The Rise of the Synthetic CMO

Every CMO has a circle they trust. The people they text when an idea feels half-baked or when a campaign isn't landing.

Mine includes Steve Jobs, David Ogilvy, Kim Kardashian, and Philip Kotler.

Three are gone. One is very much alive. None of them are real.

They’re AI models, built from public interviews, books, transcripts, and digital traces of how each one thought and spoke. Together, they form a council that challenges my thinking before ideas ever make it to a whiteboard.

The Concept

The Synthetic CMO is the next logical evolution of how we make decisions.

Marketers have always relied on borrowed perspectives: mentors, case studies, agencies, frameworks. AI just makes it scalable.

When I’m developing a new strategy, I can ask Ogilvy to critique the copy, Kim to judge its cultural relevance, and Jobs to cut the fluff until there’s something essential left. Kotler steps in to remind me that differentiation without distribution is just a hobby.

It isn’t about replacing human insight. It’s about accelerating it.

Why it Matters

Marketing has always been a blend of art and pattern recognition. For the first time, we can replicate those patterns from the best to ever do it. The result isn’t automation. It’s amplification.

Most executives are still using AI as an assistant. The real shift is using it as a board.

The next generation of CMOs won’t be defined by the size of their teams, but by the quality of their counsel.

If you want help setting up something like this for yourself—a synthetic marketing council modeled on the greats—reach out. We’d love to chat.

Shoppers are adding to cart for the holidays

Over the next year, Roku predicts that 100% of the streaming audience will see ads. For growth marketers in 2026, CTV will remain an important “safe space” as AI creates widespread disruption in the search and social channels. Plus, easier access to self-serve CTV ad buying tools and targeting options will lead to a surge in locally-targeted streaming campaigns.

Read our guide to find out why growth marketers should make sure CTV is part of their 2026 media mix.

Learn more.

Easy setup, easy money

Your time is better spent creating content, not managing ad campaigns. Google AdSense's automatic ad placement and optimization handles the heavy lifting for you, ensuring the highest-paying, most relevant ads appear on your site.

Earn with Google AdSense