The critical challenge is moving beyond isolated pilots toward marketing-wide adoption that consistently creates value. Be bold encompasses the following four marketing topics, grouped in three areas: — Gen AI and AI agents (#17). Executives generally recognize the potential of gen AI for areas such as media optimization and personalization at scale. Yet many have not matched belief with commitment. For laggards, the most common barriers are weak data and technology foundations, as well as insufficient focus on adoption and scaling. Even more advanced players often lack a clear strategy or operating model. Consumer-facing companies are more likely to lead, focusing on customer-facing applications, while B2B firms tend to restrict use to back-office efficiencies. — Gen AI initiatives risk becoming isolated pilots with limited impact without solid data and tech foundations. Two topics in particular act as key enablers: Data-driven marketing (#10), and martech and adtech (#18). High quality first-party data, consented identity, clean rooms, and modern measurement supply the signals models need. The martech and adtech stack integrate tools and workflows so gen AI can be deployed efficiently across channels and use cases. — Gen AI is reshaping the cost and speed curve for personalization (#12). True one-to-one experiences were rarely feasible at scale without gen AI as the unit cost of creating and maintaining thousands of variants, rules, and decision trees was prohibitive. With gen AI, brands can generate and adapt creative variants, assemble modular content, and orchestrate next best actions for individuals, all within brand voice and privacy guardrails. Where action is needed: Four topics We measured the identified need for action based on a comparison of the assessed relevance and the self-reported maturity level of each of the top 20 topics provided by the marketing executives we surveyed (Exhibit 2). What stands out is that the highest-ranking priorities also come with the greatest need for action. Our conclusion is that when it comes to branding, budget management, and marketing return on investment, or MROI, marketing leaders are not yet satisfied with the maturity of their capabilities and will likely funnel investments going forward. Interestingly, they seem to be confident with their employer branding capability. Finally, we see a contradiction between priorities and the need for action with gen AI and AI agents, driven by a large majority of maturity laggards in that field that still have the ambition to catch up to leaders. 9 Past forward: The modern rethinking of marketing’s core