AI is shaping ‘frontier marketing’, according to Kathleen Mitford, corporate vice president of industry marketing at Microsoft, who discussed the topic during panel sessions at both IBC and Sibos in recent weeks. Mitford describes ‘frontier marketing’ as blending creativity, data-driven insights and automation to generate measurable business impact.
Mitford was joined by Kevin Towes, director of product engagement at Adobe, at IBC and Joerg Kluerckmann, head of marketing at Finastra, at Sibos to discuss AI’s role in marketing strategy.
“Marketing is becoming a growth engine for companies,” said Mitford.
This framing underscores the shift in perception of marketing being a support function into it being a central driver of revenue and customer engagement. AI sits at the core of this transformation, enabling marketers to work faster, smarter and more creatively.
Towes emphasised the efficiency gains AI can bring: “We’re in a unique position to understand the creative burden for teams like different languages and types of content. We know we need to help people to get more time back in their workday.”
By automating repetitive tasks and accelerating content creation, AI allows marketers and creatives to focus on strategy and storytelling.
Towes added that “teams can use AI to adjust marketing briefs. Creative folks can then iterate on it – marketer and production are both involved – it’s not a black box anymore.” This approach ensures AI is a collaborative tool rather than a replacement for human insight.
Mitford reinforced this point: “AI is driving more revenue by seeing what storytelling resonates with audiences.”
Additionally, Mitford noted that video has become a primary medium for engagement and AI is helping marketers scale their efforts in this space.
However, Towes noted there are two challenges with video: speed and relevance. “Video doesn’t last very long. Because of different platforms, attention span in audience is less.”
AI can help to localise content by automating transcription, lip-syncing and adaptation for multiple languages so brands can reach diverse audiences effectively. Towes describes Adobe’s Frame.io solution as helping with this by drawing from thousands of assets to automate time for creators so they can add transcripts from multiple languages to a video.
“It brings AI into the creative process just like a paintbrush,” said Towes.
For Mitford, the benefits extend beyond content creation. Marketing engagement data can be fed back to sales teams, ensuring that AI not only enhances creativity but also strengthens the alignment between marketing and revenue functions.
However, challenges remain in ensuring assets are shared and utilised effectively. The biggest blocker is that “if we don’t share it, it doesn’t get used,” said Mitford.
Microsoft’s Kathleen Mitford and Adobe’s Kevin Towes
The session with Finastra’s Joerg Klueckmann shifted the focus from creative operations to broader enterprise marketing strategy. Klueckmann described how Microsoft Copilot structures his day and helps turn creative ideas into reality.
He highlighted a potential use case where Copilot can be leveraged to convert interviews with internal and external financial services experts into blog posts, whitepapers and social media content. Klueckmann explained that this approach allows the creation of “not just a lot of content” but also content that maintains the company’s tone of voice.
AI can streamline research processes too. Mitford shared an example where a marketing research report, traditionally conducted by a consultancy, was completed 90 per cent accurately using AI, saving time and nearly $1 million.
AI is also helping Finastra experiment with automating processes across marketing and sales functions. Klueckmann described automating the research and content preparation that sales development representatives typically perform manually. AI agents identify relevant materials and generate tailored emails, condensing multiple steps into a more efficient workflow.
Both Mitford and Klueckmann emphasised that AI is not a replacement for human talent but a tool to enhance it.
“Elephant in the room… sometimes there is concern about whether AI and agents are replacing jobs,” said Mitford. “We see AI as taking away the work that people don’t love to do.”
Klueckmann echoed this perspective. “If machines are getting better at being machines, then humans need to be better at being humans” by focusing on creativity and strategic thinking.
The democratisation of AI tools also enables more team members to contribute to analytics and campaign management.
“We’re looking for marketers to be full-stack marketers,” said Mitford. “AI, Copilot, can help you.”
Still, human oversight remains essential. Klueckmann stressed that AI-generated content is never automatically published. “Copilot is like a new muscle,” he said. “It provides an additional intellectual challenge.
Across both sessions, the recurring theme was that AI empowers enterprises to rethink marketing not just as content creation but also as a strategic growth engine. Whether through accelerating video production, automating research or optimising campaign workflows, AI allows marketers to focus on what machines cannot: human creativity, judgement and engagement.
For enterprise leaders, the takeaway is clear: investing in AI-enabled marketing platforms and combining them with strong human oversight can deliver both operational efficiencies and tangible business growth, positioning marketing departments as a true engine of enterprise success.
Read more: Mitford explains how generative AI is transforming industries