MarTech Podcast™: Using AI to Build More Creative Workflows

Host: Benjamin Shapiro
Guest: Christine Royston, Chief Marketing Officer at Wrike
Date: February 2, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode explores how marketing teams are leveraging AI to drive creative collaboration and build more agile, impactful workflows. Christine Royston, CMO at Wrike, joins Benjamin Shapiro to discuss the evolution from static, campaign-based marketing toward dynamic, always-on orchestrations that balance automation with human creativity. Together, they dive into practical strategies for workflow design, maintaining quality in AI-assisted processes, and keeping customer-centricity at the heart of innovation.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The State of AI Adoption in Marketing

Timestamp: 01:15

• AI Adoption Surge: 73% of marketing teams now use generative AI, a 116% jump in one year.
• Shifting Perspective: Most marketers still treat AI like a vending machine for content (“put a prompt in, get a blog post out”), rather than rethinking workflows around AI’s capabilities.
• Core Theme: The next step is to move from AI-assisted tasks to “AI-orchestrated creativity,” amplifying ideas without losing the human touch.

2. The Move from Rigid Campaigns to Agility and Orchestration

Timestamps: 02:32, 03:00

• Continuous Planning: Traditional quarterly planning is “going away or being reduced” due to rapid change and the need for agility.
• Balancing Act: Christine advises teams to hold back 15–20% of time for hot topics and unplanned priorities, instead of fully booking resources to planned initiatives.
  • “You can't wait until a quarter ends to act on great ideas or react to something.” — Christine, 03:00
• Always-On Orchestration: Modern workflows allow for real-time adjustment, so teams don’t have to start/stop efforts each time priorities shift.

3. Personalization at Scale with AI

Timestamps: 05:52, 07:47

• Relevance Matters: Personalized, relevant content is vital, as “we’ve all received the ill-targeted email.”
• Workflow Structure: Standardize the process (e.g., running a webinar) while personalizing inputs (themes, audiences) and outputs (targeted messages).
  • “What can you standardize in your workflows to give your teams more time to actually execute and ideate?” — Christine, 07:47

4. Context Engineering for Creativity

Timestamps: 09:33, 10:49

• Context is Key: Providing clear context—audience, objectives, pain points—to both AI and humans ensures relevance and creativity.
  • Ensure teams “have access to ICP care abouts, research, and customer conversations” to maintain focus and value.
• Objective Alignment: Not all campaigns are lead-gen; some are for brand awareness. Workflow flexibility is crucial for different objectives.

5. Keeping Human Creativity at the Center

Timestamps: 13:20, 15:05

• Human in the Loop: AI automates routine, but humans oversee brand tone, creativity, and context to ensure quality output.
  • “We are definitely keeping humans in the loop…We still want the humans to be part of that process, having their eye on brand tone, the creativity.” — Christine, 13:20

6. Segmenting the Orchestration Tool Landscape

Timestamps: 14:44, 15:05

• Wrike’s Positioning: Wrike serves complex workflows at enterprise scale, integrating with major enterprise tools, and providing deep domain expertise versus “out of the box” or simpler competitors.

7. Navigating a Flexible Product and Broad Market

Timestamps: 16:55, 17:53, 19:46

• Finding Focus: Despite Wrike’s broad applicability, the team relies on customer data to focus on verticals where they provide “the most value.”
• Balanced Messaging: While broad messaging is important, differentiation and focus on strong industries/departments ensure resource prioritization.
  • “It’s always an interesting balance…We have to put that next dollar or that next hour to the place where we think is going to drive the best ROI for the company.” — Christine, 17:53

8. Building vs. Executing Workflows

Timestamps: 19:46, 22:07

• Scale Through Structure: Time invested in building robust, repeatable workflows (“build once, execute multiple times”) pays off in team scalability.
• Deciding What to Automate: Leaders must balance personal execution, team delegation, or systematic automation based on impact and repeatability.

9. Leadership Focus and Avoiding Burnout

Timestamps: 23:48, 24:47, 25:50

• Strategic Focus: Leadership alignment across company helps define focus areas and avoid team overload or “boiling the ocean.”
  • “There is a point where you say, there is no ‘also’—I need to sleep. What’s the trade-off?” — Christine, 25:50

10. Preserving Quality in Automated Collaboration

Timestamps: 27:37, 27:46

• Lightning Round—Workflow Win: The introduction of automated approval routing eliminated painful manual handoffs, providing clarity on ownership and timelines.
  • “Setting up that routing…so that you’re able to say, all right, it’s ready to go to the next step and it gets routed and people can review it.” — Christine, 27:46

11. MarTech Stack Essentials

Timestamps: 29:45–32:31

• If only three tools could remain (excluding Wrike), Christine would keep:
  • AI SDR tool (Qualified): Optimizes web experience and sales team resources.
  • Generative/AI Engine Optimization tool (Profound): Keeps up with SEO and visibility requirements.
  • Webinar platform (Goldcast): Enables video, slicing/dicing content, and strong execution/output dynamics.

12. The Biggest Mistake Leaders Make When Building Workflows

Timestamps: 33:20–34:19

• Lack of Focus: Trying to automate and streamline everything at once leads to inefficiency. Prioritize based on impact and ease of execution.
  • “You can't just spend your time building workflows and not executing anything. So that focus lets you build while you're also continuing to execute on, on the other side.” — Christine, 33:20

13. Concrete, Modular Steps for Workflow Success

Timestamps: 34:19–35:56

• Break Tasks Down: Make each workflow step small and specific to ensure consistency and improve results.
  • “The smaller and more concrete you can make each individual step the higher percentage of success.” — Ben, 34:19
• Team alignment is crucial—don’t assume everyone interprets vague steps the same way.

14. Consistent Marketing Principle

Timestamps: 36:42–37:59

• Customer-Centricity: Across Salesforce, Dropbox, and Wrike, putting the customer first remains Christine’s guiding principle.
  • “If you are thinking about what’s the right thing for the customer, it’s always going to point you in the right direction.” — Christine, 36:42

15. The Central Theme: Balancing Technology and Creativity

Timestamps: 38:19

• The blend of technology and creativity must always serve the customer, regardless of the tools or techniques used.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You can't wait until a quarter ends to act on great ideas or react to something.” — Christine, 03:00
• “What can you standardize in your workflows to give your teams more time to actually execute and ideate?” — Christine, 07:47
• “We are definitely keeping humans in the loop…We still want the humans to be part of that process, having their eye on brand tone, the creativity.” — Christine, 13:20
• "There is a point where you say, there is no 'also'—I need to sleep. What's the trade-off?" — Christine, 25:50
• “The smaller and more concrete you can make each individual step the higher percentage of success.” — Ben, 34:19
• “If you are thinking about what’s the right thing for the customer, it’s always going to point you in the right direction.” — Christine, 36:42

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:15 — The current state and limitations of AI usage in marketing
• 03:00 — Transition from rigid campaigns to agile, always-on workflows
• 05:52 — The role of personalization in orchestration
• 07:47 — Building standard processes with creative adaptation
• 10:49 — Context engineering for AI and human teams
• 13:20 — Maintaining quality with humans in the loop
• 15:05 — Orchestration tool landscape; Wrike’s differentiation
• 19:46 — Balancing workflow building vs. execution
• 22:07 — Decision frameworks: build, delegate, or automate
• 24:47 — The complexity and focus required at the CMO level
• 27:37–32:31 — Lightning round: martech wins and tool must-haves
• 33:20 — Biggest mistakes in workflow design
• 34:19 — Practical advice: modular, specific workflows
• 36:42 — Enduring marketing principle: customer focus
• 38:19 — The technology-creativity balance

Summary Takeaway:
To truly harness AI in marketing, teams must rethink their workflows for agility, embed real-time personalization, prioritize context, and keep human creativity at the center—always anchored by the enduring principle of serving the customer.