“You’re being asked to do so much as a modern marketer, you want to do the best work you can… meanwhile, you’re in organisations that are trying to drive cost down” shared Pete Markey, former CMO of TSB & Boots.
The room full of senior marketers at The AI Advantage: Talent & Tech Aligned for Growth event knew exactly what he meant. And AAR’s research proves it’s not just anecdotal: *51% of CMOs struggle with demand management while 43% are turning to automation as a solution for speed. Sound familiar?
Many see GenAI as the answer, but here’s the real challenge: how do you find the right partner to join you on this transformation journey?
Partnership Goals: When Growth Meets Innovation
Many brands, agencies and consultancies claim to be “AI-native”, it’s hard to know who’s ticking an AI box, and who’s driving the innovation. As Pete Markey puts it “don’t just pick one that can sell you some funky kit” “it’s who can you partner with that just gets your business and can go on the journey with you?”.
This isn’t about winning the AI buzzword bingo. It’s a strategic imperative requiring the right transformation partner and here’s how to spot those that will deliver results, not rhetoric.
Your Partner Assessment Framework
Here’s where it get’s practical. Below are some of the things to look out for when evaluating potential AI transformation partners.
Critical Questions to Ask:
- How will you help us navigate the cultural and skill transformation required alongside technology implementation?
- What’s your framework for prioritising AI investments? Can you show us which will move the needle first, and which are expensive distractions?
- How do you ensure our teams become more strategic as AI handles operational tasks, while preserving their creative edge?
- What’s your approach to building AI solutions that align with our values on sustainability, ethics, and diversity while staying ahead of regulatory compliance and bias mitigation?
The Non-Negotiables:
Deep Business Understanding: Partners who’ve invested time understanding your specific industry challenges, not just your brand guidelines.
Shared Learning Commitment: Agencies committed to developing capabilities alongside your team, creating knowledge transfer that lasts.
Proactive innovation: They bring forward-thinking solutions and strategic insights, not just responding to briefs.
Transformation Mindset: Partners focused on “how we work together” rather than just “what we deliver to you”. They become strategic catalysts that elevate your entire function.
Beyond Faster and Cheaper to Strategic Advantage
As Amina Folarin, CEO OLIVER UK puts it: “AI won’t replace the CMO, but CMOs who harness AI will replace those who don’t.”
This isn’t just about efficiency. It’s a smarter way of delivering brand at scale, using new tech to make long-term creativity faster and more efficient.
The right partners are AI literate, understand governance, ethics, and bias, and most importantly, they prioritise talent training.
“We wanna bring in new tools, new capabilities, re-skill the team… we need to go on a journey with all of our agency partners and transform how we work together.”
Pete Markey
Former CMO, TSB & Boots
The Strategic Choice
Forward-thinking marketers are already seeing results: faster production, smarter budgets, teams focused on strategy rather than operations. The secret? They understand that GenAI growth happens best in the hands of your talent.
The most successful transformations embed AI so deeply that your teams become AI-native. This inside-out approach creates capabilities competitors can’t replicate, and OLIVER does just that by putting the world’s leading GenAI company inside your brand.
