer a short, contained trial on a real campaign, and avoid promises about leads or revenue that you cannot back.
Where Pebbles Ai fits
- FoundationCompany IntelCompany Intel keeps the business knowledge and brand voice that every assistant works from, so drafts from each marketing team start from the same message.
- CapabilityResearch & analysisResearch gathers market and competitor information from public sources and returns it with numbered citations and a source list, ready to check before it shapes a plan.
Common questions
Is a VP of marketing more senior than a marketing director?
Usually, yes. In most companies marketing directors run a function or region and report to the VP, though titles vary with company size.
How is a VP of marketing measured?
Most are measured on marketing's contribution to pipeline and revenue, the cost of acquiring customers and the health of the brand, alongside running the team within budget.
Does a VP of marketing need sales experience?
It is not required, but it helps. A VP who understands how deals are won agrees targets with sales more easily and designs campaigns that bring the right buyers.
About this page. Written by the Pebbles Ai team for people who run sales, marketing and growth. Last updated .
