The Future of Marketing Isn’t AI, It’s Human
Live from SXSW Sydney, we took the stage at Clear Hayes house to challenge one of the boldest ideas in the industry right now: that AI will define the future of marketing.
The Setting: A Live Debate at SXSW Sydney
Under the warm Sydney sun and surrounded by gyoza and beer, Canned went live at SXSW Sydney to tackle the biggest marketing question: is the future of marketing human or artificial?
Hosts Ben van Rooy and Steph Quantrill welcomed two guests from opposite ends of the marketing spectrum:
Alex Holden, Group GM of Brand & Customer at EVT, the company behind QT Hotels, Rydges, and Moonlight Cinemas.
Matt Meffan, from Aether, a new AI startup tackling what he calls “institutional amnesia” in marketing.
The crowd expected another AI hype session. What they got instead was a grounded, lively conversation about what really matters: creativity, connection, and the irreplaceable human touch.
The Big Claim: The Future of Marketing Is Human
After days of AI-heavy panels at SXSW, Ben and Steph wanted to flip the narrative.
“If you’re not talking about AI this week, do you even have a future in marketing?” Steph joked. “But we wanted to push against that.”
Their live episode, “The Future of Marketing Is Human,” invited both scepticism and curiosity. How can marketers embrace AI without losing their humanity or their jobs?
Inside EVT: AI as a Helper, Not a Replacement
Alex Holden offered a corporate yet personal perspective from EVT, an experiential powerhouse spanning hotels, cinemas, and ski resorts.
EVT has used AI for chatbots, customer service automations, and data-driven insights, but Holden emphasised one thing: the customer always comes first.
“We’ve been using AI for the better part of five to seven years,” Alex said. “But what’s really changed is who we’re using it for. It’s not just about optimizing workflows anymore, it’s about understanding how our customers use AI in their lives.”
She shared a story about using ChatGPT to plan a multi-generational family holiday, from a six-month-old to a 92-year-old grandmother, and how the tool’s convenience still didn’t replace her need for real-world research and human intuition.
“AI gave me a head start,” she said, “but I still needed to check reviews and do my own digging. It’s a starting point, not a substitute.”
The Other Side: AI as the Pragmatic Partner
Matt Meffan, representing the AI side, was quick to clarify: he’s no evangelist.
Aether, the startup he recently joined, was built to help marketers combat “institutional amnesia”, the endless cycle of creating and recreating PowerPoint decks and reports.
“Raise your hand if you love building PowerPoints,” Matt teased.
(Only one person did.)
Aether’s solution? AI that learns from your company’s own data, not the open web, and generates accurate, cited, and reusable content.
“We’re not replacing people,” he said. “We’re replacing repetitive tasks so people can focus on storytelling, strategy, and stakeholder management — the things humans do best.”
Key Themes and Realities from the Conversation
1. AI’s Hype vs. Its Reality
AI has become the buzzword du jour. But both guests agreed: it’s not magic. It’s a tool; powerful but flawed.
“Junk in, junk out,” said Matt. “That’s as true now as it was in the big data era.”
AI still relies on clean data, human oversight, and thoughtful application. EVT’s use of AI in customer service, for example, has dramatically reduced response times, but every message still gets human review before hitting “send.”
2. The Ethics of Synthetic Data
When asked whether synthetic (AI-generated) data has a place in research, Alex was cautiously open.
“If your budget is tight, maybe,” she said. “But nothing beats actually talking to your customers. A survey costs very little compared to the value of real human feedback.”
3. Transparency vs. Authenticity
Do marketers need to disclose when they’ve used AI? Matt’s view: probably not.
“AI touches everything we do now,” he said. “But the best work will always rise to the top because of its craft, not because of the tools behind it.”
Alex agreed, especially for a hospitality brand.
“You can’t use AI to generate a photo of a QT Hotel room,” she said. “It’s not real. Authenticity matters.”
When AI Meets Emotion: Why Feeling Still Wins
Perhaps the most resonant theme of the discussion was emotion, something AI struggles to replicate.
Steph noted that ChatGPT’s own recent ad campaign features real people telling real stories about how AI helps in their daily lives.
“That’s human-centered marketing,” she said. “Even AI companies are using emotion to sell AI.”
Matt agreed.
“I’ve never seen an AI-generated creative that truly made me feel something,” he said. “AI is brilliant at summarising, synthesising, and pattern recognition. But marketers? We do the what next. We give it meaning.”
Lessons and Takeaways
1. Human Skills Still Rule
AI might handle 80% of the grunt work, but that last 20%, the strategic, emotional, creative layer, is all human.
As Matt put it, “AI will remove tasks, not skills.”
2. Brands Must Rethink Discovery
Search isn’t the same anymore. With consumers turning to chatbots and LLMs for recommendations, brands must rethink how they show up.
“It’s SEO 2.0,” Alex said. “Optimising not just for Google, but for AI models without losing your brand voice.”
3. Real Experiences Are a Rebellion
In an age of automation, people crave real connection.
“Post-COVID, customers want experiences that feel tangible and personal,” said Alex. “It’s a pushback against the automated everything.”
4. AI Won’t Replace Creativity, It Will Amplify It
Steph summed it up beautifully:
“AI won’t make creatives obsolete. It’ll make them infinite.”
The panel compared it to Photoshop’s arrival decades ago; once feared, now essential.
Challenges on the Horizon
The discussion wasn’t all optimism. The panel also warned about emerging tensions:
Ethical dilemmas: AI models trained on artists’ work without consent are sparking lawsuits.
Data ownership: Brands risk losing control if they don’t understand what data powers their tools.
Corporate fear: Many companies still restrict AI tools, driving employees to use them unofficially, creating new security risks.
“If you don’t let your team play with these tools,” Steph said, “they’ll do it anyway, and you’ll lose control.”
The Human Advantage
The conversation circled back to one truth: while AI might power the next wave of marketing, humanity will define it.
“AI gives us time back,” said Matt. “But what we do with that time, that’s the real question.”
For brands like EVT, that means focusing on emotion, experience, and authenticity. For marketers, it’s about curiosity, creativity, and judgment, the things machines can’t replicate.
Conclusion: Keep It Human
As the audience clapped and the gyoza plates emptied, the live debate at SXSW wrapped with a clear takeaway: AI isn’t the future of marketing, it’s the future with marketing.
Technology may change how we work, but not why we do it.
The future still belongs to those who can connect: human to human.
“AI helps us find the patterns,” Ben closed. “But marketers find the meaning.”
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