Mumbai: Dentsu Creative has unveiled its annual global CMO Report, which reveals that artificial intelligence is no longer “emerging” but firmly embedded in everyday marketing practices. At the same time, the report underscores that the value of human creativity, empathy, and cultural intelligence has never been more critical.
Titled Agents of Reinvention: Marketing at the Intersection of AI and Human Ingenuity, the 2025 report draws on insights from more than 1,950 senior marketing leaders across 14 markets. It identifies 10 key themes shaping marketing in 2025, ranging from anticipating the algorithm and investing in intimacy to building trust and taste in an era of agentic AI.
The study highlights the paradoxes marketers face: while AI enables scale, efficiency, and personalization, CMOs overwhelmingly agree that human imagination, empathy, and cultural connection remain at the heart of effective brand building.
Key highlights include:
- 95% of Indian CMOs say human insights fuel great strategies.
- 87% of CMOs agree modern strategy requires more creativity, empathy, and humanity.
- 78% say generative AI will never replace human imagination — up 13 points since 2024.
- 71% agree, “If I don’t win with the algorithm, I will be invisible,” yet 79% fear optimizing too closely risks sameness.
- 90% believe social and influencer content generates more engagement than traditional advertising.
- 91% say brands are built through partnerships with creators, platforms, and culture makers.
- 89% believe agentic AI will have a profound impact on business, but equally agree that trust and taste will matter more than ever.
Abbey Klaassen, Global Brand President, Dentsu Creative, said, “The future of marketing is about augmenting human ingenuity with AI to enable a level of pace and personalization not previously possible. It’s not about doing more with less, it’s about doing things we couldn’t do before: connecting creativity, media, data and production to meet the right customer with the right message in the right moment, leveraging the modern content supply chain to show up in more of those moments than was possible in the past. What we hear from our clients, and the report bears that out, is that they need seamless integration of data, AI enabled production and their existing martech stack to realize the potential of real time creativity to accelerate growth.”
Yasu Sasaki, Global Chief Creative Officer, dentsu, added, “What we clearly see in this report is that while clients are embracing AI at pace, they remain committed to the power of human craft and creativity. As we adopt AI at scale, it places an ever-greater premium on originality and innovation: AI is exceptionally good at prediction but creativity by its very nature is unpredictable. What is most exciting is when AI and human creativity come together to unlock new possibilities, spot new patterns and shape new futures. That’s why we see clients committing to invest more than ever in innovation in 2026 and beyond.”
Patricia McDonald, Global Chief Strategy Officer, Dentsu Creative, commented, “Today’s marketers face an extraordinary series of paradoxes and contradictions. Automation is vital to keep up, humanity is vital to stand out. They must win with the algorithm or be invisible, but optimize too closely and they become indistinguishable. If every brand chases the same signals with the same tools, we are simply running harder to stand still. The result is that the more we embrace AI, the more human we must become; unearthing the deeply personal truths, grounded in culture, that resonate, differentiate and scale.”
Amit Wadhwa, CEO, Dentsu Creative & Media Brands, South Asia, dentsu, emphasized, “Algorithms may shape what we see, but it is imagination, empathy and culture that shape what we remember. In India’s dynamic landscape, true success will come to brands that out-human the algorithm, fusing AI with creativity, data with intimacy, and innovation with cultural trust. Those who dare to co-create authentically and build experiences rooted in trust will not only grow their brands but also shape the future of society.”
The report methodology involved a 15-minute online survey designed by Dentsu and conducted by B2B International in April 2025, surveying 1,950 senior marketing decision-makers across 14 global markets and multiple industry sectors.
