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Introduction
Big campaigns don’t happen in a vacuum. Marketing teams rely on product launches, field feedback, regional pricing, partner input and vendor delivery just to get one message out the door.
That’s what makes cross functional marketing such a challenge—too many people need to touch the work, and often they don’t have a shared system, timeline or even visibility into what’s live.
GearBox® by IRIS Strategic Marketing Support (IRIS) helps national brands bring cross-functional teams into one system—where marketing isn’t just creative, it’s operational, trackable and ready for execution.
Where Cross Functional Marketing Breaks Down
1. Everyone Works in Different Tools
Creative teams use shared drives. Vendors use email. Field teams rely on PDFs. No one knows what version is final, who owns next steps or where fulfillment stands.
2. Launch Dates Are Set—But No One’s Ready
The campaign calendar is approved, but assets are still being edited. Legal hasn’t signed off. Vendors haven’t been briefed. The field team finds out late.
3. No Visibility Across Functions
Marketing built the campaign, but operations doesn’t see install timelines. Product launches, but signage isn’t ready. Everyone is working hard—just not in sync.
4. Execution Gets Pushed to the Side
Campaigns look great in decks. But no one owns fulfillment, vendor handoff or signage delivery. What gets launched in the field doesn’t match what was planned.
What Cross Functional Marketing Should Include
Shared Campaign Kits With Final Creative
Everyone sees the same assets—filtered by role or region—so sales, marketing, legal and field teams are aligned on what’s being used.
Templates That Allow Local Input Without Losing Brand Control
Fields like pricing, store hours or contact details can be edited. Core branding, layout and disclaimers stay locked.
Built-In Routing to Vendors and Teams
Once creative is final, GearBox® automatically sends assets to the correct signage or print vendor—no emails required.
Reporting That Spans Teams
Usage dashboards help leadership see what’s launched, what’s pending and where execution is falling behind—without waiting for field updates.
Why Cross Functional Marketing Needs a System, Not Just a Plan
Cross functional marketing works when teams aren’t duplicating effort or rechecking the same files. It works when everyone—from field managers to vendors to legal—knows what version is final, what day things are due and what happens after launch.
That only works when you have a system—not just a calendar or shared folder.
GearBox® connects all functions around one version of the truth. Creative sees what’s been routed. Field teams see what applies to them. Operations sees fulfillment status. Vendors get final files without delays.
When that structure is in place, campaigns don’t stall. They launch on time—and show up the way they were designed.
Use Case: How Ply Gem Brought Alignment to Dealer and Product Teams
Ply Gem needed to support both national product launches and a diverse dealer network—each with different signage, timelines and customization needs.
With GearBox®, IRIS helped Ply Gem:
- Build campaign kits segmented by dealer and product type
- Lock brand assets while enabling field customization
- Route files to signage vendors across markets
- Track usage by dealer group and see which teams needed support
Read the full Ply Gem Case Study
Conclusion
If your campaign depends on product, legal, field and marketing teams working together, you need more than collaboration. You need structure.
Cross functional marketing only works when execution is shared, repeatable and visible to everyone involved. Otherwise, timelines slip, brand consistency suffers and execution never matches the plan.
GearBox® by IRIS gives cross-functional teams the clarity, structure and tools to actually launch campaigns—not just talk about them.
Talk to IRIS to see how your teams can stay aligned from concept to install.
