The Next Wave of AI in Marketing

In this episode of the DMI podcast, host ⁠⁠Will Francis⁠⁠ speaks with ⁠Jim Lecinski⁠⁠, marketing professor at Northwestern University, Kellogg and co-author of The AI Marketing Canvas. Together, they explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping marketing — from reducing cycle times and boosting productivity to transforming how marketers plan, execute, and measure campaigns. Jim demystifies emerging tools like AI agents, custom GPTs, and reasoning engines, and shares why marketers need to lead AI strategy rather than passively adopt it. He also offers great advice for how marketers can make the most of AI at junior, middle, and senior levels of a career.Jim's Top 3 TipsNominate an AI ChampionFocus on Today’s Practical Use CasesUpskill with Free ToolsTimestamps00:00 – Intro & State of Marketing Today01:08 – The AI Adoption Curve03:30 – How AI Is Actually Used Today05:01 – 4 Common Approaches to AI in Enterprises08:42 – Creating an AI Strategy in Marketing10:27 – Understanding AI Agents vs. Assistants13:27 – What Marketers Should (and Shouldn’t) Focus On16:15 – The Human Side of Marketing & Creativity20:12 – AI-Generated Ads & the NBCU-Waymark Deal24:33 – “We’re an AI-first company”: Why Leaders Say This27:02 – How AI Will Affect Marketing Jobs32:31 – Career Advice by Level36:12 – What’s New in The AI Marketing Canvas (2nd Edition)40:17 – How Jim Used AI to Build His Course45:02 – Reframing AI as a Reasoning Engine, Not a Chatbot46:12 – Job Hunting with AI48:33 – Where to Upskill in AI for Marketing-------------------The Ahead of the Game podcast is brought to you by the Digital Marketing Institute and is available on our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.Check out the DMI’s extensive digital marketing library of ebooks, toolkits, webinars, guides, templates, and more! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join for free today⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review so others can find us!