Future of Marketing Institute

What if marketing isn’t changing… just repeating? Soap operas were once created by brands like P&G as a form of product-led storytelling. Now we are seeing a similar playbook return through microdramas in China and North America. Microdramas are short, serialized brand led stories designed to capture attention quickly while weaving products naturally into entertainment. Different format, same idea. Story first. Brand is built into the narrative. And it is happening beyond entertainment, too. Brand ambassadors are becoming AI influencers. Product placement is becoming hyper-targeted and algorithmic. Catalogue-style personalization is reappearing as AI-curated storefronts. What looks new is often an old idea rebuilt for new behaviour, new platforms, and new technology. Maybe that's the real shift. The future of marketing isn't always about creating something entirely new. Sometimes, it's about reinventing what has already worked. As Kotler said, “Marketing is the art of creating genuine customer value.” So what’s next? What other idea from the past is about to be reimagined for modern marketing? Sources: https://lnkd.in/eRbDUsc3 https://lnkd.in/ev9tfs28

If everything is AI-made, then “human-made” becomes the advantage. Imagine walking into a bookstore in 2030.  You see two books on the same topic. One is labelled “AI-assisted.” The other is labelled “AI-free.” Will you reach for the "AI-Free" label the same way you look for organic or non-GMO labels on produce? What began as individual creatives rejecting AI could become something bigger: a cultural signal tied to authorship, intention, and craft. As AI becomes more embedded in content creation, human input may become the scarce thing people value most. We’ve seen this before. Organic, fair-trade, and handmade products influence how people trust and what they’re willing to pay for. So what happens if “non-AI” becomes a trust signal too? Will customers pay more for human-made products? Or will brands start designing for perceived humanity as the next premium differentiator? Sources: https://lnkd.in/gAfCqExd https://lnkd.in/d48TKX3S

Are Customer Reviews Becoming AI’s Source of Truth? As product discovery shifts from search engines to AI assistants, the question is: Where should marketers actually show up? Is it Google Reviews? Yelp? Reddit? Or somewhere we’re not even thinking about yet? The reality is, we don’t fully know. It keeps changing. AI models are constantly being upgraded and revised. They rely on retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), pulling from a mix of structured and unstructured sources across the web. What this means is: Your brand narrative is no longer controlled by your website. It’s shaped by what others are saying everywhere. So the strategy isn’t just to optimize one channel. It’s to build presence across the entire information ecosystem. The brands that win won’t just chase individual platforms. They’ll understand how AI retrieves, ranks, and repeats information from all across the web. In this new era, visibility is what AI can find and repeat.

We’re incredibly proud to see our FMI managers recognized. Congratulations to Leore Barkai, Asvika Sriharan, and Klara Nemaric on this well-deserved achievement 👏 Looking forward to what’s ahead!

Generative AI tools make predictions, but don't understand what anything means. What if there was a system that did? Enter world models. World models are complex representations of our 3D environments that reason about the cause-and-effect logic of how entities interact. AI systems trained on how objects actually move through space and time. And they're about to change what's possible for marketers. Think: 🕶️ Immersive customer experiences where your product exists in a coherent 3D space. 👕 Virtual try-ons that show you how clothes actually fit. 📍 Location-based storytelling triggered by what you're looking at. 🌐 Surfaces like buildings, parks, even the sky becoming real-time displays. What would your brand do with a world model? Want to learn more? Check out the latest FMI Newsletter from Martin Waxman, MCM, APR.

AI is rapidly advancing in its ability to render human skin with near-photorealistic precision. We are reaching a point where cosmetic and skincare brands may no longer rely solely on traditional photoshoots or models to demonstrate product outcomes. The latest generation of AI tools can replicate skin texture, lighting, pores, and subtle imperfections with a level of realism that is increasingly difficult to distinguish from photography. A recent demo from OpenArt AI’s Vellum AI skin enhancer illustrates this shift clearly, as many viewers would be unlikely to recognize the output as AI-generated. This raises key questions for marketers: - What role will traditional production play - Will consumers care if visuals are AI-generated? - How should brands handle trust and transparency? The upside, however, is that this can lead to faster campaigns, lower costs, and more inclusive representation. But if realism no longer proves authenticity, marketers must redefine what credibility looks like. We may be entering a world where seeing is no longer believing, and trust becomes a deliberate strategy. Source: https://lnkd.in/e8E2s_4N

Is your marketing team becoming more strategic, or just more efficient? We are moving at an “avalanche" pace. In less than a decade, AI has shifted from a novelty to the very infrastructure of how we operate. But, as we move from simple AI support to autonomous AI agents, a critical gap is on the horizon. FMI Associate Director Schulich School of Business adjunct professor, Martin Waxman, MCM, APR, shared a perspective that every leader needs to hear during his interview with Mariarita Loprete for Marketing News Canada. "AI can assist. It should not replace judgment." Key takeaways from Martin’s insights: 🧠 The Training Gap: Many organizations are handing teams powerful tools without structured guidance. And, without foundational training, AI becomes a shortcut rather than a strategic multiplier. ⚖️ Efficiency vs. Authenticity: While AI can scale content, it cannot interpret culture, sit with ambiguity, or build trust on its own. 🛠️ The Hybrid Framework: Start with the goal. Divide tasks into creative, functional, and hybrid elements. Decide what to delegate and what requires a human touch. In a culture obsessed with speed, Martin reminds us that slowing down to reflect and apply human discernment may be the most strategic move of all. How is your team balancing the rise of AI agents with the need for human authenticity? Read the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/e2wGTpWJ #MarketingStrategy #AIAgents #DigitalMarketing #HumanCenteredMarketing #FutureOfMarketing

Are brands becoming the future of media? For years, marketing has been dominated by short form, algorithm driven content. But an interesting shift is starting to happen. Brands are beginning to act more like publishers. While we’re at the peak of six second TikTok clips, some companies are beginning to experiment with long form storytelling again, through newsletters and editorial content. Platforms like Substack are enabling brands to speak directly to audiences without relying on algorithms. In many ways, this looks like the return of brand journalism. Companies are writing articles, blogs, cultural commentary, and behind the scenes stories that build trust, authority, and community rather than just pushing products fast. Some of the brands experimenting with this include: - American Eagle - Saie - Loftie - Tory Burch This concept raises an interesting question. Could brand-owned media become more important than traditional websites or social feeds? If audiences begin subscribing to brands the same way they subscribe to creators or journalists, the line between brand, publisher, and media company could start to blur. Maybe the future of marketing is not just about quick advertising, but authentic brand storytelling that develops overtime.

AI helped one marketer function like an entire team. Anthropic recently reached a $380B valuation. But their most interesting metric isn't their revenue, it's their headcount. For 10 months, their growth marketing team was just one person. Austin Lau managed Anthropic’s paid search, social, mobile app stores and email marketing. He isn't a software engineer, nor has he ever written a single line of code. But he used Claude Code to automate repetitive work, generate up to 100 ad variations, and speed up Google Ads copy creation. The competitive advantage isn’t just knowing how to code. It’s knowing how to clearly explain the problem you want to solve to AI. The role of the marketer is shifting: - From manual execution to system building - From repetitive tasks to workflow design - From doing the work manually to directing systems Scaling growth depends less on team size when the right systems are in place. Sources: https://lnkd.in/dQa-rh9Q https://lnkd.in/ejGUbkwG

Beyond Generative AI: The Rise of “World Models” Gen AI predicts text and patterns. But the next AI wave might understand the world. In this special podcast episode, Future of Marketing Institute Associate Director Martin Waxman, MCM, APR explores world models; AI systems designed to simulate the physical world. Instead of just predicting text or images, world models aims to: • Understand causality and spatial relationships • Simulate 3D environments and object interactions • Predict real-world outcomes before they happen Researchers such as Yann LeCun, Fei-Fei Li, and teams at Google DeepMind are actively advancing this tech. If AI can simulate real-life environments, brands could create entirely new out of the world experiences for customers. Imagine: • Interactive product exploration in simulated spaces • Hyper-realistic AR shopping  • Context-aware advertising embedded in physical environments  • Digital brand worlds where customers interact dynamically in real-time World models have the potential to bridge physical reality and digital intelligence, opening a new frontier for brand experiences. 🎧 Learn more about world models: https://lnkd.in/eEmcBnnW This podcast was produced in partnership with Gordie. Gordie’s AI interviewer helps people turn ideas into high-quality video clips and podcasts. Visit: https://gordie.co