Robbie Thain
Founder, CEO
AI-generated illustrative image. Not an official campaign image.
Learn why organizational fragmentation destroys retail marketing ROI. See how an integrated brief and one accountable lead fixes field execution and CRM routing.
On September 8, 2026, The Drum published an analysis arguing that retail marketing teams organize around separate channels even though customers experience brands as one continuous journey. The primary article is an opinion piece authored by a practitioner at Threepipe Reply. It was published as a member article in The Drum Network. The report identified structural fragmentation as a primary barrier to effective retail experiences.
This internal division creates duplicated spend, inconsistent creative, and disconnected consumer journeys. For CPG marketing leaders, the findings highlight a massive operational gap in how physical activations are planned and measured. When internal teams do not share information, field operations suffer immediately.
The proposed operational shift moves teams from isolated channel optimization to holistic journey design. The model centers on three accountability mechanisms to fix execution gaps. Teams must operate with one integrated brief, one accountable lead, and one measurement framework. The goal is connecting strategy, media, e-commerce, and in-store activity from the beginning of the planning cycle.
The Drum cites Harvard Business Review research stating that approximately 70% of shoppers use multiple channels on the path to purchase. The analysis assigns specific jobs to connected touchpoints. Content creates demand and engagement, while creative drives action and conversion. Media shapes shopper decisions, marketplaces capture purchasing intent, and direct-to-consumer platforms support brand loyalty.
Without a unified system, these touchpoints operate blindly. The article notes that retail strategies frequently fail because the high level thinking does not connect clearly enough to physical execution. A brilliant campaign idea will stall if the field marketing brief does not align with the digital media plan. Integrated planning ensures that every phase of the customer journey works together efficiently.
We deliver flawless, face to face marketing experiences that capture attention and generate measurable sales pipeline. When brands run field programs in silos, experiential data rarely connects to the wider commercial journey. We have been connecting brands with people through live experiences, retail programs, and national activations since 1995. Over three decades, we have built a track record of creating meaningful brand moments across the country.
Our focus remains on the nuances of the food and beverage sectors where operational excellence is mandatory. A poorly executed physical footprint actively harms retail relationships and consumer trust. Brand managers face intense pressure to prove event success through qualified pipeline rather than just vanity metrics. Organizing teams around a single commercial journey solves this exact operational tension.
Field marketing directors cannot afford to execute events that only produce isolated metrics like badge scans. Alistair Gammell, a partner at Threepipe Reply, argues that customers move fluidly while brands still operate in fragments. His central recommendation is to build a single system built around the customer journey, not the org chart. When live experiences operate as standalone moments, they fail to drive long-term business value.
We see this constantly when brands design physical sampling experiences without planning the post-event data capture. CPG brands must view every real world interaction as part of a larger commercial funnel. A sampling interaction or event lead should have a planned destination in CRM, loyalty programs, or retailer reporting. Gammell notes that brands should not abandon marketplaces or retail media.
Instead, he says those channels should connect with owned environments where brands can build first-party understanding and longer-term customer value. Rising acquisition costs make dependence on rented platforms highly problematic when brands lack owned customer environments. For CPG marketers, this strengthens the case for connecting experiential data capture directly to e-commerce and retail sales figures. Leaving event data in a standalone presentation completely ignores the true commercial impact of the activation.
This alignment is critical to proving your Return on Investment beyond basic foot traffic. A fragmented organizational chart heavily impacts downstream field execution. When briefs overlap and agencies compete for credit, brands experience poor booth flow and scattered attention during consumer events. Field teams might execute a flawless product trial, but the resulting data never reaches the CRM system for follow-up.
This operational disconnect is why consistent execution in retail is vital for commercial success. An integrated approach prevents the logistical nightmare of managing five different agencies with conflicting priorities. It ensures that the people pouring the samples understand the ultimate retail goal. Integration also creates necessary governance challenges that marketers must solve before launching a campaign.
A single accountable lead must have authority over briefs, budgets, data access, and retail coordination. If this lead lacks authority over agency responsibilities, the integrated model becomes an additional administrative layer rather than a genuine operational fix. In the field, these disconnects require strict oversight to ensure every physical touchpoint aligns with the overarching business goals. Brands must verify that their in-store experiences actually improve retail sell-through.
Avoiding these post-retail entry mistakes saves substantial time and money. The structural divide also complicates how brands track their results. Partners measuring independently may receive credit for capturing existing demand while true incrementality remains hidden. The Drum reports that one beauty brand found only 9% of customers purchased across both its Amazon and direct-to-consumer channels in a given month.
Meanwhile, 75% of its DTC customers were already active on Amazon. This specific brand case demonstrates why connected data is necessary to understand actual consumer behavior. A field activation should not be evaluated only by attendance or samples distributed. Its role must be defined within a wider path involving awareness, trial, purchase, and repeat behavior.
Integrating the data streams allows marketing leaders to clearly define the role of physical touchpoints. Experiential programs are no longer seen as a standalone cost center but as a vital data collection engine. When the field staff is trained to capture correct identifiers, the data seamlessly enters the e-commerce flow. The entire organization benefits from this clear, continuous loop of consumer feedback.
The financial penalty for internal misalignment is severe. The article cites a claim that siloed working can cost businesses up to 25% of annual revenue. In one specific example, The Drum says that consolidating oversight and repurposing assets for a multi-market brand recovered £25,000 in production and media spend. This happened after siloed planning had created overlapping briefs, redundant production, and inconsistent execution.
Integrating internal teams prevents these costly logistical mistakes from draining your activation budget. A unified measurement framework does not automatically solve attribution problems. Teams need shared data structures and clear outcome definitions before field teams launch an activation. The Interactive Advertising Bureau has addressed this issue through Project Eidos.
Their initiative is developing shared structures, classifications, and data conventions to improve cross-channel measurement consistency. Project Eidos includes work on cross-channel outcomes, attribution, incrementality, and privacy-ready marketing mix modeling. The IAB describes Project Eidos as an alignment framework rather than a mandate for one model, vendor, or methodology. Before production begins, experiential teams must write their briefs around the commercial journey rather than the event format.
Define whether the activation is intended to generate trial, drive store visits, or capture qualified leads. Establish clear data conventions before the event goes live. Decide on campaign identifiers, location codes, and consent language so that field data integrates smoothly. Build the post-event journey before you launch the physical activation to ensure trial participants receive proper follow-up content.
Are your experiential campaigns operating from the same integrated brief as your digital and retail media teams?
Shifting from fragmented organizational silos to an integrated customer journey requires strict control over physical execution. When marketing leaders align on one unified brief, Makai takes over the field logistics to ensure alignment. We eliminate inefficient post event follow up and CRM routing by deploying our Costco Roadshows capability. We manage end to end Costco roadshows that bring brands to shoppers through live demos, real conversations, and measurable sales impact.
30 Years Experiential & Retail Activation Partner for CPG & Beverage Brands | Multi-Market Demos, Roadshows & Costco/Club Programs That Actually Sell
