I was a guest speaker last week in Devon, talking at a conference about the state of marketing in 2025, and what businesses need to consider when it comes to AI, and in particular their brand communication transformation.
Having listened and watched a lot of commentary the prevailing narrative is a mixed bag.
‘knowledge will be worth nothing sooner than we think’, so if you make money selling that, then you need to think about the implications!
Others, like Tom Goodwin, make the case that when it comes to marketing with AI, “We’re living in the age of a mass assault on craft and taste and quality, all at the same time. And few people care. Everything is trending towards junk, emptiness, efficiency.”
To paraphrase commentary from Rory Sutherland, ad lands version of David Attenborough, he makes the point that ‘The issue with AI, is that for a lot of us it’s what we learn from producing something that helps us evolve, refine and get better’.
At Fireworx, we’ve talked about disruption for the past 10 years, and in the context of AI disruption isn’t about destruction, it’s about knowing what to keep, what to change, and what to do better.
From whispered curiosities to boardroom realities, AI is quickly redefining the rules, the roles, and the outputs.
Is abundance driving a race to the bottom?
From one perspective us marketers have never had it so easy, write a blog in minutes, generate videos from a text prompt, from another it is so bloody hard.
AI is making execution faster, cheaper, and more scalable than ever before. Email campaigns, blogs, video scripts, imagery, social captions, all potentially churned out in a few minutes. But with that, we’re now seeing an overwhelming surge from people who just don’t care enough, with low-effort, low-quality content flooding our feeds and inboxes.
Engagement is dropping, conversions through the floor. What’s the solution? Let’s do even more! Send 3 emailers a month? Let’s make it 30. Write 2 blogs? Let’s do one every day.
The penny pinchers won. The dashboards won. We’re now living in an age where taste, craft, and meaning are under assault by a tsunami of bland automated efficiency.
And then enters Agentic AI: Who’s job is even safe?
You may have heard of Agentic AI, its AI that doesn’t just wait for instructions, but perceives, plans, and acts autonomously.
I mean who secretly wouldn’t want a team of assistants that can replace all those pesky humans.
Think of it as AI with initiative. It:
• Makes decisions
• Sets goals
• Acts on your behalf
In 2025, ideas are in a lot of ways harder than execution itself but by 2027 will even ideas be commoditised. And, if everything is easy to copy, does everything not then become even harder?
So, if AI makes everything easier, and everything can be copied, what’s your brand’s edge?
Meaning. Story. Emotion. Delight.
This is your moment to be different. To embrace AI not as a crutch, but as a catalyst. Use it to take care of the mundane, so you can double down on the magic, the human, the emotive, the unexpected.
That’s why standing out and connecting, can’t come from what you do, it has to come from who you are.
Because when everyone else is optimising, you have the chance to stand out by resonating with customers.
The question AI can’t answer: Why buy from you?
AI can automate your processes. But it can’t tell you:
• Why your brand matters
• What emotional space you occupy
• Why people should choose you over anyone else
That answer must come from your strategy, your values, and your story.
So where should AI sit in your business
Here’s the truth: AI adoption is happening in silos. Sales using ChatGPT. Ops automating workflows. Marketing testing MidJourney. But it’s fragmented.
AI needs champions. A unified strategy. Governance. Security protocols. Innovation sprints.
You can bolt AI on, or you can evolve your business around it. The smart brands are doing the latter.
The takeaway? Plan your transformation.
Start with asking:
• What do our customers actually need from us now?
• What parts of our offering can AI enhance, and what parts make us better?
• How do we remain relevant, resonant, and real in a world increasingly dominated by sameness?
Then build a plan. Map your priorities. Bring in your sales, customer service, marketing and leadership. Use tools, yes. But more importantly, use your vision.
And if you want help turning that vision into something real—we’re right here.
Let’s chat about what AI can do for your marketing
Whether you’re curious, cautious or ready to go all in, Fireworx can help you make the leap with clarity and confidence.
The future’s already here, and it’s yours to shape.
Email: ideas@fwx.co.uk or even better talk to a human on: 01202 559 559
