From Silos to Systems: Building the Next-Generation Digital Marketing Organisation

As we move deeper into an AI-accelerated economy, the way marketing organisations operate is under intense scrutiny. The challenge is no longer simply “going digital.” It’s integrating digital — embedding data, creativity, and customer insight into every function of the business.

For CMOs and marketing leaders, this means reimagining the structure, capability, and culture of their teams to drive continuous growth in an environment where technology evolves faster than most organisations can adapt.

The End of the Industrial-Era Organisation

Many organisations still operate with processes, hierarchies, and silos designed for a pre-digital world. These structures were built for stability, not speed. Yet the modern marketing ecosystem demands agility, real-time collaboration, and data fluency.

Gartner’s CMO Spend Survey found that 73% of marketing leaders are rethinking their operating model to support AI-driven creativity, customer experience, and integrated brand growth (Gartner, 2025).

In other words, the transformation challenge has moved from technology adoption to organisational redesign. Marketing teams are no longer a department — they’re a connected system that must collaborate across product, data, customer success, and operations.

Moving Beyond Silos: The Rise of the Digital Centre of Excellence

Many businesses start with digital as a standalone team — a silo designed to “own” all things online. But this model quickly hits a ceiling. Expertise becomes trapped in pockets, and innovation struggles to scale.

A Digital Centre of Excellence (CoE) offers a more dynamic model. Rather than a separate entity, it acts as a strategic hub — uniting cross-functional teams, embedding data-driven culture, and ensuring shared ownership of digital growth.

According to Deloitte’s Marketing Maturity Index, organisations with a cross-functional CoE structure are 2.4x more likely to exceed revenue goals (Deloitte, 2024).

But creating this kind of structure isn’t just about process — it’s about people.

Building Digital Fluency: The Skills Gap Still Hurts

Even as AI tools proliferate, digital capability remains uneven. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report (2025) found that while 92% of marketing professionals say AI and automation impact their work, only 27% feel confident using these tools strategically (WEF, 2025).

For CMOs, this creates a clear mandate: close the skills gap from within.Create frameworks that build digital fluency, analytical literacy, and creative adaptability across every level of the team.

A refreshed version of the DARC framework — Digital, Analytics, Reach, and Creativity — still applies, but in 2025, it’s about building AI-assisted marketers who can interpret, not just generate, insight.

Skunkworks: Safe Spaces for Innovation

Transforming your entire structure overnight isn’t realistic. But you can start small.

A “skunkworks” approach — an agile, semi-autonomous team tasked with experimenting beyond corporate constraints — offers a safe space for rapid innovation.

The concept, pioneered by Lockheed Martin, is increasingly used by brands like Nike, Unilever, and HubSpot to test new digital propositions, pilot AI tools, and fast-track creative experimentation.

The value isn’t just in what these teams build; it’s what they teach. A well-designed skunkworks initiative can inform the broader organisation, inspire confidence in innovation, and attract digital talent eager to make impact.

Collaboration and Co-Creation: Customers as Innovation Partners

Marketing’s future lies in co-creation. Brands that bring customers directly into the innovation process are outperforming those that don’t.

The Threadless model you referenced still stands as a perfect early example. But in 2025, this approach has evolved — think of platforms like LEGO Ideas, Adobe Firefly’s community feedback loops, or Notion’s user-driven product roadmap.

These companies treat customers not as data points but as collaborators — empowering them to shape brand experiences, not just consume them.

Why CMOs Should Care

The most successful marketing leaders today aren’t just brand guardians; they’re organisational architects. They understand that:

• Structure drives creativity. You can’t innovate in silos.

• Culture amplifies capability. Without psychological safety and shared vision, talent can’t thrive.

• Integration fuels growth. Content, data, and technology must align around a common purpose — customer relevance.

  
  

A skunkworks or a digital centre of excellence isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s a strategic imperative for organisations that want to compete in markets being reshaped by automation, audience fragmentation, and the relentless pace of change.

Final Thought

The brands that will define the next decade aren’t the ones chasing the latest tool or trend. They’re the ones building connected systems of people, data, and creativity — empowering teams to move fast, learn faster, and innovate with intent.

In 2025, digital integration isn’t about technology. It’s about leadership, culture, and the courage to reimagine how marketing works.