78 % of CMOs Already Bet Their 2025 Budget on GenAI

Last quarter Delta tied 30 million USD in Olympic-sponsorship sales to one AI model, while Forever 21’s AI-built ads beat its best human campaign by 66 percent ROI.

Every quarter you delay, you forfeit ~14 % productivity and 10–15 % potential revenue lift from embedded GenAI in your org.

The Proof

1. AI as a creative muscle, not a gimmick

When AI becomes a default part of your ideation process, it stops being “magic” and starts being leverage.

• Speed up brainstorming

• Uncover new angles

• Scale variations without burning out your team

Ideas get amplified.

2. Automation as the system glue

AI without automation creates bottlenecks.

Modern marketing systems connect tools so insights, assets, and actions flow seamlessly with no manual intervention needed.

• Creative → scheduling → reporting

• Campaign ideas → variant testing → learnings

Eliminate friction.

3. Humans focus on judgment + direction

When AI + automation handle the task work, your team focuses on:

• Positioning that actually resonates

• Creative that drives action, not just attention

• Strategic decisions that move the business forward

The goal is finding where AI belongs within your business, and also where it doesn’t.

The Toolbox: n8n for Seamless Marketing Automation

If you’re looking for a no-code way to build automation into your stack, n8n is one of the most flexible tools out there.

• Connect AI tools, CRMs, ad platforms, and analytics

• Automate marketing tasks (report pulls, creative variant deployment, A/B test setup)

• Build logic flows without engineering help

Think of n8n as the connective tissue between your AI tools and your execution layers.

Here’s a simple and practical example you can set up in or customize from one of many free templates:

Workflow Spotlight: Notion → LinkedIn in One Click

The image shows a live n8n flow built to prove how low-code orchestration wipes out grunt work:

1. Pull today’s draft – n8n filters your Notion database for the page dated “today” and grabs every content block.

2. Shape the copy with GPT-4o – an AI Agent cleans formatting, adds hashtags, and rewrites for LinkedIn tone in seconds.

3. Auto-gate length – an IF node measures character count; if it breaches the 3 000-character limit, a truncation branch shortens it on the fly.

4. Publish & log – the post fires to LinkedIn via API, then n8n writes “Published” back to Notion so nothing gets double-sent.

Impact: five nodes, zero engineering hours, and a daily post that used to take 15 minutes now ships in under 60 seconds—freeing your team for tasks AI can’t handle.

Curated Signal: Nvidia on AI-Powered Ad Performance

Business Insider: Nvidia exec explains how CMOs are using AI to get the most out of their ad budgets

“Delta’s use of Alembic’s spiking neural network helped attribute $30 million in sales… Forever 21’s AI-generated campaign saw a 66 % higher ROI.”

This shows exactly why AI is becoming essential for connective, high-performance marketing.

Wrap Up

Generative AI and automation are systems to build around.

We need to stop thinking these are trends. Because if that’s how you think, you’ll get left behind by the competition.

The marketers who win won’t just “use AI tools.”

They’ll orchestrate them into engines that free up human teams to do what AI can’t:

Think clearer.
Decide smarter.
Lead better.

Until next time,
Mac

When you’re ready, here’s how I can help you:

1. Further Reading. Check out my other articles designed to help modern marketers.

2. Foster & Co. services. I work with marketing teams inside agencies, growth-stage startups and public companies.

3. Share CMO 3.0 with your team or network – Know someone who’d benefit from smarter marketing insights? Forward them this link and help them level up.