AI Steals the Show at Cannes
Plus: TikTok gets text-to-video, Jasper grows up, and confessions of a YouTube mogul.
👋 Happy Tuesday AI Marketers. As the world’s creative leaders gather in Cannes, all they can talk about is AI’s impact on the industry. Meanwhile, TikTok, Jasper, and Adobe are delivering real utility with recent AI updates. But agents? That’s another story. Let’s get you caught up…
Cannes Lions: How Amazon, Apple and Mars Are Using AI in Marketing
AI is front and center at this year’s Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity and big brands are peeling back the curtain to reveal what’s working for them. Amazon VP Claudine Cheever lauded the power of “adversarial” bots editing the writing of other bots, in addition to discussing the challenges of standing up AI practices in large organizations, the buy vs build dilemma, and moving as fast as the lawyers will allow.
Mars shared how it built a virtual studio for e-commerce ready materials, and how AI is trimming days of tedious digital merchandising tasks down to minutes. And Apple's Tor Myhren cut through AI anxiety, reminding the world’s creative leaders that AI is here to boost, not replace, human ingenuity. All three brands left no ambiguity in their position that human creativity is still running the show.
TikTok Adds AI Video Generation
TikTok just made it effortless to turn simple text or static images into videos. Its new text-to-video tool creates instant, TikTok-style clips from short prompts, perfect for testing ideas fast. Similarly, the image-to-video feature quickly animates photos into short, engaging clips. No more excuses for sitting on the TikTok sidelines.
Adobe Shows Your AI-Driven Traffic
Adobe has unveiled a new analytics tool, built specifically to track how brands are showing up in chat-based and AI-driven searches. Called LLM Optimizer, this platform not only pinpoints exactly where AI-generated traffic comes from, but also benchmarks brand visibility against competitors, recommends technical fixes, and even projects the dollar value of traffic.
Salesforce Study: Agents Flunk CRM and Confidentiality Tests
A new Salesforce report gives AI chatbots a failing grade in handling customer data securely. It turns out many chatbot agents leak confidential info or bungle CRM interactions badly enough to cause real headaches. For anyone trusting AI with sensitive customer relationships or data privacy, this revelation could slow the race to automation, prompting some serious rethinking about how and when AI should step in.
The Ad Industry’s A.I. Reckoning
Are creative agencies at Cannes Lions attending their own funeral? A crucial debate is stirring over AI's growing role in the industry. Tech giants like Google and Meta are developing tools that sidestep agencies, deepening concerns about displacement. But there's optimism, too. Easier ad creation might expand the market, similar to how search democratized digital advertising.
🎥 I sifted through a billion YouTube videos. Here’s one for you:
Major Jasper update last week. I haven’t used it since the early days but think it's well worth a second look now. Their shift to a full-on marketing platform could be a big deal for marketers tired of bouncing between tools. A suite of marketing-specific agents, campaigns built from high-level strategy down to individual assets, research, audiences, content guardrails … all in once place. Yes, please.
🎙️ My top 3 podcast episodes this week:



THE AI BREAKDOWN
Why Your Company Needs to Move Faster on AI
Nathaniel Whittemore argues that companies should not just adopt AI responsibly but should prioritize speed above all. He makes a compelling case for rapid execution to stay ahead in the market. It’s not another cautionary AI talk, it’s a sprint strategy.
THE MARKETING MILLENNIALS
How to Create a Year’s Worth of Standout Content
Content marketing expert Jillian Hoefer shares her strategy for turning surveys, original research, and data dives into a full year of content. Struggling to keep your content pipeline filled? Tired of finding topics from scratch? This episode is for you.
THE CREATOR SPOTLIGHT PODCAST
10x Views in Any YouTube Niche
Kevin Jon shares his proven system for skyrocketing YouTube views. With organic traffic declining, many brands are reigniting their video efforts, and creators like Jon show how AI insights and smart optimization can multiply reach in your niche.
Have a favorite podcast to recommend? Shoot me the details.
🚨 AI-forward companies are looking for AI-forward marketers:
Director, Marketing
DP World
Lead omni‑channel marketing across the Americas using AI‑powered tools to improve planning, personalization, and performance measurement.
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Director, Marketing AI Strategist
Veeam Software
Drive the transformation of outbound marketing through AI-powered campaign automation, personalization, content generation, and advanced analytics across the organization.
Details →
VP of AI Strategy and Marketing
Ambient.ai
Shape go‑to‑market and positioning for a computer‑vision security startup, leveraging AI to enable proactive threat detection and operational efficiency.
Details →
Director, AI Product Strategy
SS&C Technologies
Drive AI and digital strategy for a cloud‑native pharmacy benefits platform, leading market research, product roadmap, and go‑to‑market planning .
Details →
Marketing Manager
Liine
Grow pipeline and brand presence for an AI‑powered call‑tracking and marketing analytics platform in healthcare using data to optimize results.
Details →
📅 AI marketers are gathering across the country and around the world for conferences, summits, and industry events. Here’s where to join them:
DigiMarCon Miami
Miami, FL, June 16–17
Techspo Miami
Miami, FL, June 16–17
Responsible AI Summit
Washington, DC, June 17–18
VidCon Anaheim
Anaheim, CA, June 19–21
Pubcon Pro Austin
Austin, TX, June 19–20
DigiMarCon Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale, FL, June 20–23
B2B Connect
San Diego, CA, June 23–25
CommerceNext Growth Show
New York City, NY, June 24–26
DigiMarCon Atlanta
Atlanta, GA, June 25–26
Observe
San Francisco, CA, June 25
WordCamp Montclair
Montclair, NJ, June 28
Have an event to add? Send me the details.