Five big things from the ADMA Global Forum

This year’s ADMA Global Forum was a festival of big thinking and practical insight, bringing together some of the sharpest minds in marketing to tackle the forces reshaping our industry. From AI and capability to privacy reform and creativity, here’s a snapshot of some of the biggest ideas and bold perspectives shared on stage.
 

The challenge laid down to delegates at this year’s ADMA Global Forum was clear: don’t just keep pace with change, lead it.  

In her opening address, ADMA CEO Andrea Martens succinctly captured the urgency and opportunity ahead: “In just 12 months, regulation has tightened. Skill gaps have widened, and AI has left from the sidelines to the center of every boardroom agenda. This is not incremental change. This is a turning point for our profession.”

The sessions that followed echoed and expanded on this call to leadership. From redefining AI as a force for elevation, the new privacy-defined marketing landscape, to championing capability and creativity as industry differentiators, the message from the day was consistent: the future of marketing is not being disrupted - it is being decided.
 

AI as elevation, not automation

At this year’s ADMA Global Forum, ADMA launched its landmark ‘AI, Talent & Trust’ report in collaboration with Reejig.

By drawing on insights from more than 1,000 marketers collected in ADMA’s State of AI in Marketing 2025 survey - the most comprehensive study in Australia -  the report charted AI’s real-time impact on marketing.

As Martens told delegates: “This moment isn’t just about technology. It’s about us, the people we lead, the skills we build, the teams we shape, the cultures we create and the trust that we either earn or lose.

“Machines can do the mechanics, but the magic, imagination, judgment, trust - that belongs to us.”

This sentiment was mirrored in Tom Goodwin’s opening keynote, where he encourages marketers to think bigger and bolder about how we use these tools to reinvent what we can do for customers: “When it comes to AI, don’t think of it in terms of ‘faster’ or ‘cheaper’. Instead, think about the wonderful new world of opportunity it unlocks. AI isn't automation, it’s elevation.”

The report identifies that over 70 per cent of respondents are optimistic about AI’s long-term impact on effectiveness, but there are still concerns for the oversaturation of AI-generated content, the loss of originality and data privacy.

Many of these challenges were addressed in a dedicated panel on the topic, featuring Goodwin, ADMA’s Anthony Toovey, Deloitte’s Dr. Kellie Nuttall and Reejig CEO Siobhan Savage.  

Savage urges delegates to be intentional in their use of AI: “Just because AI can do something doesn't mean it should. We need to think about the next generation coming into the workforce and leave enough skills in the tank for everyone to keep learning.”

There are also key challenges around AI regulation and what businesses can do in lieu of formal government guidance. While many may feel increased regulation will hinder AI progress, Nuttall encouraged delegates to take a different perspective.

She explains: “Think of it like seat belts in cars. They’re there to help you drive faster, and we’d go a lot slower if we didn’t have them as a rule. Governance is like that - it’s there to help you.”

The panellists made clear that companies should be responsible for communicating with employees about how they can use AI, with Toovey warning against any hard-and-fast rule that disallows it.  

He says: “Our report found 75% of marketers are using AI. So when a company says, ‘No, you can’t use it’, the individual goes to their personal account - which you can’t manage.  

“You’re better off having a fence in place then risking your employees using a free tool they feed company data into.”

Joanne Smith, Chief Brand, Innovation and Communications Officer at Blackmores Group, who delivered the online closing keynote, shared a fresh perspective: AI is now a key step for any company looking to innovate.

She says: “Innovation loves focus. Supercharging data through AI into meaningful insights, then connecting this to human creativity, can lead to extraordinary growth.”

Capability as an asset

Last year, ADMA launched Capability Compass to help marketing leaders and their teams identify the skills gaps and opportunities for development aligned specifically to business goals.

One year later, at this year’s conference, a panel of senior marketers came together to discuss, in practical terms, how they build capability across their organisations and leverage it as a competitive edge.

Natalie Lockwood, recently-appointed Chief Marketing Officer at NAB, shares that building capability should be strategic: “Capability, and development planning more widely, has to be deliberate.  

“We’ve actually gone above that and use capability as a chance to bring marketers together. Gamifying learning programs works really well for that.”

Susan Press, Marketing Director of ANZ Beverages at PepsiCo, also points out there is a widening distance between fundamental skills and what marketers need to know to master today’s channels - particularly as fragmentation accelerates.

She highlights how this is a key challenge younger marketers are grappling with: “It can be really overwhelming for younger marketers who are splitting themselves in pieces to stay across everything. Our job, as leaders, is to help them understand what they need to know and wrap their heads around it.”

“The joy of work teams is the fact that people are different. If we were all the same, life would be very dull. Capability is about looking at the right tools that can help people learn new skills, and then matching those people and skills together,” added Emma Jensen, VP of Small Business at Optus.

Privacy and regulation as business imperatives

Privacy reform was a recurring theme across the Forum, with speakers warning that it is no longer a future consideration but a reality reshaping marketing today. As Martens reminded the room: “Privacy reform isn’t on the horizon. It is already here.”

Sarla Fernando, the Deputy Chair of ADMA’s Regulatory and Advocacy Working Group (ARAWG) emphasises that regulators are already more active in enforcing regulation.

She mentions the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) as one regulator that all marketers should take note of: “The OAIC is not going to just focus on the big, scandalous cases. They're going to come for everyday marketing practices, moving away from sensational headlines and looking at how people are responsibly using data on a day-to-day basis.  

“So we can't afford to sit and wait for reform.”

Peter Leonard, Chair of ARAWG, drew attention to trust as a key way in which marketers can bridge the gap between compliance and customer perception.  

He flagged how, in the current marketing environment, privacy and trust have become more intertwined than ever.

Leonard explained: “When marketers talk about privacy, we immediately think of compliance and the Privacy Act. Really, we should be talking about customer perceptions of trust and truthworthiness - and the two don’t always align.

“There is enormous brand equity to be built in being seen to be a trustworthy custodian of data in a low trust world.”

Warren Mackay-Smith, General Manager of the AI Health Innovation Hub at Blackmores Group, expands: “One of the key elements of being able to land an innovation pipeline is brand trust. It’s the vehicle on which innovation becomes successful.”

Another opportunity, as Paul Hewett, CEO of In Marketing We Trust, explains, is in thinking about privacy through the lens of its value exchange: “We need to align on what the value exchange is for us to collect and process consumer data. It sounds very simple, but when we break it down on a case by case basis, it gets quite complicated.”
 

Creativity and energy are key brand differentiators

If privacy and capability provide the guardrails for marketers to do their best work, creativity and energy are what gives our work its spark. 

As business expert Todd Sampson, who delivered the in-person closing keynote, shared: “Creativity is the last remaining competitive advantage we have against the algorithmic world we all live in.”

Paulie Dery, Chief Marketing Officer at AG1, explains that he has created his own metric for success - ‘energy’. For Dery, great energy is what distinguishes a mediocre brand from a memorable one.

He says: “Energy is a KPI. CFOs don’t love to hear it, but what it really means is how much momentum we can give a brand. If you get some energy in a brand, good things are going to happen.”

If there is one brand that undoubtedly has great energy at the moment, it is MECCA. The beauty giant has recently opened a multi-story flagship store in the heart of Melbourne, featuring everything from an apothecary to a florist.

According to Kate Blythe, Chief Marketing Officer at MECCA, every step of the process centred on both the customer and creativity: “Customer experience alone is no longer a differentiator. Today, brands have to inspire. That means creating interactions that are emotional, memorable, intelligent, powered by data and driven by empathy.”

Hannah Fillis, Head of Digital Marketing, spotlights the activation MECCA did at the 2025 Australian Open as an example of what happens when a brand decides to align with energy, rather than just staying within its own boundaries.

She explains: “Beauty doesn't exist in isolation. It thrives when it's connected to broader cultural moments, particularly the times and places where people are already coming together with excitement and with energy.”

Together, they reminded marketers that creativity is not ornamental - it is the differentiator that cuts through noise, creates cultural relevance and sustains brand growth.

Marketing’s defining moment

From AI to regulation to creativity, the message of the 2025 ADMA Global Forum was one of executing with conviction.  

The future of marketing is not about keeping its seat at the table - it is about setting the business agenda. This year’s Global Forum made it clear: marketing’s next horizon belongs to those who are willing to simplify, trust, create, and above all, to lead.