AI Strategy for CMOs: Growth-Focused Approaches Outperform Cost-Cutting Defenses
By
Greg Kihlström
Master baker tier. Every paragraph earns its place on the tray.
Summary
This article analyzes how companies are using AI in two opposing directions: defensively (cost-cutting, automation) versus offensively (growth, new revenue channels, improved customer experience). It reviews research suggesting that growth-oriented AI strategies yield better results than defensive ones, and recommends a Harvard Business Review piece on AI and growth as the key reading. The article is aimed at CMOs and marketing professionals navigating AI strategy decisions.
Key quotes
· 5 pulledCompanies are pointing AI in two opposite directions.
One group uses it to defend what they already do: trimming costs, automating the busywork.
The other points it at growth: new revenue channels, a customer experience built to win people the old funnel never reached.
The studies below don't treat those as equal bets, and they're fairly blunt about which one pays off.
Of everything in this batch, the HBR piece on AI and growth is the one I'd read first.
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