Observed Signal · Mar 2, 2026 · Industry Event · Source: https://martech.org/feed/ · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Transforming Marketing: Join SAP's Engagement Revolution Online!
Engage with SAP Online is a free, half-day virtual event now available on demand that brings senior marketing, CX and engagement practitioners together to address what SAP calls the "Engagement Divide" — the gap between customer expectations and many organizations’ channel-centric operating models. The program features Sara Richter (CMO, SAP Engagement Cloud) presenting findings from the SAP Engagement Index (10,000 consumers; 4,800 senior decision-makers) and a keynote from Mark Ritson. Practitioners from BMW Group, Essity and Sinch discuss operationalizing AI, connected systems and unified customer profiles. SAP’s research highlights mismatches such as 75% of consumers being put off by disorganized brands, low brand engagement on preferred channels (41% of consumers prefer apps vs. 28% of brands engaging there) and that only 21% of organizations score at high maturity for engagement. The event focuses on shifting from channel optimization to relationship-centric operating models.
Provides vendor-backed research and practitioner guidance on moving from channel-centric marketing to relationship-centric engagement; highlights investment trends (AI, omnichannel) and maturity gaps that are relevant to MarTech and customer-data/platform vendors.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Engage with SAP Online is a free, half-day virtual event available on demand.
- The SAP Engagement Index surveyed 10,000 consumers and 4,800 senior decision-makers.
- Research highlights include: 75% of consumers put off by disorganized brands, while 77% of brands claim they deliver seamless experiences.
- Channel gaps cited: 41% of consumers prefer mobile apps but only 28% of brands engage there; 43% prefer online shopping but only 26% of brands engage via web/e‑commerce.
- Organizational maturity: 21% of organizations score at high engagement maturity; 63% are in a middle tier. 77% of businesses plan to invest in AI-powered engagement and 76% plan omnichannel investments this year.
Connected Companies & Entities
4 Entities mappedOntology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
SAP Engagement Index 2026 Warns of German Brands' Engagement Gap
The SAP Engagement Index 2026 highlights an 'engagement gap' between customer expectations in an AI-accelerated world and companies' operational reality. The report finds many German firms overestimate the effectiveness of their engagement strategies while consumers report widespread frustration: significant shares report being put off or disappointed by disjointed brand experiences. SAP's Engagement Maturity Index segments firms into 15% laggards, 62% middle, and 23% champions; manufacturing scores highest (32%) while utilities score lowest (15%). Structural barriers include low AI implementation, departmental silos, and large volumes of unused 'dark data'. The report recommends a unified real-time customer profile, AI agents for automation, event-driven orchestration, instant personalization, and ethics-by-design. A case study describes jeweller Christ consolidating CRM into the SAP Engagement Cloud.
The Drum and SAP host AI marketing clinic with Mark Ritson
The Drum and SAP Experience Cloud will host a LinkedIn Live marketing clinic with Doctor Mark Ritson on July 14, 2026 at 15:00 BST. The hour-long session, hosted by The Drum’s Cameron Clarke, will answer live and pre-submitted questions about preparing brands for peak holiday season in the age of AI. Topics include agentic AI, AI-assisted purchasing, personalization, connected customer data, loyalty and stress on marketing systems during holiday peaks. The session will reference SAP Experience Cloud data and SAP research 'Deck the Carts: AI-driven strategies to engage holiday shoppers.' Viewers are invited to sign up and submit questions in advance.
CX Gap Persists After 20 Years Despite Billions Invested
Despite decades of investment in customer experience (CX) programs, a persistent disconnect remains between how companies perceive their CX and how customers actually experience it. Bain & Company's 2005 study found 80% of executives believed they delivered superior CX, while only 8% of customers agreed. Subsequent research by Capgemini (2017) and SAP (2026) shows similar gaps. The article argues that this 'delivery gap' is not a technology problem, but an accountability and culture issue. Root causes include measuring what's easy to report rather than actual experience, decorative feedback loops, and employee experience being deprioritized. As AI-driven CX investment surges, the author warns that automation without cultural and accountability fixes will merely scale the existing disconnect.
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