Recent data from the newly launched PESO Model® Diagnostic has revealed a significant disparity between how marketing and communication teams perceive their integration efforts and their actual operational maturity. According to the findings, 91% of professional teams are currently functioning within the bottom half of the maturity ladder, despite nearly half of those teams describing their operations as "fully integrated." This gap between self-perception and practice represents a critical challenge for the industry as it navigates an increasingly fragmented media landscape and the complexities of AI-driven content distribution.
The PESO Model®, an acronym for Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned media, was originally developed as a framework to help communicators move beyond traditional media relations. In recent years, it has evolved into a comprehensive operating system designed to synchronize various marketing functions. However, the latest diagnostic data suggests that while the terminology of integration has been widely adopted, the systemic discipline required to execute it remains elusive for the vast majority of organizations.
The State of Global Marketing Integration
The diagnostic tool, developed by Spin Sucks to evaluate the maturity of senior leaders, mid-market marketers, agency principals, and in-house teams, assessed organizations across diverse sectors, including B2B financial services, nonprofits, and consumer brands. The results indicate a "math problem" in marketing strategy: while 68% of respondents claimed to run the PESO Model as a system, 100% of those respondents scored at the bottom two stages of the maturity ladder.
Furthermore, 47% of participants identified their teams as integrated across all four media types, yet their operational scores placed them at the "Pilot" or "Foundation" levels. Perhaps most striking is the fact that exactly zero organizations have reached the "Leadership" stage, the highest rung of the maturity ladder. This data suggests that integration is often viewed as a binary state—something a team either does or does not do—rather than a multi-stage progression of operational excellence.
Chronology of the PESO Model’s Evolution
To understand the current maturity gap, it is necessary to examine the evolution of the PESO Model over the past decade:
- 2014: The Framework Launch: The PESO Model was introduced in the book Spin Sucks by Gini Dietrich, providing a visual representation of how different media types intersect to build brand authority.
- 2017–2020: Tactical Adoption: Organizations began adopting the model as a planning tool, primarily using it to ensure that social media (Shared) and content marketing (Owned) were included in traditional PR (Earned) campaigns.
- 2021–2023: The Shift to Operating System: As digital privacy changes and algorithm shifts made organic reach more difficult, the model transitioned from a tactical framework to a strategic "Operating System." This phase emphasized the necessity of Paid media to amplify Earned and Owned content.
- 2024–Present: The AI and Discipline Era: The current era is defined by the "AI-era discipline problem," where the ease of content production has led to a saturation of low-quality material. Modern maturity now requires a disciplined, systemic approach to ensure that high-quality stories travel across all four channels effectively.
The Six Stages of the PESO Maturity Ladder
The diagnostic categorizes organizational maturity into six distinct stages. Each stage is defined by specific behaviors, key performance indicators (KPIs), and organizational structures.
Stage 0: Foundation
At the Foundation level, Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned channels exist as silos. Integration is non-existent, and the team is largely execution-led. Each function operates on its own calendar with its own set of goals.
A prominent example of Foundation-level operations can be seen in large enterprise B2B brands like Oracle. While Oracle possesses significant market share in AI infrastructure and healthcare data, its marketing channels often run independently. Paid media operates on its own budget, Earned media reacts to executive announcements, and Owned media focuses on technical documentation. While each channel is active, they do not reinforce one another, resulting in a fragmented brand presence that lacks a singular, cohesive thesis.
Stage 1: Pilot
Organizations at the Pilot level have successfully executed at least one integrated campaign. They may hold weekly cross-functional meetings and have produced a proof of concept for the PESO Model. However, this discipline is not yet generalized across the entire marketing calendar.
McDonald’s serves as a primary example of Pilot-level maturity. During major cultural moments, such as the "Travis Scott Meal" or the "Grimace Shake" campaign, McDonald’s operates with world-class integration. Paid, Earned, Owned, and Shared media work in perfect harmony for a period of several weeks. However, once the "event" concludes, the organization reverts to siloed operations for its standard value menu and regional pushes, which are often managed by separate teams and agencies with disconnected KPIs.
Stage 2: Scale
At the Scale level, integration becomes a repeated behavior rather than a one-off event. Teams run multiple integrated campaigns per year and share KPIs across marketing and communications departments.
Dove has operated at this level for nearly two decades through its "Real Beauty" platform. Campaigns like "Real Beauty Sketches" and "Reverse Selfie" show deep integration across all PESO channels. However, the integration is campaign-dependent. Between these major launches, the brand’s standard CPG marketing—such as performance media and retailer co-marketing—often runs on separate tracks. The campaigns are integrated, but the function itself is not yet fully systemized.
Stage 3: Systemize
The Systemize stage marks the transition from integration as a behavior to integration as a permanent function. Organizations at this level employ a dedicated PESO integrator and utilize shared dashboards to track performance across all four media types.
Sephora’s "Beauty Insider" loyalty program represents a systemized approach. The program serves as a data layer that connects digital, in-store, and creator partnerships. Owned media generates first-party data, which informs Paid targeting and Shared creator signals. While the system is robust, it often lacks the agility to respond to real-time cultural shifts, such as a TikTok trend that peaks and fades within a matter of days.
Stage 4: Real-Time
Real-Time maturity is characterized by the ability to pivot the entire PESO operation within hours or days based on live data. Integrated insights influence decisions beyond marketing, affecting product development, pricing, and hiring.
Netflix is a leader in real-time integration. When a show like Squid Game or Wednesday becomes a viral hit, the entire brand pivots. Paid budgets are reallocated instantly, Earned media teams coordinate talent appearances, and the Owned homepage algorithm reorganizes around the trending content. This level of agility requires a single source of truth—a unified dashboard that every department monitors daily.
Stage 5: Leadership
At the Leadership level, the PESO operating system is recognized as the brand’s primary competitive moat. The way the company integrates its communications is the reason it wins, and this model is often studied and documented by external parties.
Liquid Death is frequently cited as the premier example of the Leadership stage. The company has turned canned water into a billion-dollar brand by making the marketing operation the product itself. Every channel feeds the others: Paid provokes Earned, and Owned acts as a content studio. The integrated operation is the brand’s durable advantage, making it difficult for competitors to copy their success piecemeal.
Supporting Data and Industry Implications
The diagnostic data highlights a critical structural flaw in most marketing departments: the lack of a "dedicated integrator." Without a specific role or individual responsible for bridging the gaps between Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned media, teams naturally default to siloed operations.
Key data points from the diagnostic include:
- The Integration Gap: 91% of teams are in the Foundation, Pilot, or Scale stages.
- The Self-Rating Bias: On average, teams rate themselves one full stage higher than their actual operational data suggests.
- The KPI Mismatch: Only 12% of organizations reported having a single dashboard that tracks the interplay between Paid and Earned media.
Industry analysts suggest that the rise of "Answer Engines" (AI-driven search) will further penalize organizations at the Foundation and Pilot levels. Because AI models prioritize consistent, high-authority signals across multiple platforms, a fragmented PESO strategy results in lower visibility in AI-generated results.
Broader Impact and Strategic Recommendations
The most significant implication of this data is that organizations do not necessarily need to reach the "Leadership" stage to be successful. Depending on a company’s lifecycle, funding, and category, staying at the "Scale" or "Systemize" level may be the most efficient use of resources. However, the danger lies in the lack of self-awareness. An organization that believes it is at the "Scale" level while operating at "Foundation" will consistently misallocate budgets and fail to achieve its desired reach.
To move up the maturity ladder, experts recommend a sequence of small, structural changes rather than grand, sweeping overhauls. These include:
- Establishing a Cross-Channel Standup: A weekly meeting where leads from all four PESO media types share their upcoming calendars.
- Implementing Shared KPIs: Creating at least one metric—such as "Brand Authority" or "Total Share of Voice"—that requires cooperation across departments.
- Appointing an Integrator: Designating a single person to ensure that a story told in an Earned media placement is amplified via Paid and archived on Owned channels.
As the marketing landscape continues to be disrupted by technological shifts, the PESO Model® Maturity Ladder provides a roadmap for organizations to move from tactical execution to a systemic, durable competitive advantage. The goal is not merely to "do PESO," but to understand and master the specific stage of maturity required to win in a given market.
