Executive Talks with Linda Cereda on Turning AI into Marketing Advantage

What does it take to turn AI investment into business value? In this Executive Talks conversation, Linda Cereda, former Global Vice President of Marketing Data at Nike, shares why people, brand strength and customer relationships are central to the answer.

AI is helping marketing teams work faster. Yet Cereda argues that lasting competitive advantage comes from rethinking how marketing creates value. Automating a brief saves time; redesigning the journey from customer insight to market launch can change how a business competes.

“If everyone gets faster, nobody wins.”

Drawing on her experience with AI since 2012, Cereda uses a 70/30 rule: technology and data represent 30% of the work, while people, processes and change management account for the rest. Faster production delivers limited value if approval processes and organisational silos remain unchanged.

At Nike, she recalls how shifting from static campaigns to behavioural marketing driven by machine learning delivered three times the click-through rate.

Strong brands shape the search

Cereda also sees generative engine optimisation, or GEO, as a priority for marketing leaders. Brands need clear, credible content that helps AI assistants answer specific customer questions.

Direct customer relationships remain equally important. Brand experiences and loyalty influence what people ask before an AI recommendation is even made. A customer searching for Nike running shoes has already expressed a preference that a generic product search lacks.

Where CMOs should focus

Cereda identifies three priorities: build visibility in AI search, strengthen direct customer relationships and concentrate investment on one or two use cases tied to competitive advantage.

Her message to marketing leaders is clear: start with the business outcome, then build the capabilities to achieve it.