Question: What should a marketing team have in common with the Atlanta Braves (or any other professional sports team, for that matter)?

Answer: The right players in the right places, or roles.
The advent of AI into marketing has made a significant impact on the makeup of marketing teams, yet marketing leaders continue to think of their team in more traditional ways – having a team with the most players. While CMOs are spending 15% of their budgets on AI, they only rate their AI readiness at 30%.
While AI can assist with more automated functions and data analysis, human resources are still necessary. Additionally, marketing workloads have been less predictable with more specific skills needed.
What is needed is a flexible roster, based on:
- The starting lineup
- The bench
- The draft pipeline
The starting lineup’s primary responsibility is the marketing plan’s priorities – per quarter, per year, or however your plan is defined. But things happen, and you need to prepare a quick response to an event or update an existing plan. If the necessary resources are beyond your in-house bandwidth, you can go to your bench for immediate assistance. If the need exceeds your bench’s capabilities, that’s where the draft pipeline comes in.
So, who’s in the starting lineup vs. the bench vs. draft pipeline? Consider these guidelines:
- Starting lineup - responsible for guiding the organization’s strategy and brand direction and decisions.
- Bench – freelancers on retainer who are experienced with your strategy and can quickly step in to provide specialized coverage as needed.
- Draft pipeline – a link to qualified marketing professionals who can provide additional support during spikes in work volume or more specialized needs than what is available in-house or via retained bench.
It may take a little while to balance out your roster, but once you have, you’ll be better able to sustain a consistent brand strategy while containing costs.