“Each micro moment you have with a brand leaves a lasting impact,” says Heather Roth, director of customer data strategy, measurement, and intelligence at Slalom. “One-to-many journeys send a message that could apply to anyone. By operating at a one-to-one level, you’re creating more personal touch points that build affinity and trust.”

And more targeted touch points mean more opportunity to drive ROI.

“With mass marketing, it’s not always easy to tell which part is working,” says Patterson. “By targeting individuals or smaller audiences, you can actually understand performance metrics and maximize the impact of your spend.” 

Reimagining how to connect and drive value isn’t easy in a world where the traditional funnel no longer applies. It requires marketers to deliver dynamic, modular experiences by bringing strategy, creative, content, technology, and data together to support true one-to-one journeys.

There are two key pillars that support an integrated, interdependent foundation for the modern marketing organization: growth strategy and digital experience technology. On their own, they help support the marketing function. When treated as two components of the same unit, they help marketing drive impact across the entire organization. 

“A strategy alone isn’t going to deliver tailored experiences to your customers—just as platforms and data alone won’t inspire them to act,” says Saks. “Digital experience technology makes those connections and brings your growth strategy to life.”

Siloed teams with individual ownership will inevitably produce fragmented touchpoints, rather than differentiated, personalized, experiences. To deliver one-to-one journeys, marketers must work fluidly across business units, platforms, and disciplines, operating with transparency and shared accountability.

“You can’t be responsible for the customer experience without understanding their data,” says Patterson. While the “growth office” focuses on driving sales and loyalty, the “data office” is essential for understanding customer behavior and enabling those outcomes.

As channels, platforms, and engagement models multiply, brands must focus less on individual team deliverables and more on the outcomes customers care about. Every experience should not only be engaging and relevant in the moment—it should also create meaningful impact across the business.

“If marketers can partner with technology leaders and data leaders—and show how those pieces work together to drive growth—they stop being seen as a cost center and start being seen a revenue driver,” says Nick Miller, senior director of growth strategy at Slalom.

Marketing leaders face constant business pressures: adopting new technology without new budget, responding to requests for content without clarity or context, and operating with constrained channels and limited data access.

Seen as the storytellers of the organization, CMOs are often so bogged down by these demands that they aren’t able to prioritize growth-focused initiatives.

“As CMOs work more cross-functionally, marketing is going to become the hub of customer intelligence for the organization,” says Roth. CMOs should be seen as growth drivers who connect teams and help the organization deliver faster, more innovative customer experiences.

However, with the widespread adoption of AI, there’s still a lot of pressure on marketing to generate quick wins. According to our Global AI Insights Survey, 76% of leaders are still framing AI in terms of efficiency instead of seeing it as a tool for reinvention.

“AI application continues to be one of the largest perceived gaps between CMOs and other executives,” says Patterson. “Our job is to help CMOs become that trusted AI partner, demonstrating to boards and CEOs how they’re applying AI, not just as a cost reduction tool, but as a growth engine.” 

Imagine if your inbox read “19” instead of “1,928.” It’s been years since you’ve received a “Have time for a quick chat?” email from a company you barely remember. Every message you do get feels intentional, arriving at the right moment and reflecting what you actually need.

That’s the future of marketing we’re moving toward.

A future where consumers feel in control of their data, not chased by it. Where brands respect attention instead of overwhelming it. And where marketers can harness the data and platforms they do have to target customers with precision instead of volume.

That’s what modular marketing makes possible. Not more messages or more channels, but a system built to create fewer, better moments—driving growth by building trust instead of noise.