Overview
Marketing Technology Platforms: Strategy, Evaluation, and Implementation is a 2025 book by Greg Kihlström, published by Mercury Learning and Information (an imprint distributed by De Gruyter Brill), that covers how marketing teams choose, implement, and measure the platforms in their martech stack. It is written for marketers and marketing leaders responsible for a stack of any size, from a single automation platform to an enterprise suite, and it assumes no prior background in software evaluation. The book is organized in six parts, moving from a history of marketing technology through the main platform categories to a stack evaluation framework and roadmap process in the final part.
See also: Customer Data Platform (CDP) · Digital Experience Platform (DXP) · Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) · Marketing Automation
Publication details
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full title | Marketing Technology Platforms: Strategy, Evaluation, and Implementation |
| Author | Greg Kihlström |
| Foreword | None listed |
| Series | None (one of Kihlström’s De Gruyter Brill-distributed titles) |
| Publisher | Mercury Learning and Information (Berlin, Boston), via De Gruyter Brill — see editorial notes |
| Publication date | November 14, 2025 |
| Edition | First |
| Formats | Paperback, ebook (PDF and EPUB) |
| ISBN | 978-1-5015-2423-3 (paperback); 978-1-5015-2290-1 (ebook) |
| DOI | 10.1515/9781501522901 |
| Length | Approximately 470 pages (index begins at page 459) |
| Where to buy | De Gruyter Brill, Amazon, Greg Kihlström’s site |
Summary
The book sets out to answer a practical question: with more than 14,000 marketing technology products on the market, how does a team decide what to buy, what to keep, and what to retire? Kihlström’s answer is to treat the stack as a system that serves a strategy, rather than a collection of tools acquired one request at a time. Most of the book’s length goes to describing the platform categories in that system, and the last part gives a method for evaluating them.
Part 1 is background. It defines marketing technology, gives a short history, and covers how marketing teams and other departments (sales, service, IT) use these platforms. It also makes the business case for martech investment, compares implementation approaches, and ends with a chapter on AI’s place in the stack.
Parts 2 through 5 walk the platform categories. Part 2 covers customer data: CRM, CDP, and DMP, plus privacy and consent. Part 3 covers creation and workflow: content marketing platforms, digital asset management, and project management tools. Part 4 is the delivery layer. DXPs and CMSs, marketing automation and journey orchestration, single-channel platforms, conversational and real-time communication tools, and multi-function suites each get a chapter. Part 5 covers measurement: in-app and multi-channel measurement, and data visualization tools. Each part opens with a “key considerations” chapter that frames what to look for before the category chapters begin.
Part 6 is the method. It starts with goal definition, presents a martech stack evaluation framework, then moves to evaluating individual platforms, building a roadmap, and measuring whether the roadmap worked. Readers who already know the platform categories can go straight to Part 6; the earlier parts are reference material for the evaluation work.
Key concepts and frameworks
MarTech stack evaluation framework. The book’s own method (chapter 26) for assessing a stack against business goals before evaluating any single platform. Originates with Kihlström; it extends the approach in his 2023 short guide on the same subject.
MarTech roadmap. A sequenced plan for platform changes (chapter 28), built after the evaluation rather than before it.
Platform categories. The book’s taxonomy: customer data; creation, workflow, and operations; content, campaign, and multi-channel delivery; measurement and reporting. The Martechipedia platform entries follow a similar grouping.
Implementation methods. Chapter 7 compares ways of rolling out martech, including in-house, agency, and vendor-led approaches, and agile adoption.
AI and martech. Chapter 8 covers predictive analytics, automation, and where AI features sit within existing platform categories rather than as a category of their own.
Who it’s for
A marketing director inheriting a stack of 30 tools with overlapping contracts and no record of why each was bought. A marketing operations manager asked to produce a platform roadmap for the next budget cycle. An IT or procurement partner who needs to understand marketing’s platform categories well enough to run a fair evaluation. The book is also usable as a course text, since each category chapter stands alone.
Readers who want depth on one category should look at the matching Agile Brand Guide (customer data platforms, digital experience platforms, digital asset management). Readers who want the operating model around the stack should read Kihlström’s Marketing Operations: Strategy, Implementation and Optimization (2026).
Edition history
| Edition | Year | Publisher | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing Technology Platforms: Strategy, Evaluation, and Implementation | 2025 | Mercury Learning and Information / De Gruyter Brill | First edition. |
Predecessor title, not an edition of this book:
| Title | Year | Publisher | Relationship |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Agile Brand Guide to MarTech Stack Evaluation | 2023 | The Agile Brand | Short guide covering the evaluation framework; out of print. The 2025 book expands it into a full platform reference. |
How this book compares
| Title | Author | Year | Focus | Best suited for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing Technology Platforms | Greg Kihlström | 2025 | Platform categories plus an evaluation and roadmap method | Teams evaluating or rebuilding a stack |
| The Agile Brand Guide: Customer Data Platforms | Greg Kihlström | 2024 | One category in depth | Teams selecting a CDP |
| The Agile Brand Guide: Digital Experience Platforms | Greg Kihlström | 2025 | One category in depth | Teams selecting a DXP |
| Marketing Operations: Strategy, Implementation and Optimization | Greg Kihlström | 2026 | The function that runs the stack | MarketingOps leaders |
| The Martech Handbook | Darrell Alfonso | 2022 | Building and operating a stack | Practitioners earlier in their martech career |
| Hacking Marketing | Scott Brinker | 2016 | Software-management thinking for marketing | Marketing ops leaders adopting Agile practices |
Related podcast episodes
Additional episodes on stack evaluation and platform selection should be added here (see editorial notes).
FAQs
Is this a buyer’s guide to specific products? No. It covers platform categories, what to look for in each, and a method for evaluation. Specific vendors appear as examples, not recommendations.
How is it organized? Six parts: an overview of marketing technology; customer data; creation, workflow, and operations; content, campaign, and multi-channel delivery; measurement and reporting; and evaluation of your stack and platforms.
Does it cover AI? Yes, in chapter 8, which treats AI as capabilities inside existing platform categories (predictive analytics, automation, generation) rather than a separate category.
Who published it? Mercury Learning and Information, an imprint distributed by De Gruyter Brill. It is one of several Kihlström titles with that publisher.
How long is it? Roughly 470 pages across 29 chapters.
Is there an evaluation framework in the book? Yes. Chapter 26 presents a martech stack evaluation framework, followed by chapters on evaluating individual platforms, building a roadmap, and measuring results.
How does it relate to the Agile Brand Guide series? The Agile Brand Guides are short single-category books (CDPs, DXPs, DAM, and so on). This book covers all the categories at moderate depth and adds the cross-stack evaluation method.
Can I read Part 6 on its own? Yes, if you already know the platform categories. The earlier parts function as reference material.
Related Terms
- Customer Data Platform (CDP)
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
- Data Management Platform (DMP)
- Digital Experience Platform (DXP)
- Content Management System (CMS)
- Digital Asset Management (DAM)
- Customer Journey Orchestration (CJO)
- Consent Management Platform (CMP)
- Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
- MarTech Stack — entry pending; see editorial notes
Related Books
- The Agile Brand Guide to MarTech Stack Evaluation (2023) — out of print; predecessor
- The Agile Brand Guide: Customer Data Platforms (2024) — wiki entry pending
- The Agile Brand Guide: Digital Experience Platforms (2025) — wiki entry pending
- The Agile Brand Guide: Digital Asset Management (2026) — wiki entry pending
- Marketing Operations: Strategy, Implementation and Optimization (2026) — wiki entry pending
- MarketingOps 3.0 (2026) — entry drafted November 2026
Sources
- De Gruyter Brill — Marketing Technology Platforms: Strategy, Evaluation, and Implementation: https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781501522901/html
- Greg Kihlström — Marketing Technology Platforms: https://www.gregkihlstrom.com/marketing-technology-platforms
- Greg Kihlström — All Books: https://www.gregkihlstrom.com/greg-kihlstrom-books-1
- Amazon UK — Marketing Technology Platforms (paperback, ISBN 9781501524233): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Marketing-Technology-Platforms-Evaluation-Implementation/dp/1501524232
- The Agile Brand Guide — Capitol Communicator coverage of The Agile Brand Guide to MarTech Stack Evaluation (2023): https://www.agilebrandguide.com/2023-6-14-capitol-communicator-the-agile-brand-guide-to-martech-stack-evaluation/