As the advertising and marketing industry descends into the tropics for this year’s Cairns Crocodiles festival, one theme is impossible to ignore: artificial intelligence is no longer a future-facing experiment, it is becoming embedded across every layer of the media and marketing ecosystem.
But amid the hype around automation, generative AI and autonomous optimisation, marketers are increasingly asking tougher questions about transparency, interoperability, and the role humans still play in delivering meaningful business outcomes.
For Nexxen, the conversation is not about replacing marketers with AI, but building technology that helps teams make smarter, faster and more informed decisions while maintaining strategic control.
B&T spoke with Nexxen’s Alex Gregory, head of sales ANZ about why Cairns Crocodiles is more important than ever to drive meaningful conversations around the changing expectations facing advertisers.
Gregory also discusses why human expertise matters more than ever in an AI-powered media landscape, and what marketers should really be asking their adtech partners as the industry enters its next phase of transformation.
B&T: You’re back at Cairns Crocodiles. What makes this event important for the industry right now?
Alex Gregory: Cairns Crocodiles is a unique professional event because it acts as a true reflection of where the industry is actually heading, not just where it has been. The knowledge that everyone gains is translated into real-world execution across APAC markets.
This is a much-loved event on our calendar that brings together media, marketing, creativity and technology in one place, which is exactly how campaigns operate today. The conversations are grounded in commercial reality, focusing on how you scale creativity, measure it, and increasingly, how you operationalise it with AI and data.
The fact it is an APAC-led event is also significant. We are no longer just importing global thinking, rather we are shaping it from this region. It is exciting to witness our region coming together and bursting with creativity.
B&T: What themes do you expect will dominate conversations on the ground this year?
AG: AI will obviously take centre stage, but the conversation is certainly evolving to meet the speed and demand of it. The dialogue will be geared more towards how we use this tool in a compliant and effective manner, supporting the humanity of our work as the prime focus.
I think we will also see a strong focus on full-funnel accountability and how creativity, media and data intersect to drive real business outcomes and not just awareness metrics.
But off stage, marketers are still grappling with fragmented systems, tightening budgets and rising expectations from leadership, so we anticipate a spotlight will be cast on managing these challenges.
B&T: How do you think events like Cairns Crocodiles offer marketers and advertisers value in times of volatile change?
AG: The industry is feeling a great deal of pressure to do more with less. Marketers and advertisers are managing far more channels, data, formats and performance expectations than ever before.
We also see a lot of the AI conversation in advertising has moved quickly towards autonomy, but that is not necessarily what agencies or brands want. Media buyers still need transparency, context and the ability to make the final call.
Marketing is about understanding people, context and business objectives, not just processing data. That’s why we believe AI should enhance human decision making, and not erase it altogether. As an example, nexAI DSP Assistant is designed to help traders work faster and smarter while keeping them in control of campaign adjustments and optimisation decisions.
The real value of events like Cairns Crocodiles is turning big ideas into something people can actually implement. You walk away feeling like you have the knowledge and skills to build something great.
B&T: Why is human expertise in marketing and advertising still so important?
AG: There’s a misconception that automation reduces the need for agencies or strategic expertise, when in reality the opposite is true. As the ecosystem becomes more complex, the value of strong planning, creative thinking and media strategy only increases.
B&T: There is growing concern that AI models can optimise towards the wrong outcomes. How is Nexxen approaching that?
AG: AI models can optimise towards the wrong outcomes because AI is only as strong as the signals behind it. Large but noisy datasets can create speed without accuracy.
Our focus is on delivering real-time, generative AI and machine learning insights and smart optimisation recommendations that people can apply instantly to maximise return on ad spend.
For advertisers, it means AI is being used to support performance with stronger data foundations, rather than accelerating flawed assumptions.
AI will be transitioning into foundational infrastructure across marketing platforms—not as a feature, but as a core layer powering the entire campaign lifecycle. Human input will remain critical to fine-tune models and rules for precision.
Interoperability will be key, driving efficiency without introducing rigidity. The winners won’t simply be the platforms that automate the most, but those that remain interoperable and make teams smarter, more effective, and better connected across data, media, and outcomes- with transparency.
B&T: What should Australian marketers be asking their adtech partners about AI at Cairns Crocodiles?
AG: They should ask three things. What data is the AI using? How transparent are the recommendations? And how much control does the user retain?
AI should not be a black box. Marketers need to understand how recommendations are being generated, what signals are informing them and whether their teams can choose how autonomous they want the technology to be.
B&T: As media becomes more automated, where do agencies and marketers create the most value?
AG: AI and platforms are not replacing agencies (or people, for that matter), rather, strategy and planning are still core to business outcomes and should be human-designed.
AI is a tool that allows teams to focus more on high-value thinking, stronger partnerships and better customer experiences. People bring unique qualities and strengths to create truly innovative campaigns – let us not lose sight of that.
