A Marketer’s Guide to managing Martech Innovation and Disruption

Chasefive Management

The Essential Checklist for Avoiding Costly Martech Pitfalls and Prepare for Emerging Tech

Business leaders and marketers know that the current pace of innovation in the Martech sector is unprecedented. The latest Martech Marketing Technology Landscape Supergraphic highlights over ten thousand products spanning over twenty marketing categories. Remarkably, over two thousand new marketing software products, many powered by artificial intelligence (AI), were added in just the second half of 2023 alone.

The drive towards adopting new martech solutions is emphasised by significant financial investment; data from industry analysts reveal a global increase in marketing tech spending. According to a Forrester report, a multi-year martech boom is expected, with global spending projected to rise from $131 billion in 2023 to over $215 billion annually by 2027.

With such a pace of development in marketing software, navigating the complexities of technical, operational, and regulatory compliance can be overwhelming. The risks of misalignment between the intended purpose of marketing technology and its actual use can result in significant costs for organisations of all sizes.

This guide offers a practical checklist to help you avoid issues related to suitability and compliance, ensuring your marketing organization remains protected in a constantly changing environment.

Businesses feel urgency to adopt new martech solutions, while customers expect more.

The convergence of data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and automation has sparked an acceleration in marketing technology, compelling businesses to swiftly adapt to compete and thrive. As technology evolves, companies recognise the need to stay competitive. Investing in martech allows marketing teams to deploy more advanced strategies, enhance capabilities, and keep pace with industry trends. Martech solutions enable businesses to understand customer behaviour and tailor marketing efforts accordingly. At the same time, consumers demand personalised experiences, seamless interactions, and relevant content, all of which requires martech to execute.

Businesses feel urgency to adopt new martech solutions, while customers expect more.

Marketing technology shelf life getting shorter amid ‘time to value’ uncertainty.

Organisations aiming to maintain a competitive edge in marketing face the dual challenge of extracting maximum value from their martech investments and keeping pace with swift technological advancements.

The challenge marketing and tech budget owners need to address is understanding the time-to-value periods of new technology and the longevity of the current marketing technology stack. Sectors like artificial intelligence (AI) are driving rapid progress in marketing technology, with AI startups leading the way with quick, innovative solutions that promise short time-to-value (TTV) periods.

Cost of inaction in martech adoption.

In a highly competitive marketing landscape, the speed of technological innovation means budget owners recognise the potential costs of inaction and loss of competitiveness as significant concerns.

Achieving value from martech requires balancing swift deployment with the assurance of substantial returns on investment.

Marketing decision-makers are squeezed between a push for quick results and the risk that hesitation to adopt new martech solutions can result in missed opportunities, such as revenue loss, decreased customer engagement, and eroding brand relevance. Inactivity undermines a brand's competitive edge, impacting market share and customer loyalty.

Chasefive Martech Evaluation Checklist: Choosing the Right Software for Your Marketing Organisation.

With the number of options available in the market, each promising to revolutionise your marketing efforts, selecting the perfect fit can feel overwhelming. However, making an informed choice is crucial to effectively harness the power of martech, driving growth and delivering exceptional customer experiences.

The Chasefive "Martech Evaluation Checklist" guides you through the process of selecting a martech solution that aligns with your organisational goals. This checklist helps identify must-have features and integration capabilities. It involves four stages: assessing business needs, conducting research, selecting vendors, and making an informed decision for future success.

1. Needs Assessment & Feasibility Stage

The journey to selecting the ideal martech solution begins with a thorough Needs Assessment & Feasibility stage. At this early stage, it’s important to clearly define your marketing objectives and ascertain how a new solution can support these goals, whether by enhancing customer engagement, boosting lead generation, or improving personalisation efforts.

This step requires a deep dive into your company’s specific needs, evaluating how the desired functionalities will impact the marketing team and other functions such as sales and customer service operations.

A critical assessment of how each potential tool aligns with your strategic objectives is essential, focusing on its ability to enhance customer experience, improve operational efficiency, and drive revenue growth, starting from defining your marketing needs.

Key steps in the Needs Assessment & Feasibility Stage are:

Defining Marketing Needs: When choosing a marketing technology solution, clarify your objectives for the new tool. Consider functionality, impact on other departments, and ability to enhance customer experience, boost operational efficiency, and contribute to revenue growth. Choose a solution that aligns with your business objectives to achieve marketing goals effectively.

Evaluate current marketing systems: Evaluate your current marketing systems by assessing your existing marketing technology tools. Understand their functionalities, strengths, and limitations. For instance, evaluate whether your current solution supports your objective.
Conduct feasibility check: Establish your budget for new marketing software. Ensure your company has necessary resources (e.g., IT support, training capacity) for effective implementation and management.

2. Research Stage

The Research Stage of selecting a martech solution involves a detailed examination of potential vendors and their offerings. This involves identifying and shortlisting vendors based on features, pricing, scalability, and industry reputation. This stage is vital for narrowing down choices to solutions that offer the right tools, support, and potential for growth alongside your business.

Key steps in the Research Stage are:

Identify vendors: Research and shortlist potential martech vendors based on features, pricing, scalability, and industry reputation.

Understand the martech solution: Review vendor technical information, case studies, and customer reviews to understand each solutions capabilities and potential fit for your needs. Specifically looking at:

Features and functionality: Deep dive into the features and functionalities offered by the martech solution. Does it address your specific needs and provide the capabilities you require?
Integrations: Consider how well the solution integrates with your existing marketing technology stack and other essential business systems (e.g., CRM, CMS). Seamless integration is crucial for a cohesive workflow. Evaluate how well the martech solution integrates with existing tools and systems, including CRM, data analytics platforms, and other marketing software.
Scalability and growth potential: Can the martech solution scale with your business growth? Ensure it can handle increasing data volumes and evolving marketing needs. Ensure the solution can scale with your business and adapt to changing marketing strategies and technologies.
Customisation: Does the solution offer customization options to adapt to your specific workflows and processes?
Security and compliance: Evaluate the data security measures offered by the martech solution. Ensure it complies with relevant data privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA) based on your location and target market.

Examine the user experience (UX). Assess the usability of the solution for everyday users, not just IT professionals. A good UX can significantly impact adoption rates and productivity. Consider the learning curve and whether the vendor offers training and support.

In the research stage develop a list of key criteria to evaluate each software solution, including all the points listed above.

3. Selection stage

The selection stage of the marketing technology evaluation process goes beyond just comparing features; it involves a deep dive into how each option can serve your unique business needs and enhance your team's efficiency. This step involves engaging with vendors and reviewing their platforms through demos and free trials, rigorously comparing their offerings, and evaluating each vendor's reputation and support system.

Key steps in the Selection Stage are:

Request demos and free trials: Schedule demos with shortlisted vendors to get a hands-on experience with the software. Utilize any free trial periods offered to further assess usability and functionality.

Compare and contrast: Compare shortlisted software based on your selection criteria, demo experiences, and pricing plans.

Evaluate vendor reputation and support: Research the vendor’s track record, customer service reputation, and the robustness of their support and training offerings. Consider the vendor’s stability and long-term viability to ensure they will be a reliable partner.

4. Decision stage

Selecting the right marketing software for your organisation culminates in the decision stage, where careful negotiation and strategic assessments become paramount. At this point, it's essential to not only finalise the terms with your chosen vendor but also to secure the necessary internal approvals.

This stage involves a delicate balance of negotiating contract terms, pricing, and implementation specifics while also conducting a thorough risk versus reward assessment to ensure the chosen solution aligns with your company's long-term goals and scalability needs.

Navigating this final phase paves the way for a successful technology adoption that not only meets your current requirements but also supports your future growth.

Key steps in the Decision Stage are:

· Negotiate contract: Once you've chosen the preferred vendor, negotiate contract terms, pricing, and implementation details.

· Obtain approval: Secure internal approvals from relevant stakeholders before finalizing the purchase.

· Risk vs. reward assessment. Consider the trade-offs between the potential benefits (reward) and the risks associated with the solution. Evaluate factors such as implementation complexity, ongoing maintenance, and scalability.

Charting a path to Martech success

Whether you are just beginning to explore the possibilities of adopting new marketing technology solutions or upgrading your existing martech stack, the journey is strategic and demands careful consideration at every turn. From clearly defining your marketing needs and assessing the feasibility of new solutions to conducting thorough research on potential vendors and making an informed decision, each step is crucial in selecting a martech solution that aligns with your business objectives.

Remember, the goal is not just to adopt the latest technology but to choose tools that genuinely enhance your marketing capabilities, foster better customer relationships, and drive your business towards sustained growth.

As you navigate this process, keep your strategic goals at the forefront, ensuring that every decision contributes to the broader vision of your company's success in the ever-evolving digital landscape.

Join the FAPI Marketing Framework™ Academy to learn more about marketing team resource planning and team building.

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How to build a data driven culture in marketing teams. Transforming marketing data from "noise" into operational insights

By Chasefive Management • January 21, 2026

Establishing a truly data-driven culture goes beyond simply gathering information; it involves a significant transformation. Based on the principles of the FAPI Marketing Framework™ , raw data, which is often seen as just "noise," needs to be refined into a structured ecosystem. This evolution is essential for guiding strategic decision-making and optimizing performance. One of the core principles is clear: data without a structured approach becomes a distraction rather than a tool for success. To truly harness the value of data, teams must create a system that promotes purpose, logic, and clarity in their processes. If you're ready to move past merely collecting data and wish to cultivate marketing systems driven by insights , here’s a step-by-step guide to building that culture. 1. Establish Purpose and Benchmarks Before Execution A data-driven culture begins with preparation. Data without structure is just noise, so the Framework mandates that the Plan Master must establish benchmarks and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) before execution begins. Define the "Why": Teams must understand not just what is being measured, but why it serves a purpose. This avoids costly misalignment and inefficient resource allocation. The Four Pillars of Readiness: To prepare data for decision-making, the team must ensure four elements are in place: defined target metrics, data collection infrastructure, contextual data (historical trends/benchmarks), and conditional data logic. 2. Climb the "Marketing Intelligence Ladder" The framework advocates moving the team from basic reporting to strategic action by climbing the " Marketing Intelligence Ladder. " A data-driven culture evolves through these stages: Descriptive & Diagnostic: Moving beyond simple Reporting (what happened) to Analysis (why it happened). Predictive: Using Forecasting and Predictive Analysis to anticipate future outcomes like churn risk or lead volume. Prescriptive: The ultimate goal is Prescriptive Analysis , where data answers the question, "What should we do about it?" recommending concrete actions to maximize impact. 3. Implement "Data Conditionality" To remove bias and guesswork, the framework introduces the principle of Data Conditionality . This involves establishing pre-defined outcomes based on specific results using "If [Condition], Then [Action]" logic. Automated Decisioning: By defining these rules in advance (e.g., "If engagement drops below X, trigger Campaign Y"), teams can react immediately to data shifts without arbitrary debate. Proactive vs. Reactive: This logic allows for both reactive adjustments to performance and proactive preparation for anticipated trends.

Expanded 2026 FAPI Marketing Framework Academy Course: A New Standard for Operational Marketing Excellence

By Chasefive Management • January 19, 2026

The FAPI Marketing Framework Academy today announced the release of its 2026 Certification Course , representing the most significant evolution of its training program to date. Now expanded to 54 comprehensive lessons , the 2026 edition transforms the curriculum from a strategy workshop into a full-scale operational certification pathway designed to help organizations move from campaign execution to marketing organizational planning.

The Brand DNA factor: Mastering Brand Positioning with the FAPI Framework

By Chasefive Management • January 2, 2026

In the noisy world of modern marketing, it is easy to mistake a catchy slogan or a viral campaign for a brand strategy. But true market power comes from something far deeper. According to the FAPI Marketing Framework , competitive positioning isn't just a marketing tactic—it is a mission-critical business decision that defines who you are, where you play, and why you matter. In the FAPI model, Competitive Positioning is the "North Star." It resides in the Frame Module , meaning it is a non-negotiable, long-term strategic foundation that must be established by leadership before a single piece of tactical planning begins. Here is how the FAPI Framework breaks down the art and science of securing your place in the market. 1. The Core Trinity: Defining Your Stance At its most basic level, FAPI dictates that you cannot position a brand until you have clear, distinct answers to three fundamental questions. These form your brand Positioning Statement : What is our core purpose? (Why do we exist beyond making money?) What is our core promise? (What can the customer always count on us to deliver?) What is our core capability? (What do we do better than anyone else?) If you cannot answer these, you don't have a position—you just have a product. 2. The Scorecard: Six Benchmarking Criteria How do you know where you stand relative to the competition? The FAPI Framework replaces guesswork with a scoring model. To find your distinct place in the market, you must benchmark yourself and your competitors against these six dimensions: Product/Solutions: The depth and range of what you offer. Purpose: How well your actions align with a stated cause (crucial for non-profits or purpose-driven brands). Pricing: Price competitiveness (typically, a lower price earns a higher score here). Credentials: The qualifications, awards, and certifications that prove your expertise. Innovation: Your ability to disrupt the market or challenge existing norms. Client Experience/Service: The delivery of exceptional service and support. By scoring these, you can visualize exactly where "white space" exists in the market and where you are currently winning or losing. 3. The Reality Check: Alignment is Not Optional One of the most powerful tenets of the FAPI Framework is Alignment with Product Reality . Positioning is not a coat of paint you apply to a crumbling wall; it must reflect what is actually being built. The Volvo Rule The framework cites Volvo to illustrate this. A manufacturer cannot position itself as the "Safety Brand" if its engineering team is designing open-top, reckless sports cars. If the product reality does not match the desired position, marketing cannot "spin" it. Instead, the business must reverse-engineer the positioning to align with what actually exists. 4. The brand "DNA" Factor: Strategic Immutability Because positioning sits in the Frame Module, it is treated as the business's DNA. It is not something you change just to capture a quick trend. The FAPI framework asserts that brand positioning acts as a hard boundary for the marketing team, rather than a flexible variable. Because positioning is part of a business’s fundamental "DNA," an established brand cannot simply pivot to a contradictory market segment—such as a premium provider suddenly targeting bargain hunters—merely to capture short-term revenue. Such a move is never viewed as just a "tactical campaign"; it represents the effective termination of the brand’s identity. Therefore, the defined position must serve as a strict guardrail, automatically disqualifying any marketing activity that conflicts with the brand's core promise, regardless of the potential for quick profit. 5. The Ultimate Judge: Consumer Validation Finally, the FAPI Framework offers a humbling truth: You don't own your position—your customers do. While leadership defines the desired position, the market validates it through Co-Production . A brand is only afforded the position that customers believe it deserves. In the FAPI Marketing Framework, positioning is not an exercise in creative writing. It is a rigid, strategic discipline. It requires honest benchmarking, strict alignment with product reality, and the humility to listen to your customers.

How Onyx Coating Uses the FAPI Marketing Framework to Bring Structure, Alignment, and Accountability to Marketing

By Chasefive Management • December 18, 2025

From Disconnected Activity to Structured Marketing Management As Onyx Coating continued to expand its global footprint across ceramic coatings, paint protection film (PPF), and surface protection solutions, the complexity of managing marketing across regions, products, and channels increased. Rather than treating marketing as a collection of individual tactics, Onyx Coating adopted the FAPI Marketing Framework to manage marketing as a structured, end-to-end business function . The framework provides a clear sequence— Frame, Architecture, Production, and Insights —that connects strategy directly to execution and measurement. This shift has allowed the marketing team to move away from ad-hoc activity and toward disciplined, repeatable planning. A Shared Master Plan That Eliminates Silos One of the most immediate impacts of implementing the FAPI Marketing Framework was improved alignment across the marketing team. According to Amjad Elsayed, Marketing Manager at Onyx Coating , the framework introduces an “engineering” mindset to marketing—one that forces structure, clarity, and consistency. “The FAPI Marketing Framework is a systematic approach that helps us plan and execute marketing with real structure,” says Elsayed. “It aligns the entire team around a shared master plan and prevents people from working in silos.” By establishing a single strategic Frame and a defined Marketing Architecture , every campaign, channel, and initiative is connected to the same objectives. This ensures that regional teams, product marketing, and execution resources are all pulling in the same direction. Clear Accountability Between Strategy and Execution Another critical advantage of the FAPI Framework is how it clarifies ownership and accountability inside the marketing function. In many organizations, responsibility for strategy and execution is blurred—leading to misalignment, duplication of effort, and gaps in delivery. FAPI addresses this by clearly separating strategic responsibility from executional responsibility. “The framework clearly defines who owns strategy in the Frame phase and who owns execution in the Production phase,” explains Elsayed. “That clarity improves accountability and raises the overall professionalism of the marketing team.” This separation allows senior marketing leaders to focus on strategic direction and priorities, while execution teams operate with clear briefs, expectations, and performance measures. Marketing as a Scalable Operating System For Onyx Coating, the value of the FAPI Marketing Framework goes beyond better planning—it creates a scalable foundation for growth. By embedding the framework into its marketing planning and management processes, Onyx Coating can: Maintain consistency across global markets Scale marketing activity without losing control or clarity Improve coordination between strategy, execution, and reporting Demonstrate marketing productivity and performance more transparently This structured approach supports Onyx Coating’s broader commitment to operational excellence and long-term brand leadership in the automotive paint protection industry. Raising the Standard for Marketing Operations The adoption of the FAPI Marketing Framework reflects a broader shift in how modern marketing teams operate. Rather than relying on individual brilliance or disconnected campaigns, Onyx Coating has chosen a system that treats marketing as a managed, accountable discipline. By applying structure, shared planning, and clear accountability, the Onyx Coating marketing team is better equipped to execute at scale—without sacrificing alignment or strategic intent. For organizations facing similar challenges, Onyx Coating’s experience highlights an important lesson: marketing performance improves when marketing is managed like a system, not a collection of tasks. Find out more about Onyx Coating at www.onyxcoating.com

How difficult is it to implement the FAPI Marketing Framework?

By Chasefive Management • December 15, 2025

Implementing the FAPI Marketing Framework is conceptually straightforward, but it can be operationally demanding, especially the first time an organization adopts it at scale. Generally, implementation is moderately to highly difficult because FAPI functions as an organizational operating system, not merely a campaign or tactical framework. The framework itself is clearly defined as four sequential modules— Frame, Architecture, Production, and Insights —with fixed deliverables and terminology, so teams do not have to invent their own processes from scratch. The real difficulty lies in aligning current ways of working, roles, and data flows to this end‑to‑end structure, which represents a significant change for many marketing teams. Unlike lighter models such as AIDA or the 4Ps—which can be applied independently to a single ad, channel, or product—the FAPI Framework requires a fundamental shift in how marketing operates within the organization. Specifically, it requires restructuring how the marketing function interacts with other business functions (including the C-suite) and how day-to-day work is planned, executed, and measured. Because the FAPI Framework is an organizational marketing management framework rather than a creative or channel framework, it demands changes to governance, decision-making, accountability, and execution discipline across the marketing function. Breakdown of implementation difficulty The framework is composed of four sequential modules, with implementation difficulty typically peaking in the first two phases. ✅ Frame Difficulty level: Medium Requires C-suite involvement. The "Plan Master" must extract and formalize marketing strategy keystones from leadership. ✅ Architecture Difficulty level: High Requires translation. High-level business goals must be translated into a structured, executable marketing plan before any creative work begins. ✅ Production Difficulty level: Low Standard execution (campaigns, content, activation). Most teams already do this well; FAPI simply adds structure and discipline. ✅ Insights Difficulty level: Medium Requires rigorous analysis. Teams must perform ego-free analysis focused on business outcomes—not vanity metrics—and feed insights back into the strategy. The three key implementation challenges If you attempt to roll out the FAPI Framework in your organization, you must plan to address the following friction points: A. The “Strategic Gap” ( Frame Module ) Most marketing teams operate in a tactical bubble—they infer business objectives and immediately begin execution. FAPI explicitly forbids moving into execution until the Frame is clearly defined and approved by the C-suite. The challenge: You must require the CEO or Board to provide clear, written input on commercial objectives, competitive positioning, and priority audiences before any campaigns launch. Many leadership teams resist this level of specificity and accountability. B. Project leadership. The Need for a “Plan Master”. The FAPI Framework depends on a clearly defined role—often referred to as the Plan Master or Marketing Architect. This role is not simply a CMO; it acts as the translator between executive intent and operational marketing execution. The challenge: It is difficult to find or develop an individual who combines: The strategic authority to challenge and clarify executive direction. The operational rigor to manage detailed plans, dependencies, and workflows. C. Implementing sequential discipline FAPI is an intentionally sequential system. Architecture cannot be skipped to accelerate Production. The challenge: In fast-moving or agile environments, teams are accustomed to “test and learn” approaches. FAPI requires teams to plan and build first, which can feel slow or bureaucratic to organizations that prioritize speed over structure. Factors that reduce difficulty On the other hand, the framework is designed to be learnable and repeatable. Guidebooks, training, and a defined playbook structure lower the conceptual barriers for both beginners and experienced marketers. Organizations that already manage campaigns with clear objectives, standard processes, owned data, and regular performance reviews will find much of FAPI maps onto what they already do; for them, adoption is more about renaming and tightening than wholesale reinvention.

The Plan Master. The Central Force Behind High-Performance Marketing Management

By Chasefive Management • November 26, 2025

In high-performance marketing organisations, success doesn't happen by accident—it is engineered. The FAPI Marketing Framework™ codifies this principle by defining clear roles, structures, and processes that transform strategic intent into measurable marketing outcomes. At the core of this system sits a pivotal leadership role: the Plan Master . Often misunderstood as a mere project manager or senior marketer, the Plan Master is, in reality, the marketing operational architect , strategic interpreter , cross-functional conductor , and insights-driven decision maker behind the entire FAPI program. They are the "glue" that holds together the four modules of the FAPI Framework—Frame, Architecture, Production, and Insights—and ensure that strategy and execution flow as one continuous system. This article explains what makes the Plan Master role so central to marketing performance, why it exists, and how it elevates a business’s marketing capability far beyond traditional marketing management. How the Plan Master Operates Across All Four FAPI Marketing Modules The Plan Master is the only role that spans the entire framework. Their responsibilities shift and expand as the organisation moves through Frame → Architecture → Production → Insights. 1. FRAME MODULE: Vision Decoder / Encoder At this stage, the Plan Master ensures: Commercial objectives, competitive analysis, and audience definitions are complete and correct The senior leadership’s strategic direction is accurately captured in the framework All stakeholders understand and agree upon the strategic foundations before any planning begins The output of the Frame is strategic clarity—owned, maintained, and enforced by the Plan Master. 2. ARCHITECTURE MODULE: Operational Architect & Designer Key responsibilities include: Designing the operational Architecture for the marketing function Coordinating and producing the Marketing Playbook Defining the tactical marketing model appropriate for the organisation Overseeing financial management and ensuring a strong Return on Marketing Investment (ROMI) In this module, the Plan Master becomes the blueprint engineer—turning goals into workflows, budgets, and actionable plans. 3. PRODUCTION MODULE: Coach, Drummer, and Operational Leader Once the plan is activated, the Plan Master shifts into execution mode: Leading kickoff meetings Supporting Production Executives Removing roadblocks and enabling the team to move faster Ensuring every task aligns with the Marketing Playbook Blending creativity with commercial discipline They keep the rhythm of the system—the “drummer” ensuring pace, tempo, and consistency. 4. INSIGHTS MODULE: Master of Insights The Plan Master also leads the measurement and optimisation engine: Establishing benchmarks and KPIs before execution begins Organizing data flows and reporting structures Interpreting results and turning them into improvements Driving continuous optimisation across all modules Their role ensures that marketing does not operate on intuition, but on structured learning and measurable performance. The Management Style That Defines a Plan Master The Plan Master’s effectiveness is not based solely on technical skill. Their leadership style is just as crucial. Servant Leadership They empower teams, rather than command them. Their focus is on enabling others to perform at their best. Diplomacy & Cross-Functional Influence Because team members often do not report directly to the Plan Master, influence—not authority—is their greatest tool. They negotiate for resources, align competing priorities, and maintain organisational harmony. Operational Decision-Making When priorities change or unexpected issues arise, the Plan Master makes decisive, informed choices that protect both strategy and delivery. Quality Control They champion standards, enforce SOPs, and ensure marketing output is consistently high in quality. Why the Plan Master Matters More Than Ever Modern marketing is too fragmented—and too high stakes—to be run through ad-hoc coordination, siloed specialists, or disconnected teams. Without a central figure to harmonize strategy, architecture, execution, and insights, businesses experience: Misalignment between strategy and operations Inefficient spending Repetitive mistakes Slow execution Lack of accountability Weak performance measurement The Plan Master eliminates these issues by creating a unified, structured, and continuously improving marketing operation.