Marketing Ops Foundations
The operational foundation your marketing team needs before AI.
A fixed-scope engagement that builds your campaign, audience, asset, and performance data layer. Structured, integrated, ready for agent deployment and AI-powered workflows.
The problem
AI does not fix a data mess. It amplifies it.
Marketing teams are under pressure to deploy AI. Copy generation. Audience targeting. Campaign optimization. Agent-driven personalization.
None of it works on top of a spreadsheet.
The teams that successfully deploy AI in marketing did the foundational work first. Clean campaign taxonomy. One source of truth for audiences and segments. Asset metadata that agents can reason about. Attribution logic that is documented, not tribal.
That is what Foundations builds.
Always in scope
Six workstreams. Every engagement.
Foundations is not a menu of services. These six workstreams are always in scope because removing any one of them leaves a gap that will surface later.
Campaign data model
One authoritative structure for campaigns, channels, assets, budgets, and performance. Replaces the spreadsheets.
Audience and segment registry
Structured source of truth for audiences, segments, and the logic that defines them. Connected to the systems that need to consume them.
Asset and content operations
Structured metadata for creative assets, copy, and content, including usage rights, performance, and lifecycle. The foundation for AI-powered content operations.
Attribution and performance layer
Documented attribution logic, a reporting layer that aggregates across channels, and a data model that AI agents can query.
Integration architecture
Connections between the foundational data layer and the systems that need to read and write to it: CRM, marketing automation, ad platforms, BI, DAM.
Governance and workflow
Permissions, change management, and operational workflows that keep the foundation clean as the team uses it.
Scope your engagement
Get a ballpark range in under 4 minutes.
Answer five sections of questions about your data environment, integrations, and team. We use your inputs to produce a scoped engagement summary with a ballpark range and timeline estimate.
The summary is shareable. Most prospects forward it to their CFO or CMO before booking the scoping call.
Configure your scope →No account required. Takes under 4 minutes.
Deliverables
What you walk away with
A marketing operations foundation that:
- ✓
Your team can operate without Simple Stack
Full documentation and trained operators included in every engagement.
- ✓
Your agents can reason about
Structured data models and documented schemas designed for agent consumption.
- ✓
Your martech stack can integrate with
Bi-directional integrations with the systems in your stack, tested and documented.
- ✓
Your CFO can audit
Clean attribution logic, documented data lineage, and governance workflows.
Plus full documentation, trained operators on your team, and a stabilization period sized to engagement scope.
Our model
Why fixed scope
Most marketing ops rebuilds run over budget because the scope was never written down.
We do the scoping up front, commit to a fixed fee against it, and absorb the risk of our own estimation. That is what fixed-scope means. It is not a package. It is a discipline.
If scope changes mid-engagement, we re-scope. That conversation happens in the open, not in a month-end invoice surprise.
The on-ramp
The Discovery Sprint
Credits fully toward the main engagement
If you do not proceed, you keep the deliverable and owe nothing further.
Before we commit to a fixed fee, we run a 2-week Discovery Sprint. We map your data, audit your systems, interview your stakeholders, and return a written Statement of Work with a firm price.
This is how we can commit to fixed pricing at this scale. The Sprint is the mechanism that absorbs estimation risk for both of us.
Is this a fit?
Who Foundations is built for
Good fit
- ✓Enterprise marketing teams preparing to deploy AI agents for content, audience, or campaign work
- ✓Marketing ops leaders who inherited a mess and need to rebuild the foundation
- ✓Teams consolidating martech and needing a clean data layer underneath
- ✓CMOs tired of three different answers to the same performance question
Not a fit
- ✕Teams looking for campaign execution. We do not run campaigns.
- ✕Teams looking for a martech implementation partner only. We build the data layer; the stack sits on top.
- ✕Teams with fewer than 10 people in marketing. Look at our SMB offerings instead.
- ✕Teams that need an agency. We are an operational infrastructure firm.
Common questions
FAQ
- How does the Discovery Sprint work?
- The Discovery Sprint is a 2-week paid engagement ($15,000) where we map your data, audit your systems, interview your stakeholders, and return a written Statement of Work with a firm fixed fee. It credits fully toward the main engagement if you proceed. If you do not proceed, you keep the deliverable and owe nothing further.
- What if we just want to talk first?
- Book an exploratory call. No scoping required. We will tell you whether Foundations is the right fit and what the Discovery Sprint would look like for your team.
- Do you work with our existing martech stack, or replace it?
- We work with your existing stack. Foundations builds the data layer underneath your tools, not a replacement for them. We integrate with what you have and structure the data that flows between systems.
- What does the ballpark range actually include?
- The ballpark covers all six workstreams: campaign data model, audience registry, asset and content operations, attribution and performance layer, integration architecture, and governance. It includes documentation and operator training. Custom integrations and enablement packages are shown separately.
- What drives the price up from the low end?
- The primary drivers are number of systems to integrate, data quality issues that require remediation, multi-brand or multi-region complexity, agent readiness scope, and change management requirements.
- How much of our team's time does this require?
- A dedicated marketing ops stakeholder at 2 or more hours per week is required. More time accelerates the engagement. The Discovery Sprint identifies the right team shape before the main engagement starts.
- Do you build custom integrations, or only use existing connectors?
- Both. Standard connectors cover the majority of martech integrations. Custom integrations for systems outside our standard list are scoped and priced separately.
- What happens after the engagement ends?
- Every engagement includes a stabilization period sized to scope. After that, Stack Pro managed services is available for ongoing maintenance and support. No long-term contracts required.
- Can we start with the AI Readiness Assessment first?
- Yes. The AI Readiness Assessment scores your current data layer and identifies gaps. For marketing teams, it is a useful precursor to Foundations if you are not yet sure where you stand.
- Why fixed-scope instead of time-and-materials?
- Time-and-materials transfers risk to the client. Fixed-scope transfers it to us. We do the upfront work of scoping precisely so we can commit to a number. That discipline is what makes fixed pricing possible at this scale.
What our clients say
Five Stars
Unmatched expertise. Unique results.
Get started
Ready to build the foundation?
Two paths. Configure your scope for a ballpark range and shareable summary, or book a call if you want to talk first.