Brand strategy: A new era in marketing - redefining marketing in the modern world

An unprecedented opportunity to drive growth and market differentiation

63% of Chief Marketing Officers (CMO's) cite a lack of AI knowledge as their biggest challenge²

A recent Canva report finds that 92% of marketing leaders consider AI proficiency essential in the coming years, while 75% of teams increased AI budgets, yet still struggle to use tools effectively or measure results.³

As an ever-growing tsunami of AI tools and platforms, rapidly evolving consumer expectations, and increasing accountability for revenue impact become central to the business strategy, the need to transition marketing from a cost centre to a revenue engine and growth driver will accelerate.

Marketing functions that delay this shift, which is already underway, and that remain disconnected from the speed and force of this new reality, risk missing unprecedented opportunities that drive growth and market differentiation. AI unleashed - taking the first leap forward, safely

A recent McKinsey report estimates that gen AI could contribute up to $4.4 trillion in annual global productivity. According to the analysis, marketing and sales are one of four functional groups that, combined, could reap an estimated 75% of that value. The productivity of marketing alone, due to general AI, could increase by 5-15% of total marketing spend, worth approximately $463 billion annually.⁴

And this is just the beginning. When marketers combine AI’s capabilities – such as content generation, hyper-personalisation, predictive modelling, and automation - with their deep understanding of human-led brand strategies, consumer behaviours, and market dynamics, they drive revenue growth across the entire business. Companies are now acknowledging that, given the right support and investment, marketing is evolving into a key driver of business strategy.

A dynamic phenomenon, to be understood and managed

Despite AI’s undisputed transformative potential, the future of marketing lies not in using AI to reduce work, but in using it to do exponentially more, recognising that efficiency gains will enable increased customer engagement and marketing activity.

Those expecting AI to simply cut marketing workload may be unprepared for the greater overall activity and demand it enables.

Jevons' paradox⁵, named after economist William Stanley Jevons, is the observation that efficiency gains in using a resource often leads to greater total consumption of that resource, not less.

In marketing, the same effect applies with AI. AI efficiency gains often lead to increased overall activity rather than reduced effort. As AI tools make it faster and more cost-effective to create content, launch campaigns, and personalise messaging, companies are able to run more campaigns and produce more content.

The key insight here is that the Jevons paradox isn't a problem to be solved, it's a dynamic to be understood and managed. Companies that recognise this effect can plan for growth, allocate resources appropriately, and harness the exponential engagement opportunities that AI efficiency creates.

Three strategic imperatives for AI-Driven marketing

1. Prioritise authenticity over automation: Now that AI can do more, understand what humans should focus on.

Recognise that human wisdom and intuition are the differentiators, and that AI automation solves for speed and consistency, not meaning, emotion, or ethics. AI as the analyst, humans as the strategist

Researchers have found that when humans and AI work together they can achieve better results than when working alone, but this combination only works when humans and AI do what they do best⁶.

• Conduct a human-AI readiness audit
• Evaluate the existing data infrastructure, team AI literacy, and cultural alignment to inform AI adoption
• Design and test the practical application of an integrated market readiness offering.

2. Start small and scale fast

Reimagine a marketing function that delivers measurable revenue growth at speed, combining the analytical power of AI with human-led strategic judgment and creativity.

• Begin by embedding AI into small, repeatable tasks, while keeping humans in control of strategy and creativity.
• Experiment with low-cost tools to identify how AI integration can influence top-line revenue and improve bottom-line efficiencies, making it an obvious high-value investment.
• Focus on scaling what works, without losing strategic direction, brand voice, or ethical oversight.

3. Clarify human and AI roles for effective execution: Establish a mindset where humans are empowered, not replaced by AI

Understand the different human and AI roles, and how they can work best together. AI will inevitably replace certain aspects of traditional marketing, mostly routine and repetitive tasks.

• Evaluate marketing responsibilities
• Create role clarity. Assign human–AI ‘roles’ and ‘responsibilities’
• Analyse potential AI automation cost savings and efficiency gains and agree on objectives and KPIs

Emerging human–AI marketing role examples (large organisations)

In the new era of accelerated revenue focused marketing functions, CMO’s will become CGO’s (Chief Growth Officers), accountable for developing and leading skilled teams to effectively transform insights into specific, profitable actions and turning AI-generated concepts into tangible growth.

The human roles below create multiplicative value when tightly coupled with AI systems, critical for revenue-accretive marketing functions. As AI capabilities grow, these human functions will increasingly focus on ensuring brands remain authentic, dynamic and competitive