The AI-Augmented Marketer

This white paper explores how marketing leaders in Australia and New Zealand are moving from data-rich to decision-ready by embedding GenAI, advanced analytics, and first-party data strategies at the core of their operations. Based on insights from the 2025 ANZ CMO Factor survey of 208 marketing leaders, it examines how CMOs are evolving their martech stacks for greater interoperability, prioritising technologies that drive activation (not just adoption), and striking the balance between automation and human oversight. From shifting executive expectations to rising efficiency pressures, this paper offers a practical roadmap for CMOs to modernise marketing, operationalise AI, and build trust-centred, high-impact customer experiences in a competitive B2B landscape.

Key Findings:

• Marketing’s Revenue Mandate is Here CMOs across Australia and New Zealand are no longer measured by campaign reach alone. With 76% of leaders prioritising revenue impact through lead generation and ABM, marketing is becoming a core growth engine, requiring closer alignment with sales and clearer attribution of outcomes.
• AI Personalisation Moves from Hype to Reality Personalisation at scale is emerging as a clear path to growth, with nearly 64% of ANZ marketers prioritising it for the year ahead. Yet while many are experimenting with AI for personalisation, disconnected data and limited AI readiness remain challenges that must be addressed to unlock true relevance across customer journeys.
• Data-Driven Marketing Needs Activation, Not Just Access ANZ marketers are rich in data but still struggle to activate it effectively, with only 9% actively using AI and ML today despite 67% prioritising digital transformation with AI and automation. Leaders are focusing on turning data into timely decisions, moving from insight to action while maintaining trust and ethical oversight.
• The Martech Stack is Shifting to Insight-Rich, Interoperable Platforms While marketing automation and analytics tools are widely used, ANZ CMOs are prioritising cost-effectiveness (22%), ease of integration (21%), and scalability (19%) when investing in new technologies. This reflects a shift towards martech stacks that are not just collections of tools but integrated ecosystems that drive measurable business outcomes.