“After learning, practicing and then finally teaching marketing & advertising over thirty years, AI is the first real technology I see (literally since the desktop computer and the spreadsheet for media; and digital creative tool suites like photoshop for creative), that is going to radically re-shape the field. If you think about self-driving cars, the AI and tech in those vehicles, can monitor weather, a 360 view, traffic it can see, and traffic it cannot see, in a way that a human with one set of narrowly focused eyes and a playlist, will never match. On the other hand, AI can scan for and rip through the largest data sets, to develop creative that impacts harder, and media that is connecting many times more effectively. AI will also be able to keep a media plan fluid in increments far less than a full second. All this, before we get into the fact that AI will make a great deal of headcount obsolete (reducing costs for brands). New entrants in this field will certainly need to lean into AI, rather than resist its coming dominance. Am I happy about this? Well, I understand it, but I will miss the field the way I knew it. And yes, the cat is already out the bag…”
Scott Leonard is a semi-retired Los Angeles-based executive with expertise in marketing, advertising, finance, startups and business strategy. He is the former Chief Executive Officer and founder of A.D.D. Marketing, a boutique agency known for its pioneering use of IMC strategies, and a number of blockbuster consumer launches. A.D.D.’s campaign track record includes: launching the Sony Playstation in America, launching the Razor Scooter in America, launching the first mobile phone game console (Nokia N-Gage), being one of the earliest pioneers of Social Media marketing, working on the theatrical release of The Blair Witch Project (feature film), being the first agency in the world to market a website (Hotwired.com for WIRED Magazine) and launching the first MVNO in mobile (backed by Motorola).
The Washington Post once said of his agency, “A.D.D. is kind of like the guys on the TV series Mission Impossible, they take the tough jobs and get it done!” The company’s client list included Samsung, Seiko, Nike, Fox, HBO, Lexus, Microsoft, Universal, EA, Paramount, MTV, NBC, ABC, ESPN, Pandora, Mazda, Toyota, Haribo, Napster, Target, Costco, Fiji Water, Dr Pepper, Heinz, Ben Sherman, Panda Express, Nestle and Procter and Gamble.
Scott’s expertise is widely acknowledged. He has been an expert guest on CNN, NPR, Business RockStars and a quoted source in the NY Times, LA Times, Washington Post and BrandWeek He’s taught Advertising and Marketing at the Undergraduate and MBA level. Scott is known for his innate consumer insights and ability to lead highly focused brainstorms. His problem-solving skills extend to seeing through anemic marketing plans, navigating complex accounting affairs, and anticipating legal concerns. Scott has held Board, Founder, CEO, CFO and CMO positions for highly successful companies in advertising, entertainment, film, non-profit and tech; and has held a part time faculty position in the Business School at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.