[Marketing Week] Bob Koigi: The missing AI link

Approvals, revisions and fragmented collaboration remain the biggest barriers to campaign delivery

Artificial intelligence may be reshaping how marketers create content, but it has yet to solve the industry's biggest operational headaches. As organizations race to automate creative workflows, many remain slowed by cumbersome production processes while struggling to prove that creativity translates into business results.

That picture emerges from two separate studies by Knak and Gain Theory, which suggest that marketing's greatest challenges lie beyond content generation.

Knak's Marketing Production in the Age of AI finds that approvals, revisions and fragmented collaboration remain the biggest barriers to campaign delivery. Despite widespread AI adoption, 85% of marketing teams missed at least one campaign launch over the past year, while nearly nine in 10 say AI-generated content still requires significant human editing. The findings suggest AI is accelerating drafts, not launches.

At the same time, Gain Theory's Creative Effectiveness Decoded: The Global CMO Survey reveals an equally pressing accountability gap. Although 89% of marketers believe their creative is effective, 80% still measure it using media metrics such as reach and impressions rather than commercial outcomes. Nearly half lack the evidence to defend creative budgets, and one in four report budget cuts after failing to build a data-backed business case.

Together, the reports point to a fundamental shift in marketing priorities. The next competitive advantage will not come from creating more content with AI, but from fixing the production bottlenecks that delay campaigns and building measurement systems that clearly demonstrate creativity's contribution to business growth.

Campaigns of the week

Jung von Matt Hamburg has developed BMW's global campaign supporting the release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, integrating the BMW iX3 and BMW 5 Series into the film's promotional activity ahead of its cinema debut.

Motion Sickness has launched We Love Fish, a new brand platform for Sealord that uses humour to encourage New Zealanders to feel more confident about eating seafood.

Opel has launched the next phase of its Yes, of Corsa campaign across Europe, building on the platform introduced three years ago to promote the Corsa.

Agencies and accounts

Trans-Tasman communications agency Tonic has been appointed PR agency of record for Subway in Australia, expanding its existing relationship with the brand in New Zealand.

Independent creative agency Thinkerbell has been appointed lead brand strategy and creative partner for Endeavour Group's retail brands Dan Murphy's and BWS following a review of the company's creative agency model.

Strategic and creative agency thirty6 has been appointed by Panda London to lead the next phase of the sleep and home brand's development following a competitive pitch managed internally by the client.

Partnerships and acquistions

Stagwell has agreed to acquire QStrauss Consulting, an Adobe implementation and consulting firm based in Colombia, expanding the Code and Theory Network's global capabilities in digital transformation and marketing technology.

FOX Advertising has extended its partnership with iSpot, continuing a collaboration focused on helping advertisers measure and optimise campaign performance.

VIOOH has partnered with Brazilian digital out-of-home (DOOH) media owner b.drops to expand programmatic access to premium advertising inventory across self-care and wellness locations in Brazil.

Other major news of the week

Criteo has completed the transfer of its legal domicile from France to Luxembourg through a cross-border conversion, marking the first step in the company's plan to become a US-domiciled business.

In mid-2026, Ogilvy and WPP have retained their leading positions in the respective Network and Holding Company rankings of the World Creative Rankings.

Nielsen has introduced Ad Intel AI, an AI-powered media intelligence platform designed to help advertisers and agencies analyse advertising activity.

Bob Koigi is the editor-in-chief of Marketing Report.One

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