By Frank Pagano
The Senior Vice President of Marketing of Snacking Inc. (fantasy name) is ready to submit the yearly plan for 2026, which in ‘old school’ Chicago marketing jargon is called the ‘annual contract’ with the shareholders and all internal stakeholders. Almost half a million US dollars and 6 months of work are earmarked for a big quantitative study to validate the new chocolate bar launch, the highlight of the year and one of the drivers of next year’s growth. The study will be commissioned to a big research institution, like Nielsen or Gfk, or Kantar, and the outcome, due not before mid-2026 will give enough grounding for capital and marketing investments. For the classically trained Mad Men, it takes time and solid research work to understand if fans will like the brand’s new goodies. In the budget, there are also several other lines dedicated to qualitative research, A/B testing, sensory deep dives, creative finessing, and whatever else, all of that with a rich roster of suppliers, which are ultra-specialized in their field and provide the company with various tools and plenty of men-days to pay for. If you are a marketeer, it all sounds reasonable, right?
Fast forward to 2030. 95% of marketing tasks will be automatized and taken care of by some AI agents or tools. Costs are going to go down by 85%, speed will go up by 80%, impact is expected to be elevated with a double-digit uplift, at least, with brands relying on one platform or suite, where the whole marketing magic happens. One single stop, yep, you heard it right. Faster, cheaper and better. Delta Labs, a start-up based in Zurich and founded by Dr. Cindy Candrian (CEO) and Dr. Anne Scherer (CRO), both from the University of Zurich, wants to be one of these marketing go-to hot spots, which will revolutionize the way we interrogate, approach and conquer people’s minds, hearts, stomach and hopefully wallets. This is why we sit down with them for a quick exchange.
“We start from our population modeling. We created a digital, synthetic replica of audiences out there, using a mix of large language models and a proprietary methodology to retrieve information, so that any marketing query or study can be done quickly, accurately and in a more dynamic way versus today. Our suite provides clients with user friendly dashboarding and reporting, so that insight can be easily turned into wiser business decisions and action. What used to be tested with target audiences in days or weeks can be brought down to one hour or less. Our results are, for now, 95% identical to the old school methodologies and rituals, and the power of AI will soon make them better, faster and with exponentially more compelling value for money”, says Candrian. “In a few years, audiences will be further customized, and subsegments and niche groups can be reached in one simple click, especially when we can pair what’s out there with clients’ data and sales information”, echoes Scherer.
Brands are always picky and choosy. Every brand leader, especially if they come from emotional industries like fashion, believes they are unique and feel very protective about their stuff, data and insights. “Client data is always protected. We ensure that information sits on geographically appropriate infrastructures, such as Swiss-based servers, or that clients have their own dedicated twins with gated queries and results limited to their view. Importantly, our methodology does not require personally identifiable information. The twins function without needing sensitive personal data. This privacy-by-design approach ensures that brands benefit from safe, secure, and future-proof insights, while maintaining the highest standards of data protection and cyber-security across jurisdictions,” says Scherer.
What’s in it, really, for brand practitioners?
“We are moving into a world where we can act against better decisions, fireproofed with our fans beforehand, from the digital world going even to testing the taste of our novelties. AI twins are spot-on, active 24/7, and even the smallest decisions can be validated, making our marketing programs more efficient and more effective”, confirms Candrian.
Delta Labs wants to become an all-rounder marketing suite, where AI will help marketeers to create better content, test it and deploy it to the right eyeballs. “2030 marketing will look very different than today. AI will generate the vast majority of content. Flows and tasks will be optimized and so will be the whole marketing mix. Search will for sure lose its dominance, somehow and progressively. Meta-bots, trusted AI agents and synthetic advisors will be helping brands and fans to interact. Marketing will be targeted to fans, as much as influence will be exerted through the chats and tools created to talk to our hearts”, closes Scherer.
Marketing will taste like AI by 2030. A lot. Buckle up and make friends with these new tools. You will save money and time. You will be more effective. But, dear marketeer, you must change mindset now.
