Oliver Kimberley:

Now let’s talk tech. You can’t redesign marketing operations today without involving technology.

George Forge:

To simplify: Marketing technology is about content, data management and process. The intersection of the three is where scale happens.

Let’s start with local marketing — e.g., a 2,000-store grocery chain balancing national and regional messaging.

The challenge is balancing brand compliance with local relevance. That’s hard to do at scale.

Healthcare has strict regulatory and brand compliance demands. The payer-provider relationship is complex.

We partnered with a major payer to automate and scale their campaign management — mapping strategy to localized provider networks.

Results: Improved from 87% to 100% on-time delivery, reduced compliance risk and removed manual work.

Oliver Kimberley:

This is where AI enters. Everyone’s talking about it, but we want to show how it actually fits into modern marketing systems.

George Forge:

This AI framework was built by our steering committee nearly three years ago. AI isn’t new to us — we’ve used it for automation for decades.

There are four levels:

  • Automation — Remove repetitive, low-value tasks.

  • AI-Assisted Marketing — Tools for writing, research, sales prompts, etc.

  • AI Agents — Tools that take action on your behalf.

  • AI-Orchestrated Systems — Multiple agents coordinating tasks across a marketing operations workflow.

Oliver Kimberley:

Some might hear “agents” and get nervous. George, what do you think about the fear of AI replacing jobs?

George Forge:

Think of AI as a tool. Libraries used to be our best information source — now we have digital tools like ChatGPT.

Yes, AI will always give you an answer, but you need to verify its accuracy. It’s not unlike doing library research — but you must stay critical. This is the most powerful tool we’ve ever had. If you don’t learn how to use it, you’ll fall behind.

When we think about AI in marketing, I like to look at it clockwise — starting with data and intelligence. As a marketer, you still have to define the vision. What’s your brand voice? Your business goals? What will achieve those goals most effectively?

Use AI to build hypotheses and back your plan with data. Right now, there’s unprecedented opportunity to connect targeted segments to creative.

Production tools today are amazing. For example, we worked with a major outdoor apparel company. We showed them how AI could overlay models onto their product shots with photo-realistic backgrounds — what typically costs $50K–$100K on set can now be done for under $1K.

Then it’s a business decision: Does it make sense to invest in traditional media or use these alternatives? Media environments are more complex than ever — and it’s only getting harder. So we need AI agents to be stewards of your media investments. And on the flip side, some AI might be spending your money inefficiently. So a cohesive approach is essential.

Here’s a snapshot of what’s possible across data, creative, production] and media. But the real story is how they’re all connected.

Oliver Kimberley:

George, thanks. But let’s move into real application. That looked like a framework. Can we show examples?

George Forge:

Absolutely. We’re proud to work with Valvoline, a leader in oil change and car care. They challenged partners to re-engage and differentiate their brand.

We pitched a “summer fun” theme and quickly used generative AI to prototype fun visuals like a convertible that looks like a pool toy. Then we used CGI to produce the campaign and created multiple variations across segments and messaging. Faster iteration, more creativity, lower cost.

Oliver Kimberley:

That’s amazing. So much creativity in such a short time. And there’s room for marketing teams to love or reject ideas quickly.