From 16 Weeks to 16 Hours: Marketing Transformation with Ignite 360
One of the world’s largest credit card brands faced an urgent need to modernize its marketing execution capabilities. Campaigns that took 16+ weeks from inception to launch were too slow for a competitive, digital-first environment. The mandate: reduce campaign delivery timelines from 16 weeks to 16 hours—while improving governance, data utilization, and customer-centricity.
The brand had previously engaged another consultancy for six months with little tangible progress. Our team was brought in to establish Ignite 360—a comprehensive value realization office designed as a control tower for marketing transformation. Ignite 360 became the cornerstone of a new operating model, delivering foundational maturity, structural redesign, and a roadmap for scaled transformation.
The Challenge: Breaking Free from Marketing Gridlock
One of the world's largest credit card brands faced a critical competitive disadvantage in today's digital-first environment:
Excessive Time-to-Market
Campaigns took 16+ weeks from conception to launch, delaying revenue impact
Siloed Operations
Teams relied on ad hoc processes and tribal knowledge with no standardization
Failed Technology Investments
Automation platforms and CDPs underperformed due to weak operational foundations
Previous six-month engagement with another consultancy yielded little tangible progress, increasing the urgency for transformation.
The Vision: Accelerating Marketing from Months to Hours
"From 16 Weeks to 16 Hours"
The transformation vision demanded unprecedented agility without sacrificing governance or compliance
Push Products, Not Buttons
Shift marketers' focus from administrative tasks to strategic creativity and customer-centric execution
Foundations First
Build structural and maturity frameworks before implementing advanced automation technologies
Business-Led, Not Tech-Led
Ensure processes drive applications—not the reverse—to create sustainable operational excellence
Customer-Centricity as Standard
Embed the customer voice in every planning stage to deliver more relevant, impactful campaigns
Introducing Ignite 360: The Transformation Control Tower
We established Ignite 360 as a comprehensive Value Realization Office to orchestrate the entire marketing transformation journey
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Phase 1: Ideal State Definition
End-to-end process mapping across all campaign stages with comprehensive maturity benchmarking (current: 2.1 vs. target: 3.5+)
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Phase 2: Operating Model Redesign
Implementation of Hub, Extended Hub, and Spoke structure to replace hierarchical bottlenecks
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Phase 3: Foundational Build
Creation of frameworks and artifacts to serve as transformation foundation
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Phase 4: Functional Acceleration
Execution of quick-win improvements while foundational work progressed
The Hub-and-Spoke Operating Model
Replacing hierarchical bottlenecks with a streamlined, specialized structure
Hub
Central governance, standards, and frameworks providing consistent direction and oversight
Responsible for: Strategic governance, compliance standards, process frameworks
Extended Hub
Strategic alignment functions ensuring cohesion across the ecosystem
Responsible for: Planning, data strategy, compliance, cross-functional coordination
Spokes
Executional teams freed to focus solely on delivering marketing value
Responsible for: Campaign execution, creative development, audience targeting

Key Benefits: Role clarity, process standardization, and centralized governance leading to faster decisions and consistent compliance
The Six Pillars of Ignite 360 Transformation
Operating Model & Governance
Centralized structure with clear accountabilities and decision rights
Process Maturity
Standardized workflows with L1-L3 process maps and handoff models
Portfolio & Planning
Integrated ideation and prioritization to streamline campaign pipeline
Data Strategy
Governance for persistent customer insights and actionable analytics
Technology Alignment
Platforms configured to support processes, not dictate them
Organizational Change
Cultural transformation to embed new ways of working
The Ignite 360 framework addresses both structural foundations and transformational capabilities, creating a holistic approach to marketing maturity

Maturity Modeling: Current state averaged 2.1 vs. best-in-class target of 3.5+
Business Impact: Tangible Results and Strategic Value
100+
Work Efforts Standardized
Reduced dependency on tribal knowledge through comprehensive process documentation
10+%
Cycle Time Reduction
Projected double-digit improvements in campaign timelines within first 6-12 months
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Transformation Pillars
Comprehensive framework addressing all aspects of marketing operations
Structural Impact
  • Created enterprise campaign execution hub
  • Shifted focus from administrative overhead to strategic execution
  • Established standardization across all marketing functions
Strategic Impact
  • Positioned marketing as a growth engine rather than a bottleneck
  • Built repeatable model for scaling transformation across business units
  • Aligned technology investments with operational capabilities
Key Learnings: Transformation Success Factors
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Value Realization Office
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Architecture + Culture
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Maturity as Strategy
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Structure Before Technology
Looking Ahead
The Ignite 360 transformation represents a paradigm shift for the client's marketing operations:
  • From siloed to centralized
  • From ad hoc to governed
  • From product-centric to customer-centric
This foundation ensures scalability, resilience, and competitive advantage in a dynamic market environment.
From 16 Weeks to 16 Hours: Building the foundation for marketing agility at scale