Rebuilding Internal Marketing Capabilities Drives Business Outcomes

In this conversation, Norm de Greve, Chief Growth Officer at General Motors, and Jim Stengel explore the intricate systems that drive marketing success within a legacy automotive giant undergoing profound transformation. The core thesis is that true competitive advantage is forged not by chasing immediate wins, but by a disciplined, long-term approach that prioritizes customer understanding, internal capability building, and a clear articulation of marketing's strategic value. This discussion reveals hidden consequences of common industry practices, such as the erosion of internal expertise through over-reliance on agencies, and the potential for AI to create more work than it solves in its current stage. Marketers, brand leaders, and strategists should read this to understand how to build durable marketing functions, navigate technological disruption with a clear-eyed perspective, and elevate marketing's strategic influence within their organizations. The advantage lies in adopting a mindset that embraces complexity, invests in foundational capabilities, and consistently links marketing efforts to tangible business outcomes, even when those payoffs are delayed.

The Unseen Engine: How GM's Marketing Transformation Drives Long-Term Advantage

In a landscape where the automotive industry is hurtling towards an electric and connected future, the temptation for marketing leaders is to focus solely on the next campaign, the latest digital trend, or the quickest path to immediate sales. However, as this conversation with Norm de Greve, Chief Growth Officer of General Motors, reveals, the most potent strategies are often those that require a deeper, more systemic understanding. The obvious solutions, the quick fixes, can inadvertently create downstream complexities that undermine long-term success. GM's journey, as articulated by de Greve, is a masterclass in recognizing that true competitive advantage is not built on speed alone, but on a deliberate, often unglamorous, commitment to building foundational capabilities, understanding the customer at a profound level, and ensuring marketing is intrinsically linked to business growth--even when that growth takes time to materialize. This narrative delves into how GM is systematically re-engineering its marketing engine, moving beyond superficial metrics to cultivate a discipline that yields lasting impact, a stark contrast to approaches that prioritize short-term visibility over enduring strength.

Why the Obvious Fix Makes Things Worse: The Erosion of Internal Expertise

The automotive industry, much like many others, has a history of outsourcing core functions to agencies. While agencies offer specialized expertise and can drive immediate campaign execution, Norm de Greve highlights a critical, often overlooked, consequence: the erosion of internal marketing capabilities. Over time, this reliance can lead to a situation where the client organization becomes slower, more expensive, and less adept at navigating a rapidly transforming market.

"What had happened over time through nobody's fault is we had outsourced most of our marketing to our agencies," de Greve explains. Agencies, in their pursuit of growth, naturally take on more work, which is beneficial in the short term. However, the downstream effect is a "slow to move kind of more expensive model with less capabilities within GM." This dependency creates a hidden cost: a diminished capacity for innovation and agility when the market demands it. When GM faced the monumental task of launching more new vehicles than ever before, coupled with the need to create awareness, desire, and demand, the existing outsourced model proved insufficient. The obvious solution--continuing with the status quo--was not feasible.

This situation illustrates a fundamental principle of systems thinking: actions have ripple effects. The decision to outsource, while seemingly efficient, created a feedback loop where internal knowledge atrophied, making the organization less resilient. De Greve’s insight here is that marketing is not just about executing campaigns; it’s about building and maintaining a core competency. When that competency is outsourced, the organization loses a vital strategic lever. The consequence is not just a lack of internal skill, but a reduced ability to steer the brand's destiny effectively.

The 18-Month Payoff Nobody Wants to Wait For: Building Marketing as a Career

Jim Stengel, host of The CMO Podcast, draws a parallel between marketing at General Motors and at Procter & Gamble, noting that at P&G, marketing is viewed as a career with developed skills, whereas in some auto companies, it can be treated more as a "job to be done." This distinction is crucial. De Greve echoes this sentiment, emphasizing that marketing has become exponentially more complex, requiring a unique blend of analytical and creative prowess.

The transformation at GM involved a deliberate effort to re-establish marketing as a career path, fostering internal talent and capabilities. This is not a quick win; it's a long-term investment. "We had to go through the process to hire the people within GM," de Greve states. This requires patience, as visible progress may not be immediate. The immediate discomfort of building internal teams, investing in training, and potentially facing resistance from those accustomed to the agency model, is precisely what creates a durable competitive advantage. Most organizations, driven by short-term pressures, will shy away from such foundational work.

The consequence of this investment is a marketing function that is more agile, more deeply understands the brand's nuances, and is more accountable for outcomes. It shifts the focus from merely "doing marketing" to "being marketing"--an integrated, strategic discipline. This approach directly combats the "job to be done" mentality, where individuals might rotate through marketing without developing deep expertise. By fostering a career path, GM is cultivating a team that can navigate the complexities of modern marketing, from data analytics to creative development, with a level of sophistication that external, often less integrated, partners may struggle to replicate consistently.

Where AI Creates More Work Than It Solves: Navigating the Hype Cycle

The conversation naturally turns to Artificial Intelligence (AI), a topic dominating industry discussions. De Greve offers a pragmatic perspective, cautioning against the uncritical adoption of AI for marketing tasks. While acknowledging its potential, he highlights the current reality: AI often generates more work in its nascent stages.

"It's really hard for AI to understand your brand and it's really hard for AI to understand taste," de Greve observes. This means that while AI can generate content or suggest prompts, the need for human oversight, creative direction, and taste refinement remains paramount. The example of AI re-rendering an entire image when asked to simply move a tree, leading to unintended errors in the car or background, perfectly illustrates the "hidden cost" of AI implementation. Instead of a quick fix, it becomes a time-consuming process of correction and refinement.

Furthermore, de Greve points out that AI, by its nature, seeks the "most likely next answer," which can lead to generic, average outputs that fail to capture brand distinctiveness. "That's going to take you to the average of your category," he warns. This tendency to regress to the mean is a significant downstream consequence for brands seeking to stand out. The effort required to guide AI towards unique brand expression, and the subsequent need to meticulously check its outputs, means that in 2026, AI might represent "more work" rather than immediate efficiency.

This perspective on AI is a prime example of systems thinking applied to technological adoption. The immediate appeal of AI--speed and automation--is tempered by an understanding of its current limitations and the systemic impact on creative workflows. The consequence of rushing AI implementation without fully understanding its capabilities and limitations is not just wasted effort, but potentially a dilution of brand identity. The advantage lies in a measured approach, experimenting with AI while retaining human creative control, recognizing that true innovation often requires patience and a deep understanding of the tools, not just their promise.

The System Responds: Marketing Accountability Beyond Campaigns

A significant challenge in marketing is establishing clear accountability for outcomes, especially when those outcomes are not immediate. De Greve discusses GM's structured approach to marketing accountability, moving beyond the simplistic "sales up, marketing good; sales down, marketing bad" equation.

GM's system focuses on the consumer journey, defining key metrics within the initial consideration set and the shopping journey. "How often are you in the initial consideration set? How much should you be in the initial consideration set? With whom?" These are measurable questions that tie marketing activities to tangible business objectives. This shift from campaign-centric evaluation to outcome-based accountability has profound systemic implications.

When marketing is accountable for specific stages of the consumer journey, it fosters a more disciplined and data-driven approach. "It breeds it helps people rise up, it helps them exhale, it helps them have autonomy and direction," de Greve notes. This is a second-order positive consequence: by establishing clear, measurable goals, marketing teams are empowered to innovate and experiment, knowing their success is tied to defined outcomes rather than subjective approval.

The conventional wisdom that marketing's success is solely tied to sales is insufficient when extended forward. De Greve's framework acknowledges that marketing influences sales through a series of interconnected steps. By tracking progress in the consideration and shopping phases, GM can identify areas for improvement and adjust strategies proactively. This system also creates a learning loop: as marketing actions yield results (or fail to), the system learns and adapts, leading to continuous improvement. This is a stark contrast to models where marketing's value is only assessed retrospectively, often leading to budget cuts when sales falter, regardless of marketing's actual contribution.

The Unpopular but Durable: Building Creative Teams with AI at the Core

The evolution of GM's agency model, particularly in light of AI, offers a compelling example of competitive advantage derived from difficulty. Initially, the vision was to build internal creative capabilities and partner with smaller, specialized agencies. However, as AI capabilities rapidly advanced, the strategy pivoted.

"We moved from this idea of what would have essentially just been a lower cost production shop to actually it should be ai at the core," de Greve explains. This pivot required a re-evaluation of what was needed in creative partners and internal teams. The decision to place AI at the core of their creative operations is a forward-thinking move, but it is also one that requires significant effort and foresight.

The consequence of this strategic shift is the development of a marketing function that is not only cost-effective but also at the forefront of technological integration. This is an "unpopular but durable" strategy because it demands investment in new skills, processes, and a willingness to experiment with emerging technologies. Most companies might opt for a safer, more established approach. However, by embracing AI at the core of their creative process, GM is positioning itself for future efficiency and innovation.

This approach highlights how embracing difficulty can lead to lasting advantage. The "hard work" of integrating AI, understanding its nuances, and building teams capable of leveraging it effectively, is precisely what will differentiate GM. It’s a strategy that requires patience and a commitment to long-term vision, qualities that are often scarce in today's fast-paced business environment. The delayed payoff--a more agile, technologically advanced, and potentially more cost-effective creative engine--is a direct result of tackling complex challenges head-on.

Key Action Items

• Build Internal Marketing Capabilities: Over the next 6-12 months, assess and strategically build core marketing competencies in-house, focusing on areas like analytics, digital strategy, and brand management. This investment will reduce reliance on external partners and foster deeper organizational knowledge.
• Establish Outcome-Based Marketing Accountability: Within the next quarter, define and implement a system for marketing accountability that tracks progress against key stages of the consumer journey (e.g., initial consideration, shopping journey) rather than solely campaign performance. This pays off in 6-12 months by driving more focused and effective marketing efforts.
• Pragmatic AI Experimentation: Over the next 3-6 months, initiate targeted AI experiments within marketing workflows, focusing on specific tasks where human oversight is still critical. Prioritize learning and understanding AI's limitations rather than seeking immediate, wholesale automation. This approach will yield clearer insights and prevent the creation of "more work" in the long run.
• Foster Marketing as a Career Path: Implement initiatives over the next year to professionalize marketing roles, offering clear career progression, skill development, and opportunities for specialized growth. This will attract and retain top talent, building a more robust and experienced marketing team.
• Deepen Customer Proximity: Integrate mechanisms for continuous customer insight gathering, not just through traditional research, but by actively engaging with customer-facing teams (like dealers) and observing real-time customer interactions. This is an ongoing effort, but dedicating specific time each quarter for this will yield insights that pay off continuously.
• Strategic Agency Partnership Evolution: Over the next 6-9 months, re-evaluate agency relationships with a focus on how they can complement, rather than replace, internal capabilities, particularly in light of evolving AI technologies. Seek partners who can collaborate on innovative, AI-augmented creative processes.
• Champion Marketing's Strategic Value: Consistently articulate marketing's contribution to business growth beyond creative campaigns. This involves building strong relationships with finance and operations, and demonstrating how marketing initiatives directly impact key business metrics. This is a long-term play, paying off over years by solidifying marketing's seat at the strategic table.