'AI & The Future of Marketing' Event Wrap

The 'AI & The Future of Marketing' event gathered the brightest AI minds in the digital advertising industry to discuss how AI tools can enhance digital marketing strategies and accelerate business growth. Here's a wrap up of the key learnings, including a Google NotebookLM podcast, plus a new 'AI Tools' Report' to help you figure out which AI tools do what, and where to find them. 

Last week, IAB New Zealand’s Emerging Technology Council hosted 'AI & The Future of Marketing', a sold-out event that brought together over 100 industry professionals for an afternoon of discussion, discovery, and AI marketing innovation at Google.

The event featured two powerhouse keynotes: Kellyn Coetzee, Head of Digital at Zenith Sydney and Co-Chair of the IAB Australia AI Council, and Matthew Daniels, CTO of XPON Technologies and Chief Architect of Wondaris Composable CDP. Their presentations unpacked the transformative role AI is playing in marketing, from automation and analytics to creativity and customer experience. A spicy panel discussion followed 🌶️ (we're here for it), with local experts Travena Addenbrooke Marketing Transformation & GenAI Lead Spark NZ, Carmen Aitken Head of AI Strategy & Implementation SKY NZ, Jake Calder Founder & Director FugazAI, and Romi Dexter Co-Founder & Director Hype & Dexter, moderated by John Waltmann from Google. Each brought unique perspectives on how AI is reshaping their corner of the industry - from data strategy to creative execution.

If you attended, you may spot yourself in the event video below or in the event photos  👀

To sum it all up we've put together our top 10 event outtakes, plus created an AI Generated Google NotebookLM podcast if you'd like to listen to an on-the-go, deep dive 🎧 Please note: This is an automatically generated AI podcast based on content from events and outputs and not the direct perspectives of the presenters or IAB New Zealand.  

1. Experimentation Culture

To drive adoption, we need to create environments where people can explore AI and learn through experimenting with the tools.

2. Prompting is the New Literacy

AI tools are only as powerful as the prompts, and the people behind them. Up-skilling in this area is critical.  Check out Kellyn Coetzee's recommended RISEN framework below.

3. Composable Tech = Future Proofing

Modular tech stacks allow for agility as AI evolves.

4. Invest in People

Most companies won’t have dedicated AI individuals or teams. So invest in upskilling the people you have across the business - groups can specialise in different AI areas based on their areas of expertise 

5. Governance Fuels Growth

Strong frameworks enable safe, ethical experimentation. Set these up first.

6. The Activation Gap

Many organisations have the data and the tech, but still aren't seeing the marketing uplift they want. A centralised Activation Hub, or CDP (Customer Data Platform) can help bridge this gap. XPON's Wondaris CDP uses AI to analyse customer data, spot patterns, and predict behaviours, like who’s likely to buy, churn, or engage, so you can automate smarter, more personalised marketing at scale.

7. The Next Wave – AI Agents

The future is moving toward AI agents capable of intelligent tasks management, like Google Agentspace, with the potential to reshape e-commerce and customer experience at scale.

8. Don't wait for perfection - start small

Quick wins like automating the boring tasks you don't like doing e.g. post-implementation reviews or using Claude/Writer for content generation help teams see results faster.

9. Human Creativity Still Reigns

AI augments human talent, it doesn’t replace it. We need human creativity and skill to prompt well, connect, and to differentiate.

10. AI can't sit in a silo

Success comes when marketing, data, tech, legal, and ops teams work together. The most advanced organisations aren’t just integrating technology, they’re integrating people.

As Kellyn Coetzee aptly said, "AI is a skill – like computer literacy."  So if you haven’t already, now is the time to start. Below is an image of the RISEN framework she shared at the event - originally developed by Kyle Balmer as a structured approach to enhance the clarity and effectiveness of AI prompts.

To help you keep up to speed with AI and the steady stream of new tools, the IAB New Zealand Emerging Technology Council has created a new resource - the 'AI Tools' Report'. This will be updated quarterly, and you can download it below.