Marketers Who Understand AI Will Win the Next Decade

There’s a lot of fear-mongering in marketing circles right now.

“AI is coming for your job.”
“Marketing roles are being replaced.”
“Creativity is dead.”

Let’s pause for a second.

AI isn’t replacing marketers. But it is making the best marketers even better.

The CMOs who know how to orchestrate AI tools, not just use them, are pulling ahead. Fast.

• 84% of marketers say AI gives them higher-quality output

• 55% are using it to scale content across channels

• 87% plan to double down in the next 24 months

By 2026, Gartner predicts 80% of creative work will be AI-augmented.

The winners won't be prompt engineers.

They'll be strategists who know how to blend AI and human creativity into something powerful.

The Breakdown: 3 Buckets of AI-Enabled Marketing Strategy

At Foster & Co. I work with marketing teams inside growth-stage and public companies. Across the board, the AI conversation is shifting from “should we use it?” to “how do we build it into our operating model?”

Here’s how I advise teams to think about it:

1. Velocity Tasks → Automate

These are the repetitive tasks that don’t benefit from deep creative or strategic input:

• First-draft email copy

• Ad creative variants

• Competitive research

• Hashtag and keyword grouping

• Basic persona formatting

2. Insight Tasks → Augment

These are areas where AI can supercharge analysis and discovery, but still require human interpretation:

• Campaign diagnostics

• Funnel gap analysis

• Customer sentiment mapping from reviews or transcripts

• Forecasting based on historicals

3. Trust Tasks → Keep Human

This is your strategic core. Your vision, judgment, and leadership. Don’t delegate it.

• Positioning

• Brand narrative

• Investor comms

• Hiring and team culture

• Long-term strategy shifts

The Toolbox: Claude 3.7 for Team Workflows

While ChatGPT gets most of the buzz, I’ve been increasingly using Claude 3.7 for collaborative tasks with clients and internal teams. The longer memory and file-friendly interface make it easier to:

• Analyze meeting transcripts for key themes

• Draft campaign briefs from rough notes

• Reorganize decks with minimal manual lift

AI is all about how fast you can move from raw data to clear next steps.

Harvard’s Take on AI Job Shifts

Harvard Business Review: AI Won’t Replace Humans, But Humans With AI Will Replace Humans Without AI

Exactly. The CMOs who lead with systems, not stress will thrive.

This is what CMO 3.0 is all about.

CMO 1.0 was brand-led. Big campaigns, mass media, long timelines.
CMO 2.0 was data-driven. Funnels, automation, and scale defined the playbook.
CMO 3.0 is different.

It’s strategy-first, tech-augmented, and human-led.

And I’m going to bring you the latest from the 3.0 world so you never miss a beat.

See you next week.
– Mac

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

1. Schedule a session with me. Discover how Foster & Co. can drive your company towards peak growth.

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? Send them this link and help them level up.