The Christmas ads are on TV, work parties are kicking off and every radio station in the country is already playing Mariah Carey on loop. You would be forgiven for thinking the end-of-year slow-down is upon us.

But it isn’t. Not from a marketing perspective. And definitely not from a new business perspective.

In the past two days alone, 1,800 senior marketers have stepped into new roles across global brands.

That includes new CMOs at Sonos, Shield AI and Room Mate Hotels, an EVP of Strategic Communications joining the PGA TOUR, and Global VPs landing at Sitecore and Medtronic.

And these are not gentle onboarding periods.

• The new CMO at Sonos doesn’t get six months to settle. Brand perception challenges need tackling now.
• The marketing chief at Shield AI is entering the fastest moving corner of defence tech.
• The new director at Emaar Hospitality has to deliver ahead of peak tourist season.

And it goes further.

• ServiceNow has appointed new marketing leadership.
• Canadian Tire has a new Director of Communications.
• Pernod Ricard has hired a Global Director for Malibu and Kahlúa.
• Reliance Retail has added a Senior VP of Marketing in one of the world’s fastest growing consumer markets.

All of this in just over forty eight hours.

Every one of these leaders is under real pressure to move quickly.

• Review agencies before the end of January
• Lock in tech and strategy by February
• Have Q2 campaigns ready long before March

They are not browsing casually or easing into the role. They are actively looking for partners who can help them deliver results at speed. The usual one hundred day grace period has vanished.

And it is not just global brands making moves. In the UK alone, 782 senior marketers have been appointed this week across companies ranging from Hawes and Curtis to Refuge to Vertice Group.

The question isn’t whether senior marketers are still moving. They are, and at pace.

The real question is whether you are moving quickly enough to reach them before the year closes.