The quiet devaluation of marketing.

As long as campaigns, reach, and lead numbers remain the central KPIs, marketing will remain a service function. This analysis by Dennis Güth, Chief Growth Officer at wob, explores how to elevate marketing to a growth strategy—and why most companies struggle to do so.

Why AI in marketing doesn’t automatically lead to greater impact.

Marketing is not facing a technological disruption; it is undergoing a structural devaluation. Artificial intelligence accelerates this trend, but it is not its cause. The root of the issue lies in the industry's self-perception. Over the years, marketing has increasingly defined itself by efficiency: more output—ever faster and cheaper per lead.

What was once celebrated as progress is now revealed as a strategic error in the age of AI. Efficiency is no longer a competitive advantage; it has become a prerequisite. And that is precisely the problem.

Efficiency in marketing is not the same as business impact.

The significant confusion lies in the equation: efficiency does not equal effectiveness. The current discussion around AI in marketing unfortunately follows a simplistic logic: If technology makes processes faster, cheaper, and more precise, marketing will automatically improve. This is a fallacy. Simply doing the wrong things faster does not make them right.

In other words, while efficiency can increase output, it does not guarantee impact. On the contrary, as systems become more efficient, they tend to converge. Content becomes scalable, targeting becomes standardised, and campaigns become interchangeable. The result is not differentiation—but irrelevance.

Companies produce more—but they mean less and less. Thus, the real question is not how marketing can become more efficient. The crucial question is what contribution marketing truly makes to the business.

AI reveals the true value of marketing.

Artificial intelligence acts as a catalyst. It ruthlessly exposes which parts of marketing create real value—and which do not. Everything that is purely operational becomes automatable: content creation, campaign management, analysis, optimisation.

This means that the very areas that have long legitimised marketing are losing significance. If marketing continues to define itself through these tasks, it won’t disappear—but it will become interchangeable. And interchangeability in competition equates to irrelevance. The only logical conclusion. Marketing must go where AI cannot substitute.

Why growth does not solely emerge from the funnel.

Growth does not originate in the funnel. A central misconception of recent years has been the overemphasis on performance marketing. Funnels, conversion rates, lead optimisation—all focus on existing demand, on people who are already close to making a purchase decision.

While this is efficient in the short term, it is structurally limited, making it ineffective in the medium to long term.

The majority of the market is not in buying mode at any given time. If one only engages in demand capture, one competes for the same small slice of the pie. This inevitably leads to rising costs, declining differentiation, and increasing price pressure.

Demand generation instead of just demand capture.

Real growth does not occur where demand is visible. It happens where demand is created.

Markets are not measured—they are made.

By whom? By marketing.

Not in the role of a campaign machine. But as an entity that actively shapes markets. This means:

• Defining relevance before demand arises
• Shaping narratives before decisions are made
• Providing orientation in complex buying processes

Companies like Salesforce and John Deere have understood this. Salesforce created not just an event with "Dream Force," but an ecosystem that shapes perception and demand. John Deere does not sell machines—but a system of precision farming, data, and services that defines how modern agriculture works.

Both share a central insight: sustainable growth does not come from better activation but from stronger shaping.

Why marketing, sales, and product need to collaborate better.

The real issue lies within the company. Why does this shift rarely succeed? Because most organisations are structurally built against it.

Marketing, sales, and product operate in separate systems. They pursue different goals, use different data, and speak different languages (if they even communicate at all).

The result is fragmented decisions, inconsistent messages, and lost growth potential.

AI does not solve this problem; it exacerbates it. For it merely accelerates existing structures—not improves them. An inefficient system becomes more efficient through AI, but a flawed system remains flawed.

Why marketing KPIs must measure more than just leads and reach.

Output is convenient—responsibility is not.

Another reason for the devaluation of marketing lies in its measurement logic. Marketing is still primarily evaluated based on output: campaigns, reach, leads, content quantity. These metrics are easy to capture—but strategically irrelevant.

They do not answer the central question: What contribution does marketing make to business success?

As long as marketing fails to answer this question, it will remain a supportive function. Only when marketing is measured against genuine business metrics—revenue, market share, price enforcement—will its role change. Then it will transition from a service provider to a growth driver.

Why many companies fail at transforming marketing.

The uncomfortable truth: why most companies will fail.

The transformation of marketing is not a question of tools or budgets. It is a question of mindset. When marketing takes responsibility for growth, internal dynamics shift.

Decisions are no longer made solely in sales or product but along an integrated understanding of the market. This means:

• Silos must be dissolved
• Target systems must be changed
• Leadership must be rethought

This is where the biggest hurdle lies. It is easier to invest in new tools than to change structures. It is easier to measure efficiency than to own impact. And that is precisely why a large portion of companies will not take this step.

AI as a booster: Why technology is not a substitute for strategy.

AI is neither a saviour nor a threat. The role of AI is as a booster, not a substitute. For weak marketing, it means more output, more speed, more interchangeability.

For strong marketing, it means better decisions, clearer priorities, and greater impact. The difference lies not in the technology, but in the ambition. Marketing is facing its real test.

Marketing does not have an efficiency problem; it has a relevance problem. If it continues to define itself through operational excellence, it will become the biggest loser in the age of AI—not because it becomes worse, but because it becomes replaceable. The future belongs to organisations that rethink marketing: as a strategic function that shapes growth, defines markets, and influences decisions. This is more demanding. It is more uncomfortable. But it is the only option. In the age of AI, a simple rule applies: what is merely efficient will be automated. What is relevant will endure.

Conclusion.

Marketing does not need to be louder; it needs to be more important.

The debate about AI in marketing is still astonishingly technical. Which tools? Which processes? Which prompts? Which automation?

All of this is not unimportant. But it is not the essential question. The real question is: What role will marketing play in the company moving forward? Those who continue to see marketing as a machine for content, campaigns, and leads will become faster through AI. Perhaps even cheaper. But not automatically more relevant.

Conversely, those who view marketing as a strategic growth function will gain a powerful tool through AI: for better decisions, clearer priorities, and more impact in the market. That is where the opportunity lies.

AI does not take away marketing’s future; it merely removes its excuses.

In the end, it will become clear which companies treat marketing as an operational service function—and which leverage it for what it can be: an entity that understands markets, builds demand, and shapes growth.

Or simply put: in the age of AI, marketing does not have to prove that it is busy. It must prove that it matters.

About the author: Dennis Güth is the Chief Growth Officer at wob AG. In this role, he consistently aligns marketing with revenue and business goals. His focus is on scalable go-to-market programmes, demand generation, account-based marketing, and marketing automation. He integrates data, technology, and creativity with clear KPIs—aiming to anchor marketing as a measurable growth driver within the company.