The role of AI is shifting within organizations, an evolution that surpasses mere gains in speed. As Chief AI Officer, Wesley ter Haar, recently noted in Ad Age, we're seeing AI workflows move “from niche applications to the core of business transformation.” The evolution is clear: AI is “acting less like a tool and more like a proactive, strategic partner.” This shift unlocks a new approach for brand building, where the slow, traditional development cycles of the past are no longer viable in a world of instant audience feedback.
This new partnership provides the engine for true agility. Speaking with the LA Times Studio at Cannes this year, EVP, Head of North America and Global Head of Brand Marketing James Stephens explained how AI democratizes creation and allows for rapid, meaningful experimentation at scale. Instead of merely tweaking the color of a button, we can now test wildly different creative territories—from highly polished, cinematic content to more “social native,” handheld styles—to see what truly resonates. It's a point ter Haar expanded on during theRevThinking Podcast, explaining that this leap allows us to finally overcome the traditional limitations of time and cost, creating the dynamic, responsive, and personal connections with audiences that have always been the goal.
The takeaways for brands are clear:
View AI as a strategic partner integrated into your core business, not just a tool for efficiency.
Embrace the new creative agility it provides to experiment in real-time.
And finally, shift the focus from billable hours to the impactful outcomes AI can now deliver.
The Fusion of Data, Creativity and AI Unlock New Possibilities
Putting this new strategic approach into practice requires the right foundation, and that starts with turning marketing data into measurable business value. To that end, we're excited to join the Supermetrics Solution Partner Program to supercharge our data insights. “With Supermetrics’ powerful data infrastructure and our strategic capabilities, this partnership enables our clients to get more from their data, with less friction and more impact,” says Elia Niboldi, Senior Director Data, EMEA. This foundation is crucial because unlocking business value today means taking control of creative assets and processes, which are increasingly powered by AI.
This is part of a larger agentic shift reshaping the entire marketing ecosystem. Our partners at Google Cloud are building for this new era, introducing a suite of specialized agents that act as expert partners for data teams, automating complex pipelines and turning natural language into sophisticated analysis. And during a recent NVIDIA “OpenUSD Insiders” webinar, our innovation leaders showcased how these agentic workflows are transforming content creation, too. By anchoring production to high-fidelity digital twins, specialized AI agents can collaborate across the entire pipeline—from storyboarding to animation—to scale content like never before. Together, these advancements create a clear path from unified data to intelligent, scalable creative.
Is This the End of Monoculture?
For decades, brands operated with a clear cultural center of gravity. Today, that center is fracturing, replaced by a dynamic and multi-directional flow of influence. This shift requires a new playbook, one that moves beyond broadcasting a single message and instead engages with a mosaic of communities and subcultures, wherever they emerge.
This fragmentation is visible everywhere, even in sports—what EVP of Strategic Industries, Lewis Smithingham, calls “the last bastion of monoculture.” While millions still watch the main event, true fan engagement now happens across countless niche communities, requiring a flexible, cloud-based approach to meet fans where they are. This same rebalancing is happening on a global scale. For example, Strategy Director Andria Wu explores how the one-way street of Western cultural influence is giving way to a multi-lane highway, with trends now flowing from East to West. The lesson for brands: cultural influence is no longer centralized, and the key is to lead with curiosity and develop the agility to move at the speed of culture, no matter where it originates.
The Last Word
Winning the Shift from Linear TV to a 360 Video Approach
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