MINT

Lights, camera, agentic AI. 🎥   Last week, we were at IBM for a video shoot and almost a year into our partnership, there's no shortage of things worth saying.   The conversation keeps coming back to the same pressure point: the orchestration crisis in #marketing. More platforms, more tools, more complexity and teams expected to hold it all together without missing a beat.   We'll be sharing more on how MINT.ai and IBM are addressing that. If you are in London on May 19, join us in person: https://lnkd.in/dnhW22TR   More locations and dates to follow. Federico Salvitti Mark P Meredith Brace Steffi Diamond

Nobody told #marketing leaders the job description was changing. But it has. Most #CMOs are now directly responsible for profitability or own revenue growth targets. But the gap between expectation and enablement is enormous. Marketing leaders are being judged on business outcomes while working with tools and processes designed for a different era. Only 1 in 4 have technology platforms that support consistent cross-functional collaboration. The solution lies in demanding the operational foundation that matches their mandate: integrated systems, aligned functions, and the political capital to break down the silos that are quietly costing each organization 20% in unrealized revenue (according to our friends at IBM). ❗ To every marketing leader: you earned your seat, now it’s time to build the table!

Going the extra mile is part of who we are, and not only for our clients. 🏃♀️🏃♂️💨 Last week, a few brave members of our team took part in the Milan Marathon in support of Magica Cleme Onlus, which helps children undergoing cancer treatment at San Gerardo Hospital in Monza through recreational activities and practical support. Running in teams of four, our colleagues took on the 42 km course across Milan and raised money for a great cause. A pretty good way to spend a Sunday with your teammates.

There is no question that #AI is having a heavy impact on #leadership. How do media leaders build hybrid teams and how do they develop AI skills while keeping their teams focused on their core tasks? How do they make sure that strong team members who are less tech-savvy or less familiar with AI are not left behind? In the latest edition of The #Agentic Advertiser, we explore how AI is changing the role of leaders and how the idea of "Human in the Lead" can put control back to humans and help create stronger governance. We also look at how both brands and independent agencies are benefiting from Agentic AI. Read the newsletter now.

We taught our Data Analyst Agent a new trick. Actually… several. It can now dive deep into large Excel files and give analysts the support they need. With Excel Deep Analysis, the agent:
 → Processes 10,000+ rows without breaking a sweat
 → Uses code-based logic for accuracy at scale
 → Goes far beyond “here’s a summary” Excel data can now be combined, joined, and analyzed alongside ARM data and reports to surface insights that used to stay hidden. Less spreadsheet gymnastics, more decisions made with confidence.

The role of a #media leader is being rewritten. For years, the job has been built around managing channels, interpreting data, and making buying decisions. A lot of that is now being handled by machines: faster and at a scale no human-only team could match. What AI leaves behind is something more valuable: knowing which questions to ask and how to build the right team in the #agentic era. Our latest piece explores what that shift looks like in practice. Full article below! Meredith Brace DJ Martin Federico Salvitti Hassan Khan Giulia Ferrari Christin Appelhoff Torben Heimann

Only 17% of CMOs feel prepared to integrate agentic #AI into their processes, according to a recent study by IBM Institute for Business Value. We have put together a 5-part readiness checklist the other 83% should be working through right now: 1️⃣ Integrated systems: agents need clean, connected data. 2️⃣ Cultural readiness: the hardest one, as culture takes longer to build than any technology stack. 3️⃣ Guidelines and guardrails: do you have clear rules for AI-driven automated decisions? 4️⃣ AI-literate talent: 65% say it's critical, but only 21% have it. This is the gap that slows everything else down. 5️⃣ A clear use-case strategy: which workflows will agents own, which will they assist, which stay human? The good news: you don't need to check all 5 boxes before you start. You just need to know which box you need to work on, and build from there. Which of these is your biggest gap today? Meredith Brace Mark P DJ Martin Massimo Fontana Federico Salvitti Giulia Ferrari #advertising #cmo #agenticai

#AI is a priority budget line for every #marketing team. New data from Dentsu's #CMO Navigator reveals the top 10 areas where media sector leaders are directing their AI investment. And the results say a lot about where the industry is heading. The #1 priority is understanding its use cases, opportunities, and risks (34%). Before scaling, leaders want to understand. This is matching with our most recent findings that organizations are seeing the true gap in AI implementation in governance and control as well as measuring the real impact of AI initiatives. Some additional findings: 💡 AI agents and data analysis are tied at 31% which is showing that execution is catching up to exploration. 💡 Media planning, content strategy, and audience targeting all cluster around 27–30%. While the use of AI in creatives might get the flashy headlines, CMOs are looking into implementing AI in all areas equally. AI is basically becoming structural to core media work. 💡 Only 23% are focused on media buying. One of the most automated functions is paradoxically one of the least top-of-mind - maybe because the trust is missing when budgets are involved (see the above comment on importance of governance...)? What is your take? Where is your organization focusing its AI investment this year? Meredith Brace DJ Martin Mark P Federico Salvitti Giulia Ferrari

Most AI #governance models give you the comfort of oversight without the substance of it. All you are left is with is approving recommendations after the fact, or reviewing reports from systems you didn't design and can't interrogate. The organizations pulling ahead have adopted a different model: Humans in the Lead. In our latest piece, we break down what genuine AI governance looks like in practice: the four decision categories every #media leader should map, the three architecture components that make oversight real, and why getting this right matters more in #advertising than almost anywhere else. If you are thinking about deploying AI agents across planning, buying, or optimization, this is the conversation worth having now. Read the full article below. Meredith Brace DJ Martin Mark P Federico Salvitti Giulia Ferrari Danilo Tauro, PhD

There is a shift happening inside media teams right now. As workflows evolve thanks to AI, teams are finding ways to reduce repetitive tasks and put more energy into strategic decision-making — and the results speak for themselves. The strongest teams today share a few characteristics: ⏱️ Less time spent on manual, repetitive work 🎯 More focus on interpreting results and planning the next move 💡 Clearer boundaries between operational steps and strategic roles 😊 Higher job satisfaction, because people focus on meaningful work. Very often burnout is not the result from working long hours, but from doing the wrong kind of work: low-impact, unclear, or endlessly repetitive. Teams that reorganize with clearer responsibilities and cleaner handoffs create healthier, more effective operations. If you could remove one repetitive task from your week, what would it be?