ETBWS 2025: What differentiates marketing in the age of AI

Marketing is increasingly shaped by algorithms and automation. To stand out, human connection in marketing has never been more important. AI enables brands to operate at an unprecedented scale, but the challenge lies in preserving authenticity, emotion and cultural nuance.

At the 7th edition of the Brand World Summit 2025, organised by ETBrandEquity, a panel of marketing leaders explored the evolving relationship between storytelling and artificial intelligence. The panel featured Nitin Saini, vice president of marketing at Mondelez India; Shubhranshu Singh, chief marketing officer, CVBU, Tata Motors; and Anuradha Aggarwal, director of user growth and chief marketing officer, Amazon Pay.

Storytelling is being redefined in the age of AI.

Singh shared, ‘I’m not so worried about artificial intelligence. I’m more worried about artificial imagination. Imagination is unique to human beings, and that must be preserved as is.’

He explained that while generative AI can now produce content at scale, it brings the risk of synthetic storytelling. ‘It’s already a reality,’ he cautioned, referring to the vast quantity of AI-generated content flooding the digital landscape.

According to Singh, the true differentiator in the future of storytelling will not be technical perfection but human ownership. ‘I stand by my story. I am telling it. It may not be synthetically flawless, but it is genuine. Authenticity, as a stamp of human credibility, owning the story, being real and remaining contextually relevant, is where the real battle lies. Sadly, at this stage, it feels like a losing battle against artificial intelligence,’ he noted.

From a creative perspective, the heart of storytelling will always lie in crafting narratives that emotionally resonate with audiences, something AI cannot replicate.

‘When we talk about 2047, I don’t think AI can ever truly replace human creativity or imagination, not now and not in the foreseeable future. However, the way stories are told will evolve. As traditional CPG (consumer packaged goods) marketers who have been telling stories around Cadbury for years, we are learning that the formats and platforms may shift, but the emotional core must stay intact,’ stated Saini.

Marketing at scale

Large-scale creative ideas that appeal to a broad audience will remain critical. ‘It has always been challenging to speak to many people at once and still create something that excites them collectively, especially today when people increasingly believe in their uniqueness. We are going to continue marketing at scale, but we will be using far more new-age tools to do it,’ highlighted Aggarwal.

Speaking about the influence of AI on marketing, Aggarwal remarked, ‘Honestly, anyone’s guess is as good as mine. What I was doing yesterday, my tech teams now tell me, is already outdated. This is what I know today, and it is just a fraction of how it will eventually be used. I believe we are in a rapid phase of evolution. Anyone who thinks AI will not impact their life is simply fooling themselves.’

Branding vs. performance

On performance marketing and brand-building, Singh shared, ‘You cannot have persuasion before you have fame. A brand must first be well-known and well-liked. There is no question of focusing solely on performance at the expense of brand-building.’

Part of the challenge, he noted, stems from marketers themselves.

‘Many avoided attributions and insisted they were just building the brand. As a result, those with Excel sheets began to win over those with stories and scripts. In my view, both brand and performance are essential. But unless you invest in building the brand, you will not have a strong performance engine either,’ Singh concluded.