Heather Stickler

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Automation has a way of making marketing systems look busy—and therefore, healthy. Dashboards fill up, campaigns launch on schedule and follow-up happens at machine speed, creating the impression that marketing teams are becoming more efficient and effective.  But activity isn’t the same as results. For a growing number of marketing organizations, automation has become a way to run faster in the wrong direction. Automation doesn’t fix fuzzy underlying strategies, scattered data or poorly defined handoffs between marketing, sales and product teams. It just moves them out of sight. A workflow that runs smoothly isn’t necessarily a workflow that works. Further, tool sprawl can leave teams struggling to manage and achieve ROI from an ever-growing, unchecked tech stack.  That’s the uncomfortable reality many CMOs are grappling with right now. The proliferation of martech tools has made it easier than ever to automate nearly every touchpoint in the customer journey, yet in too many cases, revenue stalls, churn climbs and teams struggle to explain how—or if—automation is making a positive difference. The real job, then, isn’t just adopting better tools. It’s figuring out what the underlying problem is and whether technology will merely simply help a flawed process fail more elegantly. Members of the Senior Executive CMO Think Tank—a curated group of marketing leaders with deep expertise in digital advertising and technology’s growing role in marketing—have been at the forefront of the AI revolution. Here, they break down the process flaws automation most commonly conceals and share practical diagnostics to help CMOs build on solid ground before adding more speed.

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Many marketing campaigns are built to grab attention—the scroll-stopper, the headline, the viral hit—with little planning for what comes after. Global ad spending is expected to reach unprecedented levels in 2026—topping $1 trillion—but a viral video, clever headline or packed webinar won’t translate to revenue if follow-through is an afterthought. The problem isn’t the creative; it’s the system.  Marketing campaigns designed as moments in time rather than journeys can’t sustain buyers’ interest, achieve conversions or build customer loyalty on their own. Keeping customers engaged throughout every stage of the buyer journey is essential. Yet, in too many organizations, marketing hands off a lead, sales chases it down, and somewhere in the middle, the momentum built by that clever creative quietly dies.  Marketing teams who focus solely on maximizing clicks, impressions and traffic often celebrate winning before the game is actually over. Tackling the harder work of conversion and retention requires rethinking how campaigns are planned, how teams are structured, and how success gets defined. The question, “Will this get their attention?” must be followed by, “Do we have a plan for what comes next?” Members of the Senior Executive CMO Think Tank—a curated group of marketing leaders with expertise in brand storytelling, digital advertising, customer engagement and the rise of AI in marketing—have seen this challenge from every angle. Below, several of them share how to design marketing campaigns that are just as intentional about follow-through as they are about reach.

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Marketing has always been part science, part art. Increasingly, AI is bringing the science: It can process data at a speed and scale no human analyst can match, instantly spotting patterns across channels and audiences. AI is proving its value by helping teams process more data, identify patterns faster and move from raw information to action with far less manual effort. But effective marketing demands more—context, empathy and the kind of nuanced decision-making that comes from lived human experience.  The question CMOs are wrestling with isn’t whether to adopt AI; most already have or are planning to do so. It’s how to deploy it in ways that genuinely sharpen performance without hollowing out the human judgment that makes marketing resonate. CMOs who get the division of labor right won’t be those who automate the most. Rather, they’ll be the ones who design teams and workflows that leverage the unique strengths of both technology teams and human beings. The members of the Senior Executive CMO Think Tank share deep expertise in brand storytelling, digital advertising, customer engagement and the rise of AI in marketing. Below, several of them share their perspectives on where AI delivers its greatest value and where human judgment remains irreplaceable—and how CMOs can architect ways of working that bring out the best of both.

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Content marketing is supposed to be the engine that drives brand authority and demand generation long before a sales call. On average, B2B buyers engage with 13 pieces of content at the beginning of the purchasing journey, highlighting the importance of high-quality, authentic and authoritative content. However, many marketing teams continue to crank out blogs, videos, white papers and posts to feed algorithms and fill calendars, hoping something will spark engagement. The result? Often, it’s a lot more noise with a lot less bottom-line impact. Research consistently shows that consumers value trust as highly as price and quality when making purchasing decisions—especially in B2B, where stakes for buyers can be high and strong relationships matter. With content playing an outsized role in discovery and credibility in AI-driven search, it can’t remain a supporting tactic measured by impressions and downloads. It has to connect directly to pipeline velocity, deal progression and long-term customer trust.  The members of the Senior Executive CMO Think Tank are experts in brand storytelling, digital advertising and customer engagement. Below, a group of them shares practical insights on how CMOs can transform content into a true strategic asset—one that compounds over time to drive revenue, strengthen pipeline and build durable trust.

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As bot networks swell and AI tools pump out endless content, it can be hard to separate genuine human input from digital noise in the bustling online marketplace. From fake followers to bot-created faux outrage campaigns, gauging whether your brand is sparking real connection or just attracting automated cheers (or jeers) has become a high-stakes challenge. It’s estimated that bots account for more than 50% of internet traffic—and they’re skewing marketing metrics in their wake. For marketing leaders, this distortion can create dangerous illusions. Dashboards can look healthy—even impressive—but surface-level performance numbers can mask genuine audience behavior, and relying on them can send teams chasing the wrong strategies, the wrong channels and the wrong assumptions about what’s working. Members of the Senior Executive CMO Think Tank emphasize that in a landscape where metrics can be manufactured and noise can mimic relevance, the real competitive edge comes from learning to listen more carefully. Here, they share tips on how to pinpoint authentic human engagement and focus on the signals that cut through the static rather than amplify it. 

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In recent years, several prominent brands have learned that marketing can misfire when it collides with consumer sentiment. Bud Light, American Eagle and Cracker Barrel, among others, have drawn public attention not for their creativity or ambition, but for misreading how audiences would react to “clever” campaigns or evolving branding. Even well-intentioned marketing or modernization efforts can alienate longtime customers if they believe campaigns aren’t grounded in authenticity and respect. For marketing leaders, these examples underscore the need for disciplined “backfire filters”—structured ways to assess cultural sensitivity, audience alignment and brand equity before campaigns reach the public. Here, senior marketing experts from the Senior Executive CMO Think Tank share how they would have approached the internal conversations surrounding recent “marketing misfires.”