The Experience Gap
Customer experience is at risk. Explore insights from 800+ C-suite executives.
Explore our Experience Gap Report in partnership with The Wall Street Journal to see what 800+ top C-suite are saying:
Companies mastering digital CX are redefining entire industries.
They generate 30% more revenue, $1.4 billion on average, than customer-experience laggards.
Business leaders are increasingly obsessed with AI’s impact on efficiency. However, new research shows that businesses are often forgetting about the most critical factor: the customer. AI offers the path to emotionally intelligent customer connections that drive lasting competitive advantage.
Learn why the winners are winning, how you can leverage AI to deepen emotional connections with customers and what the roadmap for success looks like.
Survey Demographics
This report presents the key findings of a survey conducted by WSJ Intelligence and Code and Theory in June 2025. The survey captured responses from 800 U.S.-based senior executives.
Sample Size
800 U.S. executives at companies with at least $500M in annual revenue
Key Titles
CEO (33%), CTO/CIO (33%), CMO (33%)
Key Industries
Tech/Telecom (23%), Banking/Finance/Capital Markets (15%), Manufacturing/Construction (12%)
Experience Change — Explore Code and Theory
Code and Theory, part of Stagwell, unlocks transformative customer experience, brand strategies and digital capabilities. We are where CMOs, CTOs, and CIOs come together to Experience Change.
When the most ambitious companies need creative, enduring business transformation, they trust Code and Theory. We craft technology-first customer experiences to reduce complexity and accelerate growth. The only agency with a 50/50 balance of creatives and engineers, we’re 2,000 strong in the sweet spot of scale.
That doesn’t exist anywhere in the world. Until now.
Code and Theory — Press and Accolades
- The New NFL App Keeps You Hooked on Football All Week Long, Fast Company
- YETI Launches Interactive Calendar to ‘Plan Your Wildest Year Yet, Little Black Book
- NBC's Big Board, Built by Code and Theory, Makes Election Results A Whole Lot Easier to Understand, Fast Company
- Code and Theory Named The Most Decorated Agency of 2025
Book a meeting with Code and Theory.
WSJ Intelligence is a unit of The Wall Street Journal advertising department. The Wall Street Journal news organization was not involved in the creation of this content.
About the Code and Theory Network
The Code and Theory Network is the only network with a balance of 50% creative and 50% engineers at scale. The technology and creative network within Stagwell Group is built to experience change for businesses that need to navigate the complexity of changing consumer behaviors, emerging technologies and AI. With a global footprint and the capabilities to work across the entire consumer journey, we crave the hardest problems to solve. The network includes the flagship agency Code and Theory as well as Kettle, instrument, Left Field Labs, Mediacurrent, Rhythm and Truelogic. Code and Theory clients include Amazon, Apple, JPMorgan Chase, Mayo Clinic, Microsoft, NFL, Pfizer and Yeti.
Related work
Let’s get to work. Start a conversation.
newbiz@codeandtheory.comCode and Theory is a proud member of Stagwell Group. Stagwell is the challenger network built to transform marketing. We deliver scaled creative performance for the world’s most ambitious brands, connecting culture-moving creativity with leading-edge technology to harmonize the art and science of marketing. Led by entrepreneurs, our 13,000+ specialists in 34+ countries are unified under a single purpose: to drive effectiveness and improve business results for their clients. Join us at www.stagwellglobal.com
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