Jayashree Rajan

expert panel

In recent years, several prominent brands have learned that marketing can misfire when it collides with consumer sentiment. Bud Light, American Eagle and Cracker Barrel, among others, have drawn public attention not for their creativity or ambition, but for misreading how audiences would react to “clever” campaigns or evolving branding. Even well-intentioned marketing or modernization efforts can alienate longtime customers if they believe campaigns aren’t grounded in authenticity and respect. For marketing leaders, these examples underscore the need for disciplined “backfire filters”—structured ways to assess cultural sensitivity, audience alignment and brand equity before campaigns reach the public. Here, senior marketing experts from the Senior Executive CMO Think Tank share how they would have approached the internal conversations surrounding recent “marketing misfires.”

expert panel

The marketing agency landscape faces its most significant transformation in decades. With global AI spending for sales and marketing reaching $57.99 billion in 2025 and 88% of marketers now using AI tools daily, the dynamics between brands and their external partners have fundamentally shifted. The era when agencies could command premium fees for producing content, managing campaigns or generating creative assets is rapidly closing. AI is automating repetitive workflows and enabling real-time personalization and campaign optimization, fundamentally changing what clients can do for themselves—and what they can’t—as well as what they value and are willing to pay for.  Success in this new landscape requires a fundamental recalibration of what marketing consultants and agencies sell—and how they prove their worth. Here, members of the Senior Executive CMO Think Tank—specializing in brand strategy, digital transformation and the integration of emerging technologies—offer critical insights into how consultants and agencies must reposition themselves to remain indispensable.

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With Meta reportedly planning to fully automate ad creation by 2026—from copywriting and creative to targeting and placement—CMOs face a pivotal question: What’s left for human marketers? Members of the Senior Executive CMO Think Tank share their insights on the risks, rewards and redefinition of creative work in the age of AI.

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CMO Think Tank members share how they're delivering personalized experiences without crossing the line—and what "helpful, not creepy" looks like in practice.

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Modern consumers expect more than promises—they want proof. Members of the CMO Think Tank share what today’s most effective brands are doing to back up their values with real action, and how others can avoid performative missteps that damage trust.

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B2B brands are adopting storytelling and emotional branding strategies once reserved for consumer marketing—building deeper trust, loyalty, and relevance in a crowded marketplace. Members of the Senior Executive CMO Think Tank share which brands are getting it right and how others can follow their lead.