Pillar CEO: The future of marketing is human-led, AI-powered — and 200% more efficient
Pillar Marketing Co. Founder and CEO Ben Mason shares how his team uses Sprinklr as it blends AI, data and empathy to help brands cut through the noise and drive real results.
Marketing today moves fast. But trust, relevance and real results take time.
As channels, trends and technologies evolve, it’s easy for teams to get stuck in a cycle of content chaos. But at PiIllar, we’ve learned that the path forward isn’t about keeping up with every shift. It’s about building smart systems that free up space for human creativity. That’s how we help brands cut through the noise, connect with real people and thrive in even the most highly-regulated industries.
Over the past decade, I’ve specialized in creating omnichannel marketing strategies for global tech leaders, emerging brands and Fortune 500 companies — especially those navigating strict regulatory environments. At Pillar, we focus on growth hacking, brand narrative building and consumer-centric solutions that deliver results.
That experience has taught me that efficiency and creativity aren’t opposites — they’re partners. A few intentional, forward-thinking strategies can help any team ditch the overwhelm and build standout content that resonates with real audiences.
The brands that will lead tomorrow are the ones building smarter systems today: prioritizing value, aligning with audience needs and using technology not to replace creativity, but to amplify it.”
Why marketers need fresh, effective tactics
The content marketing landscape has evolved rapidly with the rise of new technologies and shifting consumer behaviors. Gone are the days when brands could win simply by optimizing for algorithms or following distribution best practices. As consumer media literacy increases and content volume explodes, the market has become saturated. Audiences are tuning out anything that feels generic or self-serving.
To break through, brands need to lead with value — and deliver on it. That could mean offering genuinely helpful tips, sharing meaningful insights, or telling real stories of how consumer problems were solved. When content is created with the audience's needs in mind, it builds trust, loyalty, and, ultimately, long-term value.
At Pillar, we believe every strong campaign starts with standout content, and that means putting in the work up front. Idea generation and storytelling are often the most time-intensive aspects of content creation, but they're also the most crucial. Before we draft a single asset, we devote significant energy to brainstorming original angles, testing concepts and refining story arcs. This foundational work ensures our content not only breaks through the noise, but also drives results.
Here are some strategies we developed at Pillar to drive efficiency and make time for that creativity.
1. Target the right audience
Omnichannel strategies unlock more platforms than ever, but every platform has its own expectations. LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok all demand different tones, formats and lengths. One of the biggest challenges we face is adapting a single idea to connect with each distinct audience. It's also the most time-consuming part of scaling content production. That's why understanding a brand's buyer personas is essential: When we know who we're talking to, we can double down on the platforms that matter and skip the ones that don't. If you're targeting Gen Z, for example, a Facebook-first strategy won’t get you very far. At Pillar, we push our partners to make intentional channel choices — and with Sprinklr's AI-powered platform, we can streamline those cross-channel campaigns and manage everything in one place, saving time without compromising impact.
2. Invest in cost-effective, value-driven content
Most brands don’t love hearing this, but the ones who embrace it see results: the most cost-effective way to grow an audience is to invest in it. That scroll-stopping piece of content — the one that sparks curiosity or connection — takes real effort. It doesn’t come cheap, and that’s ok. Setting realistic expectations matters: you can't expect platinum results on a bronze budget.
Still, there are smart ways to stretch resources. Value-driven formats like user-generated content (UGC) offer an authentic, scalable alternative with lower production costs. At Pillar, we tap into the voice of the customer (VoC) through UGC, turning everyday experiences into emotionally resonant, short-form videos that spotlight our hero content without bloating the budget.
Sprinklr's platform enhances this approach by streamlining how we discover, curate and approve UGC — so we can integrate authentic customer voices into our campaigns efficiently and effectively.
By blending raw metrics with sentiment analysis and UGC insights, we uncover deeper motivations and emotional triggers that create a holistic view of our audience.”
3. Let real-time data inform every decision
We believe everyone on our team, from designers to data scientists, should be part of the growth engine. That’s only possible when everyone is connected to the same real-time data.
Sprinklr’s unified analytics platform helps us bring together multiple data streams and surface clear, actionable insights. We pair quantitative metrics, like engagement and watch time, with qualitative inputs, like social listening and consumer feedback. This 360-degree view shapes every phase of our content lifecycle.
But what sets us apart is how we use those insights:
- Data is a feedback loop. We continuously analyze performance and pivot creative and distribution strategies in real time.
- Data is a team sport. Analysts, creatives and strategists meet regularly to dissect results, discuss trends and sharpen future concepts. Ensuring everyone understands why certain topics or formats resonate improves subsequent content iterations.
By blending raw metrics with sentiment analysis and UGC insights, we uncover deeper motivations and emotional triggers that create a holistic view of our audience. These aren't vanity metrics. They reflect the emotional gravity at the heart of a brand's identity, driving not just engagement, but purchases, loyalty and lifetime value.
4. Plan and build ahead
With nearly 70% of our clients operating in highly regulated industries, compliance isn't a checkbox; it's a foundation for trust. Every asset we publish must meet brand, platform and industry standards without stifling creativity. To do this, we’ve built a system that’s both structured and agile:
- Centralized brand resources: Every client's brand guidelines are stored in a shared repository, and we work from pre-approved templates to ensure compliance.
- Long-term planning: While some agencies are scrambling to fill the week’s content calendar, we're already planning for next quarter — building in time for compliance reviews, creative pivots and last-minute adjustments.
- AI-powered compliance solution: We've trained several AI models on each platform’s advertising policy and community guidelines. Smart Compliance enables us to scan every asset before it goes live, flagging risks early. This saves time and avoids potential headaches.
This forward-thinking process doesn't just protect our clients — it sets them up to lead.
With Sprinklr’s AI-powered platform, we can streamline cross-channel campaigns and manage everything in one place — saving time without compromising impact.”
5. Lean on AI and automation to make time for human creativity
At Pillar, AI plays a major role — but not where it matters most: creativity. On the operational side, automation is our superpower. We've invested hundreds of hours refining workflows that now power our entire production pipeline. Once a quarterly strategy is approved, our system automatically pulls in brief details, assigns tasks, estimates delivery timelines and monitors project health.
These automations have boosted efficiency by as much as 200% and drastically reduced human error.
But here's where the real value lies: by letting AI handle the operational grind, our people get to focus on what AI can’t do: creating with empathy. Empathy is the heartbeat of good content. It's what turns a message into a moment of connection. While AI can generate, humans can resonate.
That's the difference between content that's seen and content that's remembered. By letting AI take care of the day-to-day, we can concentrate on the creative work that drives real results for our clients.
We know not every team can build custom systems from scratch. For us, that's where Sprinklr’s powerful solution comes in. Its AI-powered capabilities make this level of automation accessible — giving more brands the space to focus on storytelling that actually moves the needle.
Creativity has never been more valuable — or more complex. The brands that will lead tomorrow are the ones building smarter systems today: prioritizing value, aligning with audience needs and using technology not to replace creativity, but to amplify it. At Pillar, we're all in on that future.
