Dads Talk Data

Should Every Company Really Aim for 1-to-1 Personalization?

Dads Talk Data Season 1 Episode 7

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In this episode, we unpack one of the most misunderstood words in modern marketing: maturity.

Based on real-world insights from an Adobe Target event, we talk about why most organizations are stuck at “one-to-many” personalization — and why that might not actually be a failure. We explore the personalization maturity ladder, what’s really holding teams back from moving up (spoiler: it’s not the tech), and why lack of executive sponsorship, siloed data, and unclear strategy beat “missing features” every time.

We also challenge the idea that one-to-one personalization is always the end goal. Sometimes, the problem isn’t execution — it’s that no one has agreed on what success actually looks like. Buying the tool turned out to be the easy part. Adoption, outcomes, and organizational alignment? That’s where things fall apart.

As always, we circle back to a familiar theme: you don’t get fit by buying a gym membership — and you don’t get mature by buying software.