Marketing stands at an inflection point. Artificial intelligence could be a catalyst to accelerate growth or quietly undermine it. The same technology that unlocks new sources of creativity and innovation can also pose a fundamental risk—a narrow focus on productivity that could shrink budgets, erode marketing’s influence and limit its impact on enterprise value. How CMOs drive the AI agenda will determine whether marketing is reduced to a cost to be contained or elevated as a force multiplier for enterprise growth.
Our new research with the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) shows that leading marketers deliver 79% greater total shareholder value than their peers—and, for the first time, we can show why. Our findings are grounded in thousands of historical data points of industry leaders across 11 sectors as well as interviews with more than 30 CMOs and CFOs that provide evidence linking creativity, brand strength and financial performance.
The findings send a clear message. Used narrowly, AI can make marketing less expensive—faster content, smaller budgets, leaner teams. Used strategically, it can make marketing indispensable—unlocking new growth, higher profitability, greater enterprise value.
As the CMO of a leading consumer packaged goods company said, “AI should be seen through a growth lens, not an efficiency lens. … The future will honor the brave who use it to create, not just optimize.” Another clear finding in our data analysis: When AI is used for more than just increasing speed and reducing costs, companies can unlock more than two times higher marketing-driven profitability. The real value comes from elevating the work—being more creative, more relevant and more connected to growth. That requires intent, a clear strategy and bold leadership from marketing.
To realize the full dividend from AI, marketing leaders should focus on three things—evidence that demonstrates marketing’s role in value creation, alliances across the C-suite that build trust by showing how marketing drives business growth, and leadership that resists the temptation to just cut costs and bank one-time gains and instead reinvests in long-term profitable growth.
It comes back to the strategic choice. Will your company use AI to just manage marketing costs or invest in growth? The decision rests on how CMOs frame marketing’s value to the C-suite.