This post, created in partnership with Fetch, highlights the critical role of AI in modern marketing, emphasizing personalization, agility, and data-driven insights to enhance brand loyalty and performance. Key takeaways include the necessity of personalized, tailored messaging as standard in today’s AI-driven landscape. Marketers and advertisers must rethink workflows to keep up with evolving culture and consumer expectations. Brands should not expect customer loyalty unless they demonstrate it themselves. Combining verified purchase data with AI advancements allows brands and agencies to plan, personalize, and adapt quickly, ultimately improving checkout performance. During an ADWEEK House Advertising HQ Group Chat co-hosted by Fetch, experts discussed the transition from focusing on impressions to outcomes, how customization and incentives foster loyalty, and the operational changes needed for real-time insights. Fetch’s Zoe O’Neill stressed the importance of hyper-personalization, driven by sophisticated AI, which enables brands to deliver relevant, purposeful messaging at scale. Amie Owen of IPG Mediabrands noted that AI now allows comprehensive analysis of the shopper’s journey, shrinking the marketing funnel—a feat impossible a decade ago. The pandemic accelerated ecommerce’s rise, equipping companies with tools to quickly gather and act on consumer data, exemplified by Fetch’s visibility into $179 billion in annual GMV. Sally Barton from Mondelēz International highlighted AI’s role in tailoring messages according to diverse audience motivations, such as different approaches for Gen Z versus millennial moms. Chobani’s Wilma Faget views AI as an assistant that enhances human strategy by synthesizing data and trends to create effective marketing “recipes. ” However, faster trends demand agility, which companies often lack.

Owen pointed out that traditional timelines for content creation are too slow to capitalize on fast-moving phenomena like the Labubu craze. Lee Dunbar of Starcom advocated for more flexible creative environments and sandbox approaches to product updates. Panelists agreed AI can relieve teams from manual, spreadsheet-based tasks, replacing them with collaborative dashboards that accelerate decision-making. Dunbar expressed excitement for AI enabling clients to interact with and explore data in real time, reducing reliance on static reports. Looking ahead, the group sees the greatest value in predicting future purchases and customer behaviors, moving beyond analyzing past transactions. Jason Lim of Assembly emphasized the potential to forecast demand and manage supply chains more effectively using AI-enhanced datasets. In an era where price often outweighs brand loyalty and innovations disrupt lifestyles, agility and foresight are crucial to sustaining business performance. O’Neill illustrated how audience insights allow brands to link related consumer behaviors—such as rewarding customers at Pizza Hut who also buy certain frozen pizzas—thereby encouraging repeat visits and larger baskets. Mondelēz’s Barton cited fandom-driven collaborations as examples of culturally relevant marketing that resonates authentically with younger consumers, blending entertainment and product engagement. Lim reminded that loyalty is earned continuously; therefore, leveraging smarter consumer signals is essential for building strategies balancing engagement and utility. In summary, the conversation leaders affirm that integrating AI with verified data, flexible workflows, and culturally informed incentives enables brands to personalize effectively, respond swiftly, and nurture genuine customer loyalty in today’s dynamic market.