A comprehensive new study into the operational maturity of marketing and communications departments has revealed a significant discrepancy between how professionals perceive their integration efforts and the reality of their execution. According to data derived from the recently launched PESO Model® Diagnostic, 91% of teams are currently operating in the bottom half of the maturity ladder, even though nearly half of these organizations describe their strategies as "integrated."
The findings, released as part of a multi-part series on the evolution of the PESO Model®—an industry-standard framework encompassing Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned media—suggest that the industry is facing a "perception-reality gap." While the model has transitioned from a conceptual graphic to a rigorous operating system, most organizations remain trapped in execution-led, channel-organized silos. The data indicates that exactly zero percent of the organizations surveyed have reached the "Leadership" stage, the highest tier of the maturity ladder.
The Six Stages of the PESO Model® Maturity Ladder
The maturity ladder serves as a diagnostic framework to categorize how deeply the PESO Model® is embedded within an organization’s operations. It is structured into six distinct phases, each representing a higher degree of cross-functional coordination and data-driven decision-making.
Stage 0: Foundation
At the Foundation level, channels operate independently. Integration is non-existent, and teams are typically organized by specific media types rather than by overarching narrative or business objectives. In this stage, the Paid team, the PR team (Earned), the Social team (Shared), and the Content team (Owned) often run separate calendars with disconnected Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
Analysis of enterprise-level organizations, such as Oracle, illustrates the Foundation stage at scale. Despite having significant market share in AI infrastructure and high-profile cloud deals, these organizations often run media types as separate silos. While each channel may be high-performing in isolation, they fail to amplify one another, leading to a fragmented brand presence that requires more effort to achieve the same level of visibility as an integrated competitor.
Stage 1: Pilot
Organizations at the Pilot stage have successfully executed at least one end-to-end integrated campaign. They have established cross-functional meetings and have a proof of concept for how the four media types can work together. However, this discipline is not yet a permanent fixture of the department’s daily operations.
Global brands like McDonald’s often operate at the Pilot level. While high-profile collaborations, such as the Travis Scott meal or the Grimace Shake campaign, show world-class integration across all PESO channels for a limited time, the organization reverts to channel-organized marketing for its standard value menus and regional pushes. For these brands, integration is treated as a "special event" rather than a standard operating procedure.
Stage 2: Scale
At the Scale level, integration becomes a recurring behavior. Organizations at this stage run multiple integrated campaigns annually and have established shared KPIs between marketing and communications teams. However, the process is not yet fully operationalized; it lacks a dedicated "integrator" or a unified dashboard that tracks all four media types in real-time.
Dove is frequently cited as an example of an organization at the Scale stage. Its "Real Beauty" campaigns are masterclasses in integration, with Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned media all reinforcing a singular thesis. Yet, between these major launches, the brand often returns to standard consumer packaged goods (CPG) marketing tactics where the various media arms operate with less cohesion.
Stage 3: Systemize
In the Systemize stage, integration moves from a campaign discipline to a core business function. Organizations employ a dedicated PESO integrator, utilize shared dashboards, and allow cross-channel attribution to influence budget allocations.
Retail giant Sephora exemplifies the Systemize stage through its "Beauty Insider" loyalty program. This data layer connects digital interactions, in-store purchases, and creator partnerships. While the system is robust and data-driven, it often lacks the agility to respond to rapid cultural shifts, such as TikTok trends, in real-time, relying instead on quarterly reviews and planned optimizations.
Stage 4: Real-Time
The Real-Time stage is characterized by extreme agility. Organizations at this level make decisions across all four media types within days or even hours based on live performance data. The dashboard is no longer a reporting tool but a live instrument for optimization.
Netflix operates at the Real-Time level, particularly when a series becomes a viral hit. Within days of a show like Squid Game breaking out, the company reallocates Paid media, feeds talent to Earned media circuits, activates creators in Shared media, and reorganizes its Owned app algorithm to capitalize on the momentum.
Stage 5: Leadership
The final stage, Leadership, occurs when the PESO operating system itself becomes a brand’s competitive moat. At this level, marketing mastery influences product development, hiring, and enterprise strategy. The organization’s internal processes are studied by outsiders as the primary reason for its market dominance.
Liquid Death is a prime example of Leadership maturity. By treating its integrated marketing operation as the actual product—rather than the water it sells—the company has created a billion-dollar brand. Its Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned channels are so deeply intertwined that the marketing itself becomes the subject of Earned media coverage, creating a self-sustaining growth engine.
Analysis of the Perception-Reality Gap
The most striking data point from the PESO Model® Diagnostic is the discrepancy between self-assessment and actual operational performance. The study found that 68% of respondents claimed to run PESO as a system, yet 100% of those respondents scored in the bottom two stages (Foundation or Pilot). Furthermore, 47% of those who described themselves as "integrated" were found to be at the Foundation level.
This gap suggests that many marketing leaders confuse "having all four channels active" with "integrating all four channels." True integration requires a structural shift in how teams are managed and how success is measured. Without shared KPIs and a unified narrative that travels across all media types, organizations remain in the Foundation stage, regardless of their budget size or the number of agencies they employ.
Chronology of the PESO Model® Evolution
- 2014: Gini Dietrich introduces the PESO Model® in the book Spin Sucks, providing a framework for the evolving digital landscape.
- 2014-2020: The model is widely adopted by PR agencies and internal comms teams to justify budget shifts toward Paid and Owned media.
- 2021-2023: The rise of AI and the "cookie-less" future force a shift toward first-party data (Owned) and community engagement (Shared).
- 2024: The PESO Model® is officially redefined as an "Operating System" rather than a mere framework, emphasizing the need for structural integration.
- 2024 (Q3): The PESO Model® Diagnostic tool is launched to provide quantitative data on industry maturity.
- 2024 (Q4): Initial data reveals that 91% of teams are in the bottom half of the maturity ladder.
Implications for the AI Era
The research also highlights a growing "discipline problem" exacerbated by artificial intelligence. While AI allows for the rapid creation of content (Owned) and the automation of Paid media, it often leads to a "volume over value" approach that further de-integrates the PESO model.
Teams that rely too heavily on AI without a centralized operating system risk flooding their Shared and Owned channels with low-quality content that fails to trigger Earned media interest or support Paid media conversion goals. The data suggests that as AI becomes more prevalent, the role of a "PESO Integrator"—a human strategist who ensures all channels are working toward a single business objective—will become the most critical role in the department.
Strategic Recommendations for Marketing Leaders
To bridge the gap between perception and reality, the report suggests several immediate structural moves for marketing and communications leaders:
- Establish a Single Source of Truth: Moving from Stage 0 to Stage 3 requires a unified dashboard. If the Earned media team is looking at "mentions" while the Paid team is looking at "CPA" and the Owned team is looking at "page views," integration is impossible.
- Appoint an Integrator: Organizations that move past the Scale stage typically have a specific individual or role dedicated to ensuring cross-channel coordination.
- Adopt Shared KPIs: Bonus structures and performance reviews should be tied to integrated goals rather than channel-specific metrics. For example, the Earned media team should be incentivized to drive traffic to Owned properties that the Paid team is also targeting.
- Audit Real-Time Capabilities: Leaders should evaluate how long it takes for a success in one channel (e.g., a viral social post) to be amplified by another (e.g., boosting that post with Paid spend).
The findings of the PESO Model® Diagnostic serve as a wake-up call for an industry that has long claimed integration while operating in silos. As the media landscape becomes increasingly fragmented and AI-driven, the ability to climb the maturity ladder will likely separate market leaders from those who are simply making noise. For most teams, the first step is not a "heroic act" of marketing, but a sober assessment of where they truly sit on the ladder.
