B&T is on the ground in Las Vegas this week as Adobe announces its latest agentic AI innovations, along with live examples of how global brands are already deploying the technology inside their organisations.
While many of the case studies on stage have been US-based, the implications are anything but local. The same structural pressures are playing out in markets like Australia.
These include fragmented data ecosystems, rising content demands and a growing need to tightly integrate marketing and technology.
What’s emerging here is a new operating model for marketing, according to Adobe.
“It allows us to get out of the weeds and think more about the strategy, what are we doing and why are we doing it,” said Duncan Egan, VP enterprise marketing APAC at Adobe.
That shift sits at the centre of Adobe’s latest agentic AI push, including Adobe CX Enterprise, Brand Concierge, and a new generation of AI agents designed to orchestrate workflows across data, content and customer journeys.
Across retail, consumer goods and technology, one theme is consistent: the brands moving fastest are not treating AI as a standalone tool. They are embedding it into how their organisations actually run — and tightening the relationship between marketing and technology leadership in the process.
Ulta Beauty
At Ulta Beauty, the foundations for AI-driven personalisation are already in place, built on deep loyalty data and connected systems.
“Forty-six million loyalty members, 95 per cent of our sales are attached to our loyalty program. That’s an incredible first party data strategic advantage,” said Mike Maresca, chief technology and transformation officer at Ulta Beauty.
That data is now powering personalisation at scale, supported by Adobe CX Enterprise and Firefly.
“Personalisation and AI powered personalisation is so important to how we show up every day. It’s trusted data, scaled systems and connected experiences,” Maresca said.
But the bigger shift is organisational.
“The chief marketing officer and the chief technology officer are really partnering together,” said Kelly Mahoney, chief marketing officer at Ulta Beauty, speaking to the crowd.
She described “fusion teams” that bring together marketing, digital, data and technology around shared outcomes.
“It’s a team sport. Delivering personalised experiences across every journey is not just a marketing objective. It’s not just a technology objective.”
That alignment is becoming more critical as consumer behaviour shifts toward AI-led discovery.
“In the second half of 2025 alone, we saw a 150 percent increase in AI driven shopping,” Maresca said.
“As a marketer, we’ve got to go where the customer is going.”
Ulta has reorganised its marketing function around always-on content production, enabled by Adobe Firefly.
“We’ve organised our entire marketing organisation around creating always on content, that requires ramping up content generation beyond ten times.”
Procter & Gamble
For Procter & Gamble, the challenge is not just personalisation – it’s scale.
“When I was a brand manager, I made probably one ad or two ads a year. Today, we are probably making hundreds of pieces of content every day,” said Shailesh Jejurikar, chief executive officer at Procter & Gamble.
That explosion in content output has fundamentally changed how marketing operates.
“As it becomes tougher and tougher to communicate with the consumer, all the experience, the product and the package is going to make an even bigger difference,” Jejurikar said.
In that environment, AI has moved from optional to essential.
“AI becomes not a nice to have. It is a necessity.”
At global scale, P&G’s challenge is sustaining content velocity across markets, which is driving adoption of systems like Adobe GenStudio for Performance Marketing and Firefly.
The shift is away from isolated creative production toward connected, system-level content orchestration.
Dick’s Sporting Goods
At Dick’s Sporting Goods, the focus is less about volume and more about experience continuity.
“We genuinely think of ourselves as a sports company. When you see someone as an athlete, the relationship becomes longer term, becomes more personal,” said Emily Silver, chief marketing officer at Dick’s Sporting Goods.
That mindset drives a focus on consistency across every touchpoint.
“The goal is continuity wherever you interact with Dick’s Sporting Goods, making the experience cohesive,” Silver said.
Delivering that consistency depends on tight alignment between marketing and technology.
“I think it’s the most important relationship right now for a marketer, a trusted CTO partner,” Silver said. “Marketing and technology aren’t separate lanes anymore.”
On the technology side, the emphasis is shifting to orchestration rather than isolated tools.
“Building agents for shopping isn’t enough. It’s that orchestration and intelligence that’s on top of it,” added Vlad Rak, chief technology officer at Dick’s Sporting Goods.
