Speed + Culture: The Hidden Edge in AI Marketing

The AI revolution isn’t about who has the shiniest tools, it’s about who can move the fastest while keeping their cultural soul intact. AI is rewiring how brands operate, and for every breakthrough, there’s a cautionary tale: companies pouring millions into pilots that never scale, or rushing into automation only to lose their authentic voice. The truth is, speed alone won’t win the AI race. Culture is the multiplier, the hidden edge most brands overlook.

Drawing from conversations at Digital Ascendant's recent event and beyond, we’ve distilled six principles for smarter AI marketing, all designed to help brands navigate with clarity, confidence, and a human touch.

Six Principles for Smarter AI Marketing

Rewire to Win, Not Just Retrofit

Alan Weinberg, Director & Senior Partner at McKinsey, put it bluntly: trillions have already been invested in AI, and companies will demand returns. Yet too many organizations remain stuck in pilot purgatory — experimenting on the edges without changing the core. True transformation requires rethinking processes end to end, not just automating what’s already broken. It means rewiring how data, systems, and teams connect, so AI isn’t an add-on but a foundation.

Go Where Your Audience Already Is

Ekta Chopra, Chief Digital Officer at e.l.f. Beauty, pointed to a shift hiding in plain sight: Gen Z is searching on Perplexity and ChatGPT, not Google. Audience behavior is moving faster than most marketing playbooks. For brands, the challenge is clear: follow where people are actually searching and shopping today, and move beyond endless “test and learn” cycles. Precision, not volume, is what creates real impact.

Build a Workforce That Flows

Panelists from the session “Top Innovators on What’s Next in Media” pointed to a coming shift toward a liquid workforce—gig workers, AI orchestrators, and strategist-generalists replacing rigid offshore models. Danilo Tauro (Aperiam) noted that specialists often go deep in one area, but generalists bring the curiosity and flexibility to connect the dots across functions.

"AI requires more than technical skills. Success comes from systems thinking, connecting across silos, seeing the whole picture, and solving problems with flexibility.” — Danilo Tauro, Managing Partner, Aperiam

Andrew Tweed, GM at 1-800-Flowers, added that the best AI talent rarely fits a traditional mold. These are resilient people in transition, with non-standard backgrounds, clean slates, and the grit to keep searching for answers.

Multiple trends and authoritative research echo what these leaders described: by 2030, work is shifting toward more flexible, skills-based models. McKinsey’s Generative AI and the Future of Work in America notes that automation and economic shifts are pushing companies to hire for skills more than credentials, and to recruit from non-traditional talent pools.

Smoothstack’s Get Ready for 2030: The Next-Gen Workforce further highlights that younger generations increasingly expect autonomy, flexibility, and skills over rigid career paths — demanding that organizations adapt with agile hiring, upskilling, and more project-based roles.

Together with what was shared on the panel, this paints a clear picture: by 2030, workforces won’t just be faster, they’ll be more fluid. Leaders who build teams that cross silos, welcome non-traditional backgrounds, and emphasize resilience will gain a major edge.

Trade Influence for True Co-Creation

The influencer economy is shifting. The winning question for creators is no longer “Will you post this?” but “What’s your dream creative?” In the session “The Creator Economy: New Rules, New Opportunities,” leaders described how co-creation beats campaigns — when brands treat creators as partners instead of vendors, they unlock content that resonates far beyond a single post. It’s a move from transactions to ecosystems, and the brands that embrace it will build deeper, longer-lasting connections.

Choose Partnerships That Fit Your Fans

Sports sponsorships are a case study in alignment. In the session “Where to Place Your Sports Media Bets 2026,” Julie Haddon, Board Director at FuboTV and Toca Football, emphasized that ROI doesn’t come from chasing the biggest stage — it comes from choosing partnerships where your audience already shows up. For regional brands, that might mean investing in beloved local teams rather than spending heavily on global sponsorships.

“Sports are an incredible way for brands to connect with fans and build authentic affinity through something people genuinely love. From padel to pro golf, football to rugby, what’s exciting today is the sheer diversity of sports available—giving brands more opportunities than ever to find the right fit for their audience.”   - Julie Haddon, Board Director at FuboTV and Toca Football 

The same principle holds true beyond sports: in AI marketing and beyond, the real wins come when strategies align with audiences, not just ambition.

Keep Humans at the Center of Every Loop

Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Peter Summersgill reminded us that AI isn’t just about efficiency, it can shorten the time to insight for leadership decisions. But speed without authenticity creates its own risks. The challenge for brands is to govern AI thoughtfully, stitch systems together carefully, and keep human judgment in the loop. The companies that scale too fast risk eroding trust; those that balance AI acceleration with human oversight will set the new standard.

Together, these six principles turn AI marketing from theory into practice.

From Insight to Action

Here are four moves that can help brands put these principles into action:

1. Start Small, Scale Fast

Begin with targeted AI wins that build trust inside your organization, then expand the

ones that deliver measurable value.

2. Augment, Don’t Replace 

Position AI as a teammate rather than a replacement. The real shift is in mindset and

workflow, not headcount.

3. Cross-Pollinate Experiments

Encourage teams to test tools outside their silos, for example finance in creative, marketing in analytics, to spark fresh insights and collaboration.

3. Measure What Matters 

   Prioritize speed-to-market and time-to-insight as your competitive edge, instead of chasing vanity metrics or shiny use cases.

Closing: Turning AI Marketing into Your Advantage

AI is rewriting the rules of marketing. The winners won’t be the flashiest adopters, but the brands that move fast and stay true to their voice.

As Andrew Tweed of 1-800-Flowers put it, the choice is clear: be the river guide who leads transformation — or the circus leader chasing shiny tools.

Speed delivers momentum. Culture provides direction. Together, they form the hidden edge in AI marketing.

Move fast. Stay true. Discover how at HiveStir.com.

Acknowledgments & Attribution

Special thanks to the team at Digital Ascendant for hosting this event—especially Marti Funk, Partner + CMO, for bringing together such an incredible group of leaders.

This article was drafted with support from AI collaborators: Claude, ChatGPT, MidJourney.

Two forces in harmony: speed and culture at the center of AI marketing. Credit: MidJourney