Listen To The Show

Transcript

Welcome back to The Brief by Kuro House, your daily dose of marketing intelligence. Today, we’re diving into agency shakeups, the evolving role of AI in marketing, and some big moves at the intersection of technology and brand leadership. If you want to stay sharp and ahead of the curve, you’re in the right place.

First up, let’s talk about a major account win in the agency world. According to Adweek, McCann has been named the U.S. creative agency of record for Kroger, one of the country’s largest grocery retailers. Kroger operates more than 2,700 stores under banners like Ralph’s, Dillon’s, and Pay-Less Supermarket. While it’s not immediately clear if McCann will oversee all of Kroger’s brands, the agency’s CEO, Amber Guild, emphasized their commitment to leveraging McCann’s “Truth Well Told” philosophy to create meaningful, impactful work for Kroger. This assignment follows a competitive pitch and marks a shift from Kroger’s previous agency, DDB New York, which handled the company’s 2019 rebrand. Kroger’s annual ad spend is estimated at $391 million, so this is a significant win for McCann. Interestingly, the move keeps Kroger’s business within the Omnicom family, following Omnicom’s $13.5 billion acquisition of McCann’s former parent, IPG, and the subsequent retirement of the DDB brand. Kroger’s spokesperson highlighted the agency’s strategic foundation and energy, and both sides are gearing up to launch a new brand platform aimed at driving business growth. This is one to watch for anyone interested in retail marketing and agency dynamics.

Now, let’s turn to the impact of AI on the marketing profession. Adweek reports on new proprietary data from NewtonX, which surveyed 501 advertising decision-makers across the U.S. and Canada. The headline: AI hasn’t slashed marketing jobs at scale, but it’s definitely raising the bar. Most organizations report little to no headcount reduction due to AI, but a majority of marketers say their roles have shifted. Expectations around speed, complexity, and output are all on the rise. Quality concerns are also growing, as the pressure to deliver more, faster, continues to mount. Twenty percent of survey respondents were C-level executives, underscoring that these changes are being felt at the top. The takeaway? AI is expanding what marketers can do, but it’s also compressing timelines and raising performance expectations. The job isn’t disappearing—it’s just getting a lot more demanding.

Speaking of AI’s influence at the executive level, Adweek also featured a deep-dive conversation with Sumit Virmani, CMO of Infosys, live from the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos. Virmani makes a compelling case that AI is actually giving CMOs more power and relevance than ever before. He argues that modern CMOs must operate as transformation partners within the C-suite, not just as marketing operators. The real opportunity lies in using AI not just to automate campaigns, but to drive enterprise-wide decisions—everything from product development to customer experience. Virmani challenges CMOs to redefine success: if it’s about transformation and growth, then expanding your influence is no longer optional. He also shares practical advice on maximizing high-level forums like Davos, treating them as business multipliers for brand visibility, customer relationships, and competitive intelligence. For CMOs looking to elevate their role, Virmani’s message is clear: combine creative genius with AI-powered analytics and become indispensable to enterprise strategy.

Let’s shift gears to the tech world, where Lenovo is making bold moves to redefine the future of AI PCs, edge computing, and trust. In a conversation with Adweek’s Matt Britton, Lenovo North America’s CMO Milo Speranzo laid out the company’s ambitious vision as showcased at CES 2026. Lenovo’s Sphere event was a sell-out, demonstrating strong demand for the brand’s technology story. The company is positioning itself with an end-to-end ecosystem that spans phones, PCs, servers, and wearables, all connected by the new Lenovo Qira intelligent agent. A key focus is on edge computing and AI privacy—delivering AI capabilities directly on consumer PCs, even without an internet connection. This addresses growing customer demand for privacy and control, especially in environments with unreliable connectivity. Milo also highlighted the emerging AI PC refresh cycle, as older pandemic-era devices struggle to keep up with modern AI tools. The conversation touched on Lenovo’s wearable AI companion, raising important questions about social trust and transparency. Finally, Lenovo’s partnership with FIFA and the rollout of FootballAI Pro aims to democratize analytics, giving smaller World Cup teams access to insights previously reserved for the biggest players. Lenovo’s approach is all about earning trust while pushing the envelope on capability—a balance every tech marketer should be paying attention to.

Finally, a significant media industry update: Anderson Cooper is departing CBS News’ 60 Minutes after nearly 20 years. According to Adweek’s TVNewser, Cooper cited his desire to spend more time with his young children as the reason for stepping back, though he’ll continue his role at CNN. CBS News praised Cooper’s contributions, highlighting his impactful stories, investigations, and high-profile interviews. His first 60 Minutes report in 2006 covered Joe Darby, the whistleblower in the Abu Ghraib scandal. Cooper’s exit comes as CBS News undergoes significant changes under new editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, who joined in October 2025. Weiss has overseen a wave of departures and is set to oversee another round of layoffs, expected to reduce headcount by 15%. This follows a quarter of CBS Evening News staffers accepting buyouts. The news division is clearly in a period of transition, and Cooper’s departure marks the end of an era for one of broadcast journalism’s most storied programs.

That’s it for today’s Brief. From agency shakeups and the evolving demands of AI, to the changing face of tech and major media departures, it’s clear that marketing and communications are in a period of rapid transformation. Stay tuned, stay curious, and as always, we’ll be back tomorrow with the stories that matter most to your work. Thanks for listening.