The End of Marketing Generalists?
AI is reshaping more than marketing tasks. It's changing entire team structures. Using Gamma as an example, Verena Gründel explores why the barbell model could become the blueprint for future marketing teams.
Why Marketing Teams of the Future May Look Like a Barbell
The era of marketing generalists is over. In the future, specialization will once again be in demand. And above all: excellence.
The changes brought about by AI require a new marketing organization. And in more and more cases, that organization is likely to be barbell-shaped—no longer pyramid-shaped. Gamma-CMO Kristin Fracchia impressively demonstrated at DMEXCO how successfully they’re working with this model (you can find her presentation at this link). They’ve gained 100 million users for their AI-powered presentation and website design platform with fewer than 10 people across these two teams.
The barbell consists of three areas:
- The strategic, creative area (weight 1). Experienced brand architects, creative directors, growth strategists, and psychologists focus on positioning, narratives, market research, alignment with senior management, and human activities that AI cannot replicate.
- The streamlined middle (the bar). Coordination tasks, copywriting, and standard project management are becoming less important.
- The AI-supported area (weight 2). Here, tech experts collaborate with AI tools, automated workflows, and specialized freelancers. A single expert can oversee the production of large volumes of content, rapid ad testing, technical SEO, and programmatic distribution on a large scale.
Will this reduce the number of people needed? Probably yes. Because AI will have a much greater impact.
Who won’t be needed anymore? Generalists, project managers, task-pushers (sorry for the disrespectful term). So the tasks that no one ever dreamed of when they enrolled in a marketing program will disappear.
Who will be needed? True experts in weights 1 and 2!
So anyone who wants to continue working successfully in marketing in the future should develop their skills—in one direction or the other. Staying in the middle won’t be the solution.
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