At A Glance
Marketers are using AI to better understand audiences, improve efficiency, and build privacy-first identity solutions. At Cannes Lions 2025, leaders shared how AI and structured data help deliver relevant messages, adapt to consumer needs, and build trust. Experian supports this through ethical efforts and innovative solutions.Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a bigger part of modern advertising, changing how brands connect with people. At Experian, we believe this technology should make marketing more human, not less. We use AI to help marketers understand consumer behavior, respect privacy, and deliver messages that matter.
As part of our latest Cannes Content Studio series, we spoke with leaders from AdRoll, MiQ, OpenX, Optable, PMG, PubMatic, and Yieldmo. Their insights show a clear path forward; one where technology supports human strategy to create more meaningful connections.
1. How does AI help you see audiences more clearly?
AI decodes complex behavioral signals to reveal the values and mindsets behind decisions, and increasingly, it predicts what audiences will care about next. This allows marketers to deliver timely, relevant messages that resonate with audiences. At Experian, we help brands use these insights to connect more meaningfully and ethically.
Takeaway: Experian’s tools help brands uncover audience insights, enabling more meaningful and ethical connections.
2. Where does AI actually save time, and improve results?
Running campaigns is time-consuming. Solutions like Agentic AI now orchestrate end-to-end campaign workflows, audience building, trafficking, QA, pacing, and routine optimizations, so teams focus on strategy and creativity. Many leaders (94%) are investing broadly in AI to drive efficiency and impact, and 49% of marketers use it daily for image and video generation, shifting repetitive tasks from people to tools. By quickly combining past and current performance data, AI can pre-optimize before launch and refine mid-flight, while marketers steer the message and experience.
“AI uses past campaign data to optimize performance before launch, continues learning during the campaign, and refines strategies based on the insights it generates, driving better results over time.”
PubMaticHoward Luks
Takeaway: Experian’s solutions streamline campaign workflows, allowing marketers to focus on creativity and strategy while improving results.
3. How do AI and human strategy work together in real time?
AI handles real-time data analysis and optimization, freeing marketers to focus on strategy, messaging, and creativity. By defining audiences once and activating them across platforms, teams can adapt quickly and confidently. At Experian, we combine machine intelligence with human insight to deliver smarter, more agile campaigns.
“AI analyzes data, pulls insights, and automates optimizations, allowing marketers to focus on strategy, messaging, and creativity instead of spending time digging through numbers and data.”
AdRollLizzie Chapman
Takeaway: Experian solutions empower marketers to adapt quickly and confidently, combining human strategy with insights.
4. What does privacy-first look like now?
Relying on simple, static data points is no longer enough. A modern approach to identity blends deterministic data (like known identifiers) with modeled components, ensuring data remains de-identified where possible. Clear, transparent guardrails, permitted-use policies, retention limits, sensitive-category blocks, and audit trails, help brands balance personalization with privacy, build trust, and respect user choice.
“A new blend of identity systems combines deterministic data, known identifiers, and model driven components, creating fresh ways to address identity and activate campaigns with precision.”
OptableVlad Stesin
Takeaway: Experian’s privacy-first identity solutions help brands balance personalization with safety, ensuring trust and compliance.
5. Which new data signals matter, and why?
AI is unlocking a new generation of data signals, like content context, sentiment, emotional tone, suitability, attention, and commerce intent, that go beyond legacy identifiers like cookies and demographics. These signals can help brand messages appear in the most relevant environments and by high-value audiences. Used well, they improve relevance, avoid placements near unsuitable or off-brand content, and drive stronger campaign outcomes.
“Unlocking new data sets (like emotion, sentiment, and context), AI is creating innovative ways to connect client content with advertising opportunities and rethink how we approach the market.”
PMGSam Bloom
Takeaway: Experian’s solutions use advanced data signals to help marketers create more effective and innovative campaigns.
Why Experian for human-centered AI?
We deliver on the promise of AI-powered marketing through five pillars:
- See audiences clearly across households, individuals, and devices.
- Recommend next‑best audiences and automate setup for faster execution.
- Adapt in real‑time to keep relevance high.
- Innovate responsibly with strong governance and transparency.
- Plan, activate, and measure campaigns on one unified platform.
The future of intelligent marketing
AI will keep accelerating, but the goal stands: make marketing more human. Teams that blend privacy‑first identity, predictive insight, AI‑powered simplicity, and real‑time intelligence will earn trust and drive outcomes. Experian helps you bring those pieces together so every campaign moves from assumptions to clarity, and from activity to measurable results.
Talk to Experian about building human-centered AI into your marketing strategy
AI marketing trends FAQs
AI analyzes complex signals, behaviors, values, and mindsets to provide a clearer picture of what matters to audiences. That clarity makes messaging feel personal and relevant. Learn more about Experian’s Digital Graph and how it can help marketers understand audiences better.
Automation reduces manual setup and reporting, so teams focus on strategy and creative. Nearly half of marketers (49%) use AI daily for image and video generation, reflecting this shift.
Smarter activation across platforms means defining audiences once, then carrying them across channels with live feedback, so relevance and suitability stay high. See how Experian enables smarter activation with our data and identity solutions.
Privacy‑first identity blends deterministic and modeled components, keeping data de‑identified where possible. Experian’s solutions balance personalization with safety. Learn about Experian’s identity solutions is changing identity.
AI systems rely heavily on brand‑managed sources. 86% of citations come from websites, listings, and reviews, so clean, accurate, structured data makes your answers and your brand more discoverable. Discover how Experian supports structured data for AI-driven marketing.
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We spoke with industry leaders from Ampersand, Basis Technologies, Captify, Cuebiq, CvE, Fetch, Madhive, MiQ, and Samsung to gather insights on how innovations in data and identity are creating stronger consumer connections. Here are five key insights to consider. 1. Build on trust with first-party data Stricter privacy regulations and growing customer expectations mean businesses must rethink how they gather and use data. A robust first-party data strategy centers on gathering high-quality data, such as behavioral and transactional data. By using behavioral, lifestyle, and purchasing data, brands can craft personalized strategies that align with their goals. This approach balances effective targeting with building trust and complying with privacy rules. Integrating identity solutions like Unified I.D. 2.0 (UID2) and ID5 into existing data strategies improves interoperability across platforms while keeping user privacy intact. These tools help create more effective campaigns. "We've been preparing and leaning into educating our clients around the value of first-party data. These are very important and primary considerations in any of our campaigns."April Weeks, Basis Technologies 2. Align metrics with business goals To demonstrate clear value, campaigns need to tie their outcomes to broader goals. Relying only on click-through rates or CPMs won’t cut it. Metrics that measure meaningful results, like driving sales or increasing customer retention, provide greater transparency than surface level data, like clicks or impressions. A continuous feedback loop between targeting and measurement ensures campaigns can be refined to better align with business objectives. This feedback helps marketers understand who they are targeting and how those audiences are driving key business results. Shifting focus to metrics that resonate with stakeholders ensures that marketing efforts are evaluated based on their true contribution to the company's objectives. "The television industry has access to more data than ever before, and at Samsung Ads, our ACR technology helps us provide valuable insights about what content and ads are being viewed. This abundance of data enables us to support clients in aligning their campaigns with business objectives effectively."Justin Evans, Samsung Ads 3. Personalize experiences to boost engagement Personalization drives stronger customer relationships by delivering tailored experiences to individual customer needs. Using data-driven insights to fine-tune offers and messaging makes interactions more relevant, strengthening brand loyalty. Combining behavioral, lifestyle, and transactional data provides a comprehensive understanding of the customer journey and ensures each touchpoint feels personal. Testing and iterating on personalization strategies also helps identify which data and approaches yield the best results. Scaling these efforts means customers receive the right messaging at the right time, and businesses see better outcomes. "Every business should be building a data strategy that thinks about the different versions of data that exist and how they bring that together. They don't necessarily need to own all of it but have a clear rationale and strategy about where you're using which data sets."Paul Frampton, CvE 4. Utilize advanced measurement tools for smarter decisions Improving the effectiveness of campaigns starts with using sophisticated measurement tools to gain actionable insights. Using analytics like brand lift studies, foot traffic analysis, app download tracking, incrementality, and share of search allows marketers to understand the full impact of their efforts. With these resources, teams can pinpoint what’s working, make real-time adjustments, and refine their approach. This adaptability ensures budgets are used as effectively as possible. Learn how Swiss Sense measured marketing outcomes using Mosaic® "We are playing a leading role in democratizing new tools for local advertisers. By mimicking the marketing funnel mentality, we've introduced solutions ranging from measuring brand lift to tracking foot traffic and app downloads."Luc Dumont, Madhive 5. Adapt quickly to stay competitive The only constant in advertising is change. Adapting quickly to new technologies and consumer behaviors keeps businesses competitive. A culture of agility fosters innovation, making it easier to respond to industry shifts and discover new opportunities. Companies that anticipate change and invest in modern data solutions position themselves for long-term growth. Whether it’s adjusting to privacy updates, exploring emerging tech, or staying flexible, businesses must continuously invest in adapting their platforms and strategies. "Falling behind is not really an option. There's always a change in advertising and in data where there's a new horizon. The people who stay close to that and innovate will always follow it."Amelia Waddington, Captify Shaping the future Building meaningful consumer connections requires advertisers to combine robust data strategies with flexibility and innovation. By focusing on these five considerations, marketers can adapt to today’s challenges while preparing for what’s ahead. Connect with our experts Latest posts
Experian’s 2025 Digital trends and predictions report offers insights from our industry-leading data and partners on 2025 marketing trends.
Learn how Swiss Sense used Experian’s Mosaic® data to drive targeted marketing and personalized experiences for international growth.