Why Every Marketing Team Needs an AI Growth Hacker in 2025

I've been optimizing marketing campaigns for 20 years.

First at Campanja, where we built AI optimization tech for Netflix, Zalando, and Momondo.

Then for 11 years at GrowthHackers.se, working with Kry, Epidemic Sound, Yubico, and Tink.

I've seen every evolution in digital marketing.

Search advertising. Social media. Programmatic. Attribution. Data warehouses.

But AI agents are different.

This isn't just better tools. It's a fundamental shift in how marketing works.

Let me explain why.

---

The Manual Marketing Era is Over

Here's what marketing looked like in 2015:

You hire a growth hacker.

Smart person who:

• Analyzes data
• Finds opportunities
• Runs tests
• Optimizes campaigns
• Reports to management

Great.

Except:

One person can only analyze so much. Maybe 10-20% of your campaigns. The rest? Hope they're OK.

Scale up:

€100K/month spend? Hire 2 growth hackers. €500K/month? Need 5-6 people. €1M/month? Small team required.

Linear scaling.

More spend = more people.

This worked when:

• Campaigns were simpler
• Platforms were fewer
• Data volume was manageable

Not anymore.

---

The Data Explosion Problem

Modern marketing campaign:

• 47 campaigns across Google and Meta
• 1,200 keywords
• 85 ad variations
• 23 audience segments
• 42 geographic regions
• 12 placements
• Millions of data points per day

One growth hacker reviews:

• Top 10 campaigns (weekly)
• Problem keywords (when someone complains)
• Monthly performance report

What they don't review:

• The other 90% of campaigns
• Long-tail keywords
• Creative fatigue patterns
• Audience overlap
• Time-of-day performance
• Device-specific issues
• Geographic inefficiencies

Not because they're lazy.

Because it's impossible.

There aren't enough hours.

---

What I Learned Building Tech for Netflix

At Campanja, we built optimization platforms for enterprise brands.

Netflix. Zalando. Momondo.

These companies spend millions per month on ads.

They taught me something:

Even with 10-person optimization teams... Even with sophisticated dashboards... Even with data analysts...

They still missed opportunities.

Because humans can't process that much data.

The math doesn't work:

• 1,000 campaigns to review
• 10 analysts
• Each analyst reviews 100 campaigns/week
• 30 minutes per campaign
• That's 50 hours of work
• In a 40-hour week

Impossible.

So they sampled. Reviewed the big stuff. Hoped the rest was fine.

It usually wasn't.

Hidden in the long tail:

• Millions in wasted spend
• Missed opportunities
• Audience overlap
• Creative fatigue

All invisible to manual analysis.

---

The AI Solution

AI doesn't get tired. Doesn't need sleep. Doesn't sample.

AI reviews everything. Every campaign. Every keyword. Every ad. Every hour.

24/7.

At Cogny, our AI:

• Analyzes 100% of campaigns daily
• Processes millions of data points
• Finds patterns humans miss
• Generates specific recommendations
• Never takes a vacation

This isn't theoretical.

It's running in production for real companies.

Real example:

Healthcare company. €180K/month spend. 4-person marketing team. Everything looked fine.

AI found €52K/month wasted spend in 48 hours.

29% of their budget.

Hidden in:

• Keywords with zero conversions
• Overlapping audiences
• Underperforming geos
• Creative fatigue
• Placement waste

Their team never would have found it.

Not because they're bad marketers. Because they're human.

---

Why This Matters Now

Two trends converging:

1. Marketing Complexity Increasing

More platforms. More data. More touchpoints. More attribution complexity.

Can't hire fast enough to keep up.

2. AI Capability Improving

Claude. GPT-4. AI can now:

• Understand marketing context
• Analyze complex patterns
• Generate actionable recommendations

Not just data processing. Actual intelligence.

Result:

AI can do what previously required senior analysts.

For 1/10th the cost. With 100x the coverage. In 1/100th the time.

This is the inflection point.

---

What This Means for Marketing Teams

Three paths:

Path 1: Ignore AI (Bad Idea)

Keep hiring humans. Scale linearly. Miss opportunities AI-first competitors find.

Outcome: You lose.

Path 2: Replace Humans with AI (Also Bad)

Fire growth hackers. Let AI run everything. No strategic thinking.

Outcome: Better than Path 1, but not optimal.

Path 3: Humans + AI (The Winner)

Humans do:

• Strategy
• Creative
• Positioning
• Brand
• High-level decisions

AI does:

• Daily optimization
• Pattern detection
• Opportunity identification
• Performance monitoring
• Execution recommendations

Outcome: Best of both worlds.

---

The New Marketing Org Chart

Old structure:

• CMO
• Head of Growth
• 3-5 Growth Hackers (optimization)
• 2-3 Designers (creative)
• 1-2 Data Analysts

New structure:

• CMO
• Head of Growth
• AI Agent (optimization)
• 2-3 Designers (creative)
• 1 Strategy Lead

Same output. Half the headcount.

Better:

AI finds opportunities humans miss. Team executes faster. Strategic thinking improves (more time).

This is already happening.

Not in 5 years. Now.

Companies using AI are:

• Scaling 5x without adding headcount
• Saving 15-20 hours/week per marketer
• Finding 20-30% efficiency gains

While competitors still hire linearly.

---

What I Tell CEOs

I've had 50+ conversations with CEOs/CMOs in the past year.

They all ask the same question:

"Should we hire another growth marketer or invest in AI?"

My answer:

If you're spending €20K+/month on ads: AI first.

Why:

Hire a growth marketer:

• Cost: €80K-120K/year loaded
• Ramp time: 3-6 months
• Coverage: Maybe 20% of account
• Scalability: Hire more people

AI agent:

• Cost: €6K-24K/year
• Ramp time: 24 hours
• Coverage: 100% of account
• Scalability: Infinite

ROI isn't close.

---

The Skills That Still Matter

AI doesn't replace everything.

Humans still needed for:

1. Strategic Thinking

• Market positioning
• Product-market fit
• Go-to-market strategy
• Competitive dynamics

2. Creative Development

• Ad concepts
• Messaging
• Brand voice
• Visual design

3. Judgment Calls

• When to pivot
• What to test next
• How aggressive to scale
• Brand risk assessment

4. Relationships

• Vendor management
• Agency coordination
• Cross-functional alignment
• Stakeholder communication

AI handles the repetitive analysis. Humans focus on high-leverage thinking.

Result:

Marketing teams become more strategic. Not less valuable. Actually more valuable.

---

What's Coming Next

We're early.

AI will get better:

• More accurate
• Deeper insights
• Better recommendations
• Predictive capabilities

Marketing will evolve:

2025: AI assistants

• AI helps marketers optimize
• Humans make final decisions
• Hybrid workflow

2026-2027: AI agents

• AI executes autonomously
• Humans provide strategy
• AI handles tactics

2028+: AI strategists

• AI provides strategic recommendations
• Humans validate and approve
• Full marketing automation

We're at the beginning.

---

My Advice to Marketing Teams

If you're a CMO:

Start experimenting with AI now. Not in 6 months. Now.

Test it alongside your team. See what it finds. Compare to manual analysis.

You'll be surprised.

AI finds things humans miss. Every time.

If you're a growth marketer:

Don't fear AI. Embrace it.

It makes you more effective.

Before AI: You're tactical. With AI: You're strategic.

Your job becomes better. Not obsolete.

If you're a CEO:

Marketing is becoming AI-first.

Like how sales became CRM-first. Like how engineering became cloud-first.

The question isn't "if" but "when."

Early adopters gain advantage.

---

Why We Built Cogny

At GrowthHackers.se, we had a problem.

Clients wanted better results. We needed more analysts.

The math didn't work:

To scale to 50 clients:

• Need 15-20 analysts
• Cost: €1.5M+/year
• Hard to hire
• Training takes forever

Or:

Build AI that does what 20 analysts do. At 1/100th the cost.

That's Cogny.

We're not trying to replace growth hackers. We're trying to make them superhuman.

One marketer with Cogny = 10 without it.

---

The Bottom Line

Every marketing team will have an AI growth hacker by 2027.

The question is: Do you adopt early or late?

Early adopters (2024-2025):

• Gain efficiency advantage
• Scale without headcount
• Outperform competitors
• Build AI-first culture

Late adopters (2026-2027):

• Play catch-up
• Lose market share
• Pay premium for scarce talent
• Struggle to adapt

The choice is yours.

But the trend is inevitable.

Marketing is going AI-first.

Just like every other function.

The teams that embrace it first will win.

---

What's Next

If you're curious what AI could find in your campaigns, I'll personally show you.

Schedule 30 minutes with me

I'll run a preliminary analysis. Show you what AI discovers. No pitch. Just insights.

I've done this 200+ times. Always find something.

Usually €10K-50K/month in quick wins.

Worth 30 minutes of your time.

---

About Tom Ström

Tom is the Co-Founder and CEO of Cogny. He previously co-founded Campanja, an AI-powered ad optimization platform that worked with Netflix, Zalando, and Momondo before being acquired by 24/7.ai in 2015. He then founded GrowthHackers.se, a growth marketing agency that worked with high-growth companies like Kry, Epidemic Sound, Yubico, and Tink for 11 years. Over 20 years in digital marketing, Tom has optimized campaigns representing over €100M in ad spend.

Connect:

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tomstrom
• Email: tom@cogny.com

Last Updated: January 6, 2025