MASB is taking on AI! Anything to get away from the trite mouthing of generic platitudes. I’ve been to conference after conference where one speaker after another stands up and says, “AI can be useful but of course you have to have the human touch for creativity.” Most marketers know very little about AI but feel obliged to pay it homage.
My position is this: Is AI transformational? Yes. Will it change the structure of marketing? Definitely. It will finish off the big marketing conglomerates which have already lost relevance as technology has enabled smaller, specialized firms to do the same job. Unless they transform themselves into tech companies. But AI is an enabler, not a strategy. It can only regurgitate what already exists. Will it ever really think? We’ll see.
MASB has one priority initiative well underway—Making Big Data Useful (which includes AI), led by Purush Papatla, Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute Professor of Marketing at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Venky Shankar, Professor and Chair of the Marketing Department at SMU Cox Business School. A research study is in the field to discover how marketers are currently using AI in the context of traditional analytic techniques. The team is looking at models to determine how big data and AI can be used most efficiently and effectively in marketing. This includes both structured data and unstructured data. As MASB Chair Dave Stewart wisely says, “There is no such thing as unstructured data. It is merely data which has not been structured yet.”
Topics I am proposing for 2026 include:
- Applying AI to market research and brand valuation, to improve immediacy and accuracy and lower cost.
- Defining standards for AI risk management in marketing is a project we would like to add to those under development by ISO Technical Committee 289. MASB is playing a key role in the committee updating the ISO 10668 standard for brand valuation, which is being chaired by David Haigh of Brand Finance, a long time MASB member. The review of the legal aspects, in which our partner INTA has played an important role, is nearing completion. Proposals for changes to the behavioral component of brand valuation are under active review.
- Applying AI to MASB’s treasure trove of IP, including the Universal Marketing Dictionary, to create tools and a platform which can make it easily accessible and searchable by anyone. The resulting tool will be shared with our sister marketing organizations for use by their members.
There is so much gossip and hype around AI. MASB’s role is to unravel the puzzle and set out the facts in a transparent and objective manner.
Other key activities underway include preparing for MASB Winter Summit on Feb. 18-19. We are testing a format change from two in-person conferences each year to having one in-person and one virtual. This will give us the benefit of one-on-one interaction and discussion during a longer in-person session, and one shorter session which can be more easily attended by people from around the world, especially our growing roster of members in Asia and Europe, and those with other commitments or who are unable to travel. The February summit will be virtual and will focus heavily on data. Please send us suggestions for specific sessions and speakers!
Our other initiatives are all progressing well.
- Measuring Creativity has metrics and a model, and data is starting to come in from tests with major companies.
- Economic Impact of Marketing similarly has draft models and has just received access to a large amount of test data from a major CPG firm.
- Marketing Organization is planning CEO/CFO interviews. Pam Forbus no longer has the bandwidth to jointly lead it, due to her new job as global head of research at Mondelez—we are actively looking for a new co-lead. Please volunteer or send suggestions!
- Sustainable Marketing Accountability has a white paper in final draft and is preparing a proposal for an ISO standard.
- Financial Value of Brands and Sponsorship Accountability teams are actively marketing their publications and adding updates. Please buy, read and review if you haven’t!
- In addition to all this, we are working on a new student and professional accreditation/certification program on Marketing Accountability. The plan is for an academic level qualification, requiring serious study and passing an exam. This is spearheaded by Jim Meier and Dave Stewart, who are partnering with universities and other marketing associations in its development.
Finally, a very warm welcome to some new members: Missouri University of Science and Technology, DePaul University Marketing Department, and Marketscience. We look forward very much to working with you!
All the best to everyone in these dynamic times!
Joanna