PepsiCo Marketing Leader Says AI Is Becoming a Daily Job in Brand Operations

A brand director stares at a glowing dashboard just days before a national sampling tour. The software promises perfect market localization, but the field team remains completely overwhelmed. How are leading marketers actually using artificial intelligence in their daily field operations? Adweek recently sat down with Mark Kirkham during Cannes Lions 2026.

Kirkham is the chief marketing officer of PepsiCo Beverages U.S. and spoke with host Jenny Rooney. He oversees marketing for Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Starry, Bubly and Mug. The 15-year PepsiCo veteran has held previous roles including CMO of International Beverages, vice president of Global Sports, and Head of Marketing & Innovation for Western Europe. He explained that artificial intelligence has moved past technology hype and is now part of everyday marketing work.

Kirkham says marketing disruption cycles that once felt like five to ten years now feel closer to five to ten months. That shorter cycle means annual industry check-ins are insufficient for modern operators. CMOs need ongoing conversations with peers, partners, and agencies to stay sharp. Kirkham suggested that leaders evaluate AI through growth, efficiency, insight, and discoverability.

How Do You Use New Systems to Prepare Field Setups and Permitting?

AI offers a massive advantage in the early stages of campaign planning and market adaptation. Google summarizes a joint study with McKinsey showing that 96 percent of CMOs are excited about AI. However, fewer than one-third of marketing organizations are actually rewiring their teams and workflows to drive growth. In the experiential space, that rewiring starts with preparation and logistical readiness.

AI tools can help process venue rules, summarize permitting guidelines, and draft local site instructions rapidly. A separate report by BCG and the Consumer Goods Forum, summarized by Yahoo Finance, surveyed 39 senior executives. It revealed that approximately 76 percent of CPG companies remained in pilot or exploration mode. Meanwhile, only 18 percent of these companies had scaled AI meaningfully across their businesses.

Retailers proved to be slightly further ahead in the data, with 45 percent reporting scaled AI deployment. The report identifies AI activity across forecasting, merchandising, marketing, product innovation and consumer engagement. Connecting these workflows helps in building a center of excellence for field marketing operations across multiple regions. Still, the actual execution of these plans requires a grounded field general mentality.

Why Do Trained Brand Ambassadors Matter When Tech Handles the Logistics?

While software can forecast demand and organize schedules, it cannot smile at a customer or read a crowded room. We believe in an aloha-style methodology where human connection drives the actual retail conversion. The BCG and Consumer Goods Forum survey supports this human-first approach to decision making. Sixty-seven percent of respondents said they primarily use AI to generate recommendations while humans make the final decisions.

The report calls this a copilot model, stressing strong human oversight. Only 9 percent reported using AI to execute decisions within predefined guardrails, known as autopilot mode. You can generate a perfect briefing document, but trained staff must still interpret culture and earn consumer trust. In our experience, brand ambassadors drive in-store sales through real conversations that no algorithm can replicate.

A VP of Marketing in the CPG beverage category told us: "Robbie, your leadership and vision turned our campaign into something truly special. The Makai team brought our new drink to life with energy, creativity, and flawless execution. Thanks to you, our brand isn't just tasted, it's remembered." Our team's approach transformed their product launch into a memorable brand experience.

These interactions prove why CPG brands expand Gen Z student ambassador programs to win lasting loyalty.

How Do You Connect Live Event Metrics to Prove Return on Investment?

Experiential campaigns only survive if they can prove their financial worth to the broader organization. According to the BCG and Consumer Goods Forum survey, 53 percent of respondents do not formally measure the return on their AI investments. That missing attribution is a dangerous game for any field marketing director managing a massive budget. You must capture data from a physical handshake and route it directly into a clear CRM record.

Brand-building and consumer-engagement applications can be hard to scale because their outcomes are less immediate. The report estimates that fully scaled AI initiatives could produce cumulative EBIT improvement of 220 to 350 basis points for CPG companies. It also projects an improvement of 180 to 360 basis points for retailers. However, those numbers are estimates for fully scaled initiatives, not guaranteed outcomes for isolated pilot programs.

You need strict workflows to ensure that digital touchpoints spark real brand conversations. Focusing on the right tracking gives you the 5 key metrics every field marketing leader needs to prove results to leadership. The report also discusses generative engine optimization, or GEO, concerning how brands appear in AI-generated answers. While discoverability matters, it must ultimately convert to measurable trial in the real world.

What Is Your Contingency Plan When Floor Technology Fails?

The true test of any field operation is how the team handles a live disaster. Tablets lose power, digital registration forms crash, and internet connections fail in crowded convention centers. When the automated systems go down, you cannot afford to have your activation grind to an immediate halt. The field general must have a manual contingency plan ready before the event even starts.

This is why relying purely on digital interfaces is a critical vulnerability. The BCG report warns of a pilot trap, where systems work in controlled environments but encounter legacy issues when deployed broadly. Teams must train their staff to capture leads on paper and keep the crowd engaged through pure personality. When you have a solid backup plan, a technical glitch becomes a minor delay instead of a campaign-ending failure.

This readiness is crucial for preventing field operations from becoming dumpster fires during massive product launches. AI may improve preparation and execution support without replacing the human work of managing partners. A team must always prioritize safety, accessibility, and staff behavior over relying strictly on technology.

How to Plan Your Next Tech-Enabled Brand Activation

Kirkham pointed to Poppi as an example of how a large marketing organization can learn from a brand built around organic social behavior. Established organizations can observe challenger brands that operate with a different speed of execution. The transition from experimenting with new technology to running scalable operations takes time, discipline, and clear operational boundaries. Your next step should be auditing your current field workflows to identify highly repetitive tasks that slow down your team.

Look for manual bottlenecks in staffing schedules, venue research, or event reporting that a copilot system could accurately accelerate. Establish baseline metrics for these processes before introducing new software so you can measure actual efficiency gains against your historical performance. By controlling the logistics firmly, you free up your people to focus on delivering the memorable, face-to-face interactions that actually close sales. Start small, measure everything rigorously, and let the humans lead the relationship building.

Sources

1. Adweek: Marketing Vanguard at Cannes: AI Is Becoming the Daily Job ft. Mark Kirkham of PepsiCo
2. Yahoo Finance: AI Is Coming For CPG Marketing, But First It Has To Escape The Pilot Trap
3. Google Think: AI implementation lessons for CMOs from Cannes