Marketing in banking and payments is undergoing a strategic shift from a support function to a growth driver.
That was the core theme of the ‘Aligning Marketing with Strategic Mandates’ discussion at FP Live! 2026, where speakers explored what marketers now need to do to secure a seat at the board table.
The moderator, Ian Stirling, CEO of Streets Consulting, said modern marketing leaders must now embody three roles: catalyst, collaborator and calibrated.
For Charita Venkatesh, product marketing manager at OakNorth Bank, that begins with proving impact in hard numbers.
“If I look at 2025, marketing contributed 40% of our growth,” she said. “That’s what I take back to senior leadership when I need to justify further investment.”
But demonstrating value goes beyond metrics alone. Julia Payne, fractional CMO at Fractional CMO Services, argued that many organisations still struggle with the fundamentals.
“Alignment to the business is often done poorly,” she said. “You need to focus on your ideal client, your positioning and your competitive advantage. It’s not glamorous, but it makes a huge difference.”
To achieve that alignment, marketers also need to shift their mindset.
“We need to move away from campaign thinking to business outcomes,” Payne added. “If marketing stopped tomorrow, would revenue dry up – or just activity?”
For Jennifer Sanchis, insights consultant at CARMA, measurement remains a critical gap.
“If you focus on activity rather than impact, it will be detrimental,” she said. “You need to understand the numbers – and then tell a story that resonates with the board.”
As expectations increase, so too does the scope of the CMO’s role. From AI adoption to cross-functional collaboration, marketers are now expected to influence everything from compliance to commercial strategy.
Those who can demonstrate measurable impact and speak the language of their leadership are much more likely to earn their place at the board table.