In his book The Shift: The Transformation of Today’s Marketers into Tomorrow’s Growth Leaders, author Scott Davis makes a compelling argument that marketing now holds the keys to growth and profitability for their organizations. But moving from a marketing tactician to a true marketing visionary is no easy task — and not all marketers are cut out for the job. A marketing visionary, Davis points out, must create strategies to drive business impact, move away from controlling the message to galvanizing the company’s network, change from incremental improvements to pervasive innovation, and have a relentless customer focus.

According to a new study by the ANA, in partnership with Prophet, a San Francisco-based strategic brand and marketing consultancy, 47 of the 150 marketers polled said they had achieved visionary status. Unlike other marketers, these visionaries were overwhelmingly more likely to lead the strategic dialogue at their organizations, three times more likely to be leading the discussions around reinventing the business, and far more likely to collaborate with financial and operations functions.

The study also indicated that 73% of visionary marketers collaborated with other business unit or P&L leaders, 60% collaborated with the CEO/COO, and 31% collaborated with the CFO. Additionally, more than a quarter of these profit-driving marketers believe their next position will be CEO, COO, or General Manager.

At the Masters of Marketing, a panel of “growth leaders” discussed how they have successfully shifted the role of marketing within their organizations and driven the growth agenda. The panel, moderated by Davis, included: Mark Addicks, senior vice president and CMO of General Mills; Joan Chow, executive vice president and CMO of ConAgra; Barry Judge, CMO of Best Buy, and James Speros, executive vice president and CMO of Fidelity. Here are some insights, paraphrased for length purposes, gleaned from the spirited discussionp

On how marketing has changed the past 18 months

Addicks: There has been an incredible focus on the business side of what we do, and less focus on margin improvement.

Chow: We’ve become a consumer insights organization to help raise the bar on marketing. We also created a strategic marketing group that’s all about content distribution.

Judge: We’re looking at what levers we can pull to highlight marketing, what other products and services we can sell that fit the needs of consumers. Advertising is becoming a key driver for us, especially in our stores.

Speros: What’s changed most in financial services is the velocity of marketing. Customers are looking for more help and guidance. The customer insights we glean from listening to our customers suggested they wanted a higher level of guidance from Fidelity. It gave birth to the “Green Line” campaign. What we hear from customers is that they have shifted from being much more self-directed in picking investments to looking for help. Also, in past 18 months, we have reorganized our department to be much more integrated and look much more holistically at marketing.

On improving the average tenure of the CMO

Speros: You have to forge relationships with the right people quickly and understand what the hot-button issues are. Be the voice of the consumer. That’s the value that marketers provide inside the organization. The senior leadership team meets weekly and has a common sense of purpose. You all have to work together and align resources appropriately. Velocity is key. You have to make a difference very quickly.

Chow: I meet with the CEO every single week. It’s not an approval thing, it’s about getting his input on four to six topics. Everybody on the brands teams is free to have input on the agenda, so they feel they’re a part of the process.

Addicks: We’ve tried to make marketing indispensible to the growth of the company.

Judge: We’re simplifying the stuff we do. We have a focus on where demand is coming from, what matters to consumers, and the consumer experience. We’re looking for those gaps that are not being filled, looking for ways to move the business. That’s what has made us more successful.

On owing the P&L

Judge: We manage the P&L together as a company. We think of marketing as not just a communication budget, but as a business driver — let’s invest in incredible call center service, let’s invest in our Web site, let’s take a big chunk and put in labor.

Speros: It’s not only about CMOs owning the P&L; every leader should have skin in the game. You have to have regular feedback from the market to see how you can adjust your programs and activities. Marketing has to be an advocate for a longer-term view.

Chow: You have to own the P&L and be accountable for the investments. Being friends with your CEO is really, really key.

Addicks: I personally want to be as close to the P&L as I can. The closer you get marketing to the P&L, the better position you will be in to make long-term investments. If you’re not close to the P&L, you won’t have the credibility to argue your points. Our CEO has been a great partner. He knows all of our capabilities, how we think strategically, and where all the growth markets are.

On the CMOs role long-term

Judge: Results matter and your business has to be growing. That’s the ultimate test. Get beyond whether the advertising is good enough. Understand what will drive demand and differentiation, understand what is coming around the corner three years out.

Addicks: Figure out how to make marketing indispensible to growth. It comes down to how and where you can grow your brands. Find points of growth.

Speros: In financial services, it’s important to forge the right coalitions and stay connected to people. You also need courage, a willingness to stand out, and a willingness to be an innovative. Those are the things that add value. You want to be famous as an innovator, you want the courage to stand up to new ideas. Be the voice of the customer inside the business. If you don’t do that, I’m not sure anyone else will.

On public relations

Addicks: It’s all about delivering news and letting the media know why they should pay attention to you. Otherwise, you might as well hit the snooze button.

Speros: Invite the media in as a partner, not a vendor. You have an obligation to let them know what’s going on. Being able to organize around a critical idea is important.

On digital media

Addicks: With digital media, you can actually scale it and make it rich and relevant. Some online users want to observe, some want to contribute, and some want to be experts. People will raise their hands, download a pdf, join a club, be a tester, be a recipe generator. Open up your brand, but be responsible for where you want the a brand to go.

Speros: As marketers, we have to shape the way we want consumers to think about the brand. When it goes off in a different direction, you have an obligation to get it back on course if you sense a crisis in some ways.

On engaging employees

Speros: I wake up every morning to see what we can do for our employees. How do we engage our people? What kind of training can we give them to deliver on the brand promise? If you do not sustain knowledge it’s like firing off a rocket and watching it come back to earth.

Judge: We spend a lot of time out in the field. Our people are the differentiators. Everything we do is authentic and genuine. Nothing is scripted. It reflects who we are and what makes us different.

Chow: If you can’t inspire your own employees to be brand champions, there’s no way you can convince anyone else. The last couple of years, we’ve been getting feedback from employees about our products. Until you engage them, you’re not going to win over anyone else.

Addicks: We have an extensive training development program. We share best practices. We started launching products with our employees. Let them tell the brand story. We’re trying to set up more formal conversations. You have to leverage your scale, make it work for you.

On marketing at the local level

Judge: We encourage our stores to do marketing on their own, which is a little scary. Each store has their own Web site, and they populate it with content. We encourage our stores to participate in social media. Most have Facebook pages.

Speros: We have a number of investors centers. Local marketing is always important, but it has to customized for each market.

On how to change marketing’s profile

Addicks: Generate growth ideas that are well thought-out and demonstrates the power of the function.

Chow: Lead with insights. Continue to be proactive and think differently about the way you go about business.

Speros: Be a champion for new ideas, be courageous, and be innovative. That’s where marketing adds tremendous value. Try and move the business forward. The only way to do that is by championing big ideas. Take your understanding of consumers and build a big, bold idea, and have the courage to sell it.