The Devil Wears Marketing: Why CMOs Must Stay Ahead of the Market

If you’ve seen The Devil Wears Prada, you know that Miranda Priestly doesn’t just run a fashion empire—she dictates trends before the rest of the world even realizes they exist.

One of the most iconic scenes in the movie (and one of my favorites) is when Miranda schools her skeptical assistant, Andy Sachs, on why her seemingly insignificant “lumpy blue sweater” isn’t just blue—it’s cerulean, a color that made its way from high-fashion runways to department store clearance bins, all thanks to the industry’s foresight and influence. Watch the scene below to witness Miranda’s masterclass in influence.

What does this have to do with marketing? Everything.

Marketing, much like fashion, is about being out ahead of the market, shaping preferences before customers even know what they want. It’s about designing demand, not just reacting to it.

Here are five key takeaways from Miranda’s cerulean sweater moment that every CMO and marketing leader should embrace:

1. Your Market is Always Shaped Before Customers Arrive

Just like the fashion industry dictates trends long before they hit mainstream retail, marketers create the demand that customers eventually respond to. Every campaign, piece of content, and brand story subtly influences buying behavior—often in ways consumers don’t consciously recognize.

💡Marketing Tip: Don’t wait for demand—manufacture it. If your product is ahead of its time, invest in storytelling, thought leadership, and category creation. Work with analysts and influencers to prime the market and shape the conversation. As they say: shape or be shaped.

2. Perception is Everything—Even for the Skeptics

Andy dismissed fashion as "stuff," thinking she was above it. But Miranda’s monologue exposed how even her “unintentional” choice was shaped by decisions made at the highest levels of fashion. Customers often believe they are making purely rational choices, but great marketing influences them long before they reach a decision.

💡Marketing Tip: Reframe customer perception before they even realize they need you. Show them how your product fits into their world before they know it’s missing. If your product challenges the status quo, create content that frames the problem differently — helping them see why the old way is holding them back.

3. Trickle-Down Marketing: From Innovation to Adoption

The cerulean color started on couture runways and gradually trickled down to the masses. The same principle applies to marketing and innovation. Thought leadership, early adopters, and industry trendsetters pave the way for broader market acceptance. Smart CMOs understand how to move from cutting-edge ideas to mainstream adoption by crafting the right messaging, channels, and timing.

💡Marketing Tip: The best marketing starts at the top of the influence chain and works its way down. Leverage early adopters to validate your product and pull through the early majority. Create a FOMO effect — make it feel like something people can’t afford to miss.

4. Branding Creates Economic Impact

Miranda reminds Andy that the cerulean trend generated “millions of dollars and countless jobs.” Similarly, marketing isn’t just about selling — it’s about creating entire ecosystems of influence. Strong brands don’t just capture demand; they build economies of value around them.

💡Marketing Tip: Ask yourself: Does my brand stand for something beyond the product? The strongest brands create lasting economic impact for their customers, employees, and communities. Brands that do well also do good.

5. Marketing is Not Just an Add-On—It’s Strategic Leadership

Andy saw fashion as frivolous until Miranda reframed it as an industry with deep influence. Likewise, many organizations still treat marketing as a support function rather than a strategic driver. The best CMOs ensure that marketing is seen as a critical business function—one that shapes category leadership, customer behavior, and long-term growth.

💡Marketing Tip: Instead of asking, How do we market this product? ask, How do we shift the way our audience thinks about this category? As Henry Ford famously said, "If I’d asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses."

Final Thoughts

Next time someone questions the power of marketing, remind them of Miranda Priestly’s cerulean speech. Just like fashion, marketing isn’t about chasing trends — it’s about setting them. The best marketers aren’t just responding to what the market wants today; they’re defining what it will want tomorrow.

So, as you plan your next campaign, product launch, or brand strategy, ask yourself: Are you shaping the market, or just reacting to it?

And if you ever hear someone dismiss marketing as “just advertising,” feel free to channel your inner Miranda Priestly:

"Oh… okay. I see. You think this has nothing to do with you..." 😉