Marketing effectiveness starts with defining the right “effectiveness”

What does "effectiveness" actually mean inside your organization?

It might sound obvious, but Sorin believes most companies skip this foundational step. “Effectiveness has different definitions depending on who joined the C-suite in the last month,” he noted. Before investing in any tool, campaign, or metric, teams need to align on a shared understanding of what success looks like.

At Mars, Sorin and his team chose to focus on creative effectiveness as a primary driver. “We knew from research that creative is the number one driver of effectiveness, responsible for about half the impact of a campaign,” he said. That clarity allowed the organization to direct its efforts, tools, and talent toward improving creative performance.

Too often, organizations chase metrics without context. When effectiveness is a moving target, measurement becomes noise. Sorin suggests writing your effectiveness definition on the wall—literally—and returning to it often.

Systems thinking: engineering a smarter marketing strategy

Sorin’s approach to marketing is deeply influenced by his background in engineering. He views marketing as a complex system, not a collection of tactics.

He emphasizes that marketing effectiveness isn't just about having access to data—it’s about knowing how to implement insights, align stakeholders, and make consistent, informed decisions across the entire brand system.

This concept of systems thinking in marketing invites us to zoom out. Instead of isolating variables like click-through rates or social engagement, marketers should consider how all components of the ecosystem interact.

Imagine tuning a guitar. You don’t just tighten one string and call it done—you adjust the entire instrument to create harmony. Similarly, tweaking your media strategy without evaluating pricing or product strategy may lead to short-term gains but long-term dissonance.

Why simplification beats sophistication in a cluttered Martech world

The marketing tech landscape is overflowing with platforms promising insights, automation, and optimization. But more tools don’t necessarily lead to better marketing performance.

“There’s this syndrome of yet another SaaS platform that everybody needs to learn this week,” Sorin joked. “It’s just a reflection of how complex the business has become.”

He’s not advocating for abandoning technology—far from it. But he urges marketers to start with a clear job-to-be-done. If a tool doesn’t directly support your defined version of effectiveness, it’s likely a distraction.

His call to action for martech vendors? “Simplify the complex. That should be your number one goal.”

AI is a co-pilot, not a crystal ball

AI came up frequently throughout the episode—not as a buzzword, but as a real force shaping the future of marketing.

Sorin highlighted how AI in marketing can improve the odds of making good decisions by helping marketers analyze large volumes of structured and unstructured data. “AI doesn’t give you certainty, but it improves your probability of success,” he said.

Large language models, in particular, are already changing the game. Sorin sees their greatest value not in raw computation, but in integration. They act as conversational layers that help humans make sense of vast data sets—especially emotional and behavioral data that used to be difficult to process at scale.

Still, he’s cautious.

“I’m excited about AI. But I’m also scared,” he admitted. “I think about it through the lens of my 10-year-old son. I don’t know how to guide him, because marketing 12 years from now will be totally different.”

Focus more on consumers, less on channels

Too often, marketers get stuck discussing media formats instead of customer behaviors.

“We spend too much time debating non-skippable vs. newsfeed ads, when the real question is: What’s the category I’m playing in? When do people use this product? Why do they choose it?” Sorin said.

He argues that marketers have been pulled into conversations driven by the media platforms themselves—companies that are excellent at marketing to marketers. That creates a feedback loop where campaign tactics take precedence over real consumer understanding.

To break out of that trap, Sorin suggests marketers spend less time chasing channel trends and more time exploring customer insights that reveal “why” people behave the way they do.

Build consistency before chasing innovation

Marketers love new ideas. But Sorin argues that true impact comes from consistency, not constant novelty.

“I ran the same media effectiveness solution every month for 14 years at Mars,” he said. “We didn’t get distracted by shiny new tools because we wanted the compound effect of consistent measurement.”

That compound effect creates institutional knowledge. It builds a culture where effectiveness is not just measured but understood across the organization.

Here’s how Sorin breaks it down:

• Define your effectiveness model. Then get 100% alignment on it.
• Choose your metrics and stick to them. Don’t reinvent the wheel every quarter.
• Create internal competition. Use benchmarks and recognition to motivate teams.
• Get senior buy-in. Without executive sponsorship, your efforts won’t scale.

When asked how to get buy-in, Sorin stressed the importance of internal communication: “Start with your CMO and ideally your CFO. Make effectiveness a business conversation, not just a marketing one.”

The future belongs to marketers who ask better questions

As AI takes on more executional work, the marketer’s role will shift toward framing better problems and asking smarter questions.

That’s where human insight becomes indispensable.

“You should experiment not just in your creative execution, but in how you understand your consumer,” Sorin said. “Don’t get bored by your measurement method—get bored by how little you know about your audience.”

This mindset positions marketing as a discipline of curiosity, not just communication. Putting human insight at the center of innovation should not be viewed as a checkbox, but as a guiding principle.

Marketing is a tangle worth untangling

Sorin didn’t come on the show pretending to have all the answers. In fact, he was refreshingly candid about the ongoing complexity of marketing in today’s landscape.

“It’s a continuous tangle,” he said. “But if you define effectiveness clearly, think in systems, simplify where you can, and focus on understanding your customer—you’ll be in a much better position to navigate that complexity.”

Looking to level up your strategy? Sorin’s book is a must-read for marketers who want to turn insights into real, measurable brand growth.

“I wrote this book because I wanted to start a conversation,” Sorin said. “And I hope every marketer who reads it finds a new way to think about effectiveness, beyond just the ads we run.”

Episode links:

• Sorin Patilinet on LinkedIn
• Sorin’s Marketing Effectiveness book
• Mastering the human approach to marketing: you can’t know what you don't understand — This on-demand webinar explores how customer insight fuels marketing effectiveness.
• Launch with confidence: a 6‑step framework for high‑performing campaigns — This on-demand webinar focuses on systems thinking in marketing strategy and campaign effectiveness. UserTesting
• How UX and marketing drive better customer experiences (Episode 162) — This podcast episode emphasizes the collaboration between marketing and UX to deliver effective campaigns and brand growth. UserTesting
• 3 keys to using human insights in marketing campaigns — This blog post details how human insight supports campaign effectiveness and creative strategy.