David Rowe, EVP and CMO at Rimini Street: “The opportunity for CMOs exists by using AI with precision”

With over 30 years in enterprise software, David Rowe knows what it takes to scale technology businesses. Now, as Executive Vice President and CMO at Rimini Street, David is focused on putting AI to the test at scale – and he’s confident it can deliver so long as marketers can keep up.

In David’s view, this shift towards AI-generated marketing materials doesn’t mean we have to sacrifice the human element. While generative tools remain incredibly powerful, he’s clear that AI shouldn’t be considered as “a shortcut to authenticity”. Instead, he sees AI as a support for marketers, not a replacement. The only way to make sure this happens, though, is to ensure that “human marketers stay firmly in the loop”.

Then we come to ethics and data privacy. Here, David warns that “blindly trusting the results AI offers” can lead to real risks, including unintentional plagiarism or the use of competitor content. In a time where training data is becoming ever more valuable, it’s never been more important that data is kept safe and secure. Or as David puts it, “data privacy hasn’t changed, but the technology has”. 

David’s advice to marketing teams dipping their toe into AI is simple: don’t wait. “If you’re watching to see what your competitors are doing,” he warns, “you’re already falling behind.”

As eager as he is for marketers to dive in, we shouldn’t lose track of the risks. With generative tools now able to create content at scale, how can you ensure that the results feel real? That’s why we started by asking David what authentic marketing can really mean in the age of AI.

What does “authentic marketing” mean to you in an era of AI-generated content? Is true authenticity still possible at scale?

Every organisation has a brand promise and a commitment to what it stands for as an organisation. With every action a company takes, you either contribute to or take away from that brand promise, and content is no different. In the age of generative content, AI can prove to be a powerful enabler and time-saver, but it’s not a shortcut to authenticity.

True authenticity is entirely possible at scale when AI is used as an aid, rather than relying on it to deliver your brand promise that has been honed over years of expertise. Rather than hitting a button and expecting AI to nail your brand voice and beliefs, the opportunity for CMOs exists by using AI with precision, ensuring human marketers stay firmly in the loop, and that whatever AI generates, it fits within your brand values, tone, and purpose.

Where do you think AI enhances brand trust, and where does it risk undermining it?

Every action you take as a business should contribute to brand trust, and the values you stand for. AI can be a real asset depending on your positioning in the market. If you’re a customer service firm that is committed to swift responses and accuracy, and AI can boost your service delivery in this area through chatbots or by automating customer requests, then AI can be credited with positively impacting and enhancing brand trust. In contrast, if your positioning in the market is centred around human interaction, or your ideal customer includes generations who are more wary of AI, then this could undermine brand trust.

AI can greatly enhance brand trust when used in the right way. From personalisation to enhancing services, AI has to be used in a way that is relevant to your message, to your position in the market, and to the audience you want to reach.

What ethical considerations do you think marketers should be aware of when using AI-driven tools?

When marketers are leveraging AI-driven tools, mitigating plagiarism and striving for accuracy should always be front of mind. It’s vital that before deploying these tools, marketers explore where AI is drawing inferences from and the sources it has been trained on. Given the vast scale of information that AI and popular LLMs are constantly learning from, there is a very real risk that in blindly trusting the result’s AI offers at the click of a button, that a business can unknowingly be using competitor content – or sharing information with their audience that is inaccurate, or even a hallucination. Regular checks and balances, and industry-level knowledge from the marketers themselves is essential here to ensure that whatever AI you are using, it is appropriate for what you’re trying to accomplish.

Data privacy and AI often come into tension. How do you balance personalisation with consumer privacy concerns?

Firstly, the fact that we now have AI doesn’t change the longstanding rules and structures around data privacy. With this in mind, it is up to marketers to follow these rules – whether they are using AI or not. Any data, sources, or AI tools must comply, and just because AI is more efficient than the tools that have been available on the market so far, it doesn’t make the security frameworks optional in its use. Data privacy hasn’t changed, but the technology has, and balancing data privacy and AI usages necessitates having a marketing team who know the technology they’re adopting in detail, and the regulatory commitments their company, and their customers, expect.

Which AI trends or developments do you believe will have the biggest impact on digital marketing in the next 3-5 years?

Without a doubt, the next big development we’ll see in marketing is the Agentic AI, which can suggest and take action for digital marketers without the need for any human interaction. This means AI Agents can be deployed in a marketing setting to automatically create ads, deploy and test them, engage with customers, and analyse the results. This development has two outcomes – either it can greatly increase results and unleash capacity for your marketing team, or it has a real threat of causing harm and damaging a brand’s image.

If AI Agents are working without regular human intervention or strict criteria, there is the risk of them becoming akin to a siloed employee. What if the ads are placed with the wrong audiences? What if the content falls away from approved brand messaging? Managing to avoid this takes smart, engaged, and vigilant marketeers who appreciate the balance that AI used correctly can bring. Rather than simply pressing go and leaving the AI Agent to run, marketing teams who want to see real value from AI Agents will let it assist, rather than replace, and use their expert knowledge to set clear parameters that the agents can work within.

If you could give one piece of advice to marketing teams just starting to explore AI, what would it be?

Start today, and do not delay! AI is changing the digital marketing landscape, and subsequently, entire business models. If you’re watching to see what your competitors are doing, or just waiting for more proof of concepts, you’re already falling behind. With AI enhancing productivity by 10x in certain scenarios, you have to understand how it impacts your business, your marketing strategy, and the potential it can have for your bottom line in today’s ever-competitive market.

Marketing teams must understand that they can’t do it alone. Having the right mix of employees and consultants can support you to move quickly, understand data privacy, and make strong decisions for your business. And whilst the benefits of AI are vast and its applications increasingly context-specific, its adoption is key for any forward-thinking marketeer and something to never miss out on. But it must be tailored to fit in with and support the company’s overall strategy in order to gain optimum long-term results.

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