What Marketing Teams Will Look Like in 2030

It’s no secret that the past decade has been transformative for marketing teams, with major changes in technology, shifting consumer expectations, and evolving business needs. This is driving many in-house marketing functions to resemble a curated ecosystem rather than a traditional department, operating leaner, more strategically, and with deeper integration across external partners.

I’m already seeing a lot of this transpiring with our clients at Marino. Here are a few quick thoughts on where I believe we’re headed and, more importantly, on how brands and clients can prepare.

Focus on objectives, not channels.

Historically, marketing has been structured around channels (PR, digital, creative, social, advertising, etc.) each with their own team, budget and KPIs. Marino often receives RFPs focused on individual services, rather than strategic objectives - a symptom of how legacy structures still shape how companies seek support.

This model worked when the path to a customer or target audience was more linear, but today it’s anything but. Customers aren’t thinking in channels. Instead, they’re expecting seamless, consistent brand experience across every touchpoint. The smartest marketing organizations are reorganizing around outcomes and focusing on things such as driving awareness, deepening engagement, accelerating sales, etc. Then, after identifying these objectives, they’re building cross-functional methods to deliver them (or hiring a multi-dimensional agency to guide them).

Marketing teams are getting smaller – but smarter.

When I first got into marketing and PR more than 15 years ago, we used to assume that the larger the marketing team, the stronger the brand’s presence. Now, rather than building large internal departments, companies are focused on maintaining a lean, high-impact core of strategic thinkers, brand stewards, and data experts who can guide overall direction and make decisions. Then, the execution and scale are outsourced to flexible agency partners or fractional hires who can adapt quickly, bring specialized knowledge and integrate across a variety of functions – a critical advantage in today’s fast-moving and constantly evolving marketing landscape.

Tech is automating the ‘what’, but human strategy still owns the ‘why’.

Every day it seems like AI and Martech is capable of more and more. I’d be lying if I said our agency didn’t use it for generating headlines, identifying reporters to target, creating first drafts of documents and more.

Despite all this, technology can’t replace the work of defining what matters and why. Brands that win in 2030 will be tech enabled, but they’ll also be story-driven, purpose-led and laser-focused on customer insight. These are all things that are derived from strategy, creativity and ultimately human judgement. The marketing teams that can strike this balance sooner rather than later will have a leg up.

So, we’ve talked about what this means for in-house teams, but what does it mean for agencies?

To sum it up, the agency of the future isn’t a vendor. It’s a partner. We should focus on crafting integrated solutions built around business goals not disconnected, one-off services. Agencies that understand this world and can seamlessly advise on and blend PR, creative, media and analytics – all while staying agile and strategic – will be the ones who thrive.

At Marino, we’re not just waiting for 2030 to get here. We’re prioritizing cross-functionality, insights and outcomes, and we’re proud to be helping our clients not just adapt to the future but lead it. The future of marketing isn’t about doing more, it’s about doing what matters, together.