BBVA

EMERGING CHANNELS RESHAPING CUSTOMER DISCOVERY AND PURCHASING

I see three major trends: social commerce, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), and commerce media.  

Social media is becoming much more than a communication channel. Creators increasingly influence purchasing decisions, and their content can also shape what AI assistants tell consumers. AI is making content creation easier, bringing more creators and greater competition for attention.

GEO is another major shift. For years, we focused on SEO and SEM. Now we need to understand how brands appear in AI-generated answers and recommendations. We still don't know how advertising, measurement, and acquisition will evolve across these platforms, but marketers need to start learning today.

Finally, commerce media is expanding beyond Amazon and Walmart into travel, specialized retail, and financial services. Financial Media Networks are particularly interesting because banks can understand spending patterns across different merchants and categories, creating new advertising opportunities.

The challenge is not just identifying new channels, but understanding how they influence customer decisions.

MOVING FROM MARKETING REPORTS TO ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS  

Data-driven marketing is not new. We have used statistical models, analytics, and personalization tools for decades. Marketing Mix Modeling, for example, has been important for CMOs for years.

But using data effectively has always been complex. Not every marketing team has access to data scientists, and translating information into business decisions takes time.

AI will fundamentally change this.  

We are moving from an era of reports to an era of questions.

Traditionally, marketers spent enormous amounts of time building dashboards and interpreting reports. Insights depended on the available information, its level of detail, and the experience of whoever analyzed it.

With LLMs, marketers can ask direct business questions: Why are conversions declining? Which customers represent the biggest opportunity? Where should we invest?

AI can make data more accessible and transform information into actionable insights. The same applies to personalization. Tools like Dynamic Creative Optimization have existed for years, but AI allows us to understand audiences better and create relevant content at a completely different scale.

The biggest opportunity is not producing more campaigns. It is spending less time on operations and more time solving business problems. 

THE AI PARADOX: GREATER ACCESS, LESS DIFFERENTIATION

AI is not simply improving marketing. It is a complete reset of how we do marketing.

Activities that once required large teams, from writing copy to producing creative assets and personalizing campaigns, are becoming accessible to almost everyone.

But that creates a paradox: when everyone has access to the same technology, technology itself stops being a competitive advantage.

The difference will come from asking better questions, identifying meaningful insights, and creating differentiated strategies.

"Sometimes the solution to a marketing problem won't be a better campaign. It will be a better product."

There is also a second paradox: AI is making brands more transparent than ever.

Previously, marketers could build a brand around two or three key attributes. Today, consumers can ask AI to compare products across dozens of characteristics, including prices, benefits, limitations, and even terms and conditions.

We can produce thousands of personalized messages, but if our product doesn't offer real value, AI may make that weakness easier to discover.

Marketing leaders must work more closely with product, strategy, and finance teams.

Sometimes the solution to a marketing problem won't be a better campaign. It will be a better product. 

RETHINKING AGENCY PARTNERSHIPS AND IN-HOUSE CAPABILITIES

Agencies are facing a major turning point. Traditional contracts based on hundreds of FTEs and margins per person are becoming increasingly difficult to justify.

AI is changing productivity dramatically. Agencies must move from selling operational capacity to providing specialized expertise and helping clients transform their capabilities.

I see significant opportunities for smaller, specialized agencies that help companies develop AI, data, GEO, and content production capabilities.

Meanwhile, brands will continue bringing capabilities in-house. But there is an important risk.

Imagine replacing 50 external designers with 10 internal designers supported by AI. The financial benefits could look fantastic.

But what happens in two years? Will we still need 10? Five? Maybe just one?

Just because we can bring a capability in-house more efficiently doesn't mean we should.

CMOs must carefully balance internal teams, technology, and external partners. Otherwise, today's efficiency decisions could become tomorrow's fixed-cost problems.

The future is not about having the biggest internal team or agency. It is about building the most adaptable organization. 

PREPARING MARKETING ORGANIZATIONS FOR CONVERSATION-BASED EXPERIENCES

We are experiencing three transformations simultaneously: new marketing channels, new technological capabilities, and new ways for customers to interact with brands.

Marketing leaders need to connect all three. We must develop capabilities in data, AI, personalization, content production, and experimentation. But we also need to question the digital experiences we have built for decades.

Traditionally, digital marketing has been based on screens. We generate traffic, send customers to landing pages, optimize funnels, and run A/B tests.

But what happens when customers no longer need those screens?

Imagine planning a vacation through an AI assistant that understands your needs, compares options, and completes the booking with one confirmation.

The same could happen in retail and financial services.

We may be moving from screen-based marketing to conversation-based experiences.

This could fundamentally change how we think about websites, acquisition, conversion, and customer journeys.

For me, the biggest priority for CMOs is not adopting the latest technology. It is building organizations capable of continuously adapting.

AI is not only changing how we do marketing. It is changing how people discover products, evaluate brands, and make decisions. And that second transformation could be even bigger than the first.