‘The conversation has shifted’: The CFO moved upstream. Now agencies have to as well

CFOs are demanding more from marketing — and not in the usual way. The familiar playbook of squeezing costs and investing in performance spend is still in motion, driven by an uncertain economy and an unpredictable geopolitical backdrop. But CFOs now are asking harder questions driven by a better grasp of how marketing actually works, and a sharper instinct for where it doesn’t.

For example, VaynerMedia’s CEO Gary Vaynerchuk has a new audience: his clients’ finance teams. Across the industry, other agencies are finding the same.

At independent, full-service brand commerce marketing agency Blue Chip, that shift has been more gradual. Execs there aren’t sitting down with CFOs directly, but they are helping their clients get ready for those conversations. “A lot of our day to day right now is helping CMOs prepare for board conversations where finance is in the room and the questions are sharper,” said Sarah VanHeirseele, chief growth officer at Blue Chip.

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Why one brand reimbursed $10,000 to customers who paid its ‘Trump Tariff Surcharge’ last year

This story was originally published on sister site, Modern Retail.

Dame is refunding customers who paid its “Trump Tariff Surcharge” last year, becoming one of the first brands to proactively return money tied to President Donald Trump’s now-invalidated tariffs.

The sexual wellness company began adding a visible $5 line-item fee at checkout in 2025 as the Trump administration’s trade war pushed up costs and squeezed brands’ margins. After the Supreme Court struck down many of those duties, Dame co-founder and CEO Alexandra Fine announced on LinkedIn that the company would automatically reimburse shoppers who paid the surcharge, rather than wait for clarity on whether the federal government will issue refunds to importers.

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