At the Marketing Vanguard stage during Brandweek 2026, Adweek’s Jenny Rooney sat down with Jason Pirock, former vice president of global brand marketing at Outrigger Resorts and Hotels. The session, presented in partnership with Tatari, kept returning to one theme: differentiation is still one of marketing’s most underhyped priorities, even as AI makes average execution cheaper.
Pirock pushed back on three habits many marketing teams default to: treating ROAS as the main scoreboard, picking creators by reach alone, and spending too much energy on senior title debates.
ROAS is a signal, not the final verdict
Pirock said he will argue “until I’m blue in the face” that return on ad spend does not equal marketing success. He sees ROAS as a useful directional indicator, not a complete definition of performance.
That distinction matters most in hospitality, where long-term brand value, loyalty and guest experience cannot be reduced to one short-term efficiency ratio. The danger is that the easiest number to report becomes the only number leadership cares about.
Creator fit over follower count
On influencer marketing, Pirock’s test is straightforward: does the creator already like the brand, understand what it stands for and make content that feels natural? A huge audience means very little if the partnership feels random. He advised brands to treat creator deals like serious partnerships—do the homework, look for mutual fit and make sure the relationship makes sense both ways.
That is a useful filter for marketing teams anywhere, where high reach often wins the pitch but weak relevance can suppress engagement and brand recall.
Clarity of mandate beats title inflation
CMO, CGO, CXO, chief experience officer, chief revenue officer: Pirock believes marketers spend too much time on labels. His Brandweek 2026 point is simpler. If the CEO, board and marketing leader agree on objectives and what success looks like, the org-chart title is secondary.
Why hospitality is catching up now
Hospitality has traditionally lagged behind retail in technology adoption, Pirock noted, but that gap is narrowing quickly. Over the past year or two, he has seen more technology companies enter the sector and faster AI adoption, much of it behind the scenes. As guest-facing AI applications arrive, brands will have to decide where technology genuinely improves the experience rather than adding novelty.
That shift makes differentiation more valuable. When generic execution gets easier, the brands that know what they stand for have an edge.
Widen the scoreboard
The practical takeaway for marketing leaders is to keep ROAS visible but not sovereign. A broader dashboard can include:
- Brand health and consideration, not just short-term ROAS.
- Loyalty, retention and guest experience signals.
- Creator partnerships measured on fit and content quality before reach.
- Leadership alignment on objectives before title changes.
For early-career marketers, the throughline is a builder mindset: build the scoreboard, the partnership and the mandate around what the brand actually needs to measure.
Source: Adweek
