Former Mastercard CMO believes AI will spark marketing’s golden era

Former Raja Rajamannar believes artificial intelligence presents one of the biggest challenges marketers have ever faced — but also one of the greatest opportunities.

Speaking on Business Insider’s upcoming CMO Insiderpodcast, the former chief marketing and communications officer of Mastercard said the rapid rise of AI could usher in what he described as a “golden era” for the marketing profession.

AI Is Creating a ‘Sea of Sameness’

Rajamannar argued that AI tools have levelled the playing field, allowing small businesses and global corporations to access many of the same technologies for generating content, images, videos and advertising campaigns.

According to him, widespread access to these tools is producing increasingly similar marketing campaigns across industries.

“What happens is the small companies are able to effectively now compete against the large companies,” he said.

The result, he added, is a growing “sea of sameness,” where brands struggle to distinguish themselves from competitors. Rajamannar cited recurring creative themes appearing across multiple campaigns, including the repeated use of iceberg imagery.

Creativity Becomes the Key Differentiator

Rather than diminishing the importance of marketing, Rajamannar believes AI is increasing the value of original thinking and consumer understanding.

“When there is a sea of sameness, original creativity matters,” he said.

He argued that while AI can generate content quickly, marketers still need to understand customer behaviour, emotions and motivations to determine whether campaigns genuinely connect with audiences.

Rajamannar said innovation, creativity and strong consumer insights will become increasingly important as brands search for ways to stand out in a crowded marketplace.

“At the end of it, it is a human-to-human connection that sells your products and brands,” he said.

Marketers Must Embrace New Technologies

Rajamannar, who stepped down as Mastercard’s CMO in early 2025 and now serves as a senior fellow at the company, said he actively uses AI tools such as Claude and NotebookLM to filter information, summarise content and monitor emerging trends.

He encouraged marketing professionals to approach AI with curiosity rather than fear and to familiarise themselves with a range of technologies, including augmented reality, blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

“You have to be curious about the technology,” he said.

Why Rajamannar Remains Optimistic

Despite concerns that AI could automate many marketing functions, Rajamannar believes the technology will ultimately push professionals to focus on skills machines cannot easily replicate.

He expects qualities such as creativity, empathy, judgement and deep consumer understanding to become even more valuable as AI takes over routine tasks.

“If marketers don’t wake up and really seize this opportunity, they get obliterated in our time,” he warned.

Still, Rajamannar remains optimistic, arguing that AI is not replacing marketers but forcing them to concentrate on the aspects of the profession that matter most — making meaningful connections with consumers and building distinctive brands.