Computing.co.uk reported this week about the rise of the interim CIO. In a very useful article, they looked at the reasons behind the increasing number of interim appointments, and made a good start at getting under the skin of this new breed.

 John Hall, who works as an interim CIO, describes how the role has come to be popular for driving through change:  “more recently it has become about change implementation. We are used to coming in and ramping up quickly, taking control and driving something forward. Also, because we are interim we are unencumbered by thoughts of our careers, any hidden agendas, or indeed office politics.”

What does this mean for IT marketers? Among the range of consequences, here are three trends we have picked up.

1. In my recent interview with the former CIO of Egg, Tom explained the importance of the ‘trusted advisors’ around him (subordinates, peers in other departments, key suppliers) – with CIO change becoming more common, it’s essential to have programmes that reach out to these other audiences.

2. Other marketing programmes may need to move from a company focus to an individual focus. We have seen great examples of event series that someone attends as CIO of one organisation, moves companies and then gets back in touch to request an invitation. Web 2.0 strategies can also be very powerful for keeping track and maintaining relationships (in a very simple example, we’ve seen more and more people subscribing to email newsletters with personal rather than business addresses).

3. Timing becomes even more important – seeing when a new CIO is brought in, understanding the change that this is intended to drive, and building your messages around this (whether advising as an incumbent supplier or making a speculative move to break into the business). Equally, it means that now more than ever it is important to be very strict before qualifying an organisation out or stopping a programme around a specific proposition – things can change overnight.

We don’t have to look far for examples of the power that these individuals hold – see the recent post on the most popular man in IT.