Insights from the MLW 2025 Keynote:
Why the Future of Marketing Is Still Human
AMA Toronto’s Marketing Leadership Week (MLW) is more than just a series of events—it’s a celebration of community, innovation, and the evolving role of marketing professionals in a world where change is the only constant. MLW 2025 brought together volunteers, speakers, and partners to explore the future of marketing, with a particular focus on the intersection of AI, technology, and human leadership.
Toronto, June 09, 2025 – This year’s theme, “The Future of Marketing is Human (not AI),” tackled one of the most pressing questions facing our industry: In a world obsessed with AI, what does it mean to stay human? Our keynote speaker, Maggie Greyson, Chief Futurist and CEO of Futures Present, shared her compelling insights on how marketing leaders can embrace complexity, protect human agency, and use full-spectrum thinking to navigate a rapidly changing landscape, where technology and humanity must work hand in hand. The keynote, introduced by AMA Toronto President, Max Rakov, capped a full day of virtual workshops on Marketing, AI, & the Relevance of Human-centred Thinking.
The keynote: Maggie Greyson on the future of marketing
Greyson delivered a powerful keynote that set the tone for the week. Greyson’s work spans industries, countries, and causes, but at its core, it is about helping people think differently, act boldly, and remain human in the face of complexity.
Greyson began by grounding the audience in a recent conversation she had with marketing leaders across sectors. The central question was: What role does AI play in the future of marketing? The responses revealed a deep concern for preserving human agency and judgment. There was a strong call to ensure that AI augments human intelligence rather than automates decisions.
Greyson emphasized that outsourcing judgment risks losing what makes leadership leadership—the ability to interpret nuance, hold space for uncertainty, and act on values rather than just logic. Despite this collective belief in the value of human-led decision-making, Greyson noted a fascinating dichotomy: when asked to forecast the future, many participants felt that it would be led by AI, not humans. This tension between belief and expectation underscores the need for leaders to actively shape the future, rather than passively accept it—a challenge that sits at the heart of human-centred marketing leadership.
Full-spectrum thinking: A mindset for the future
Greyson introduced the concept of “full-spectrum thinking,” a term coined by Bob Johanson, past president of the Institute for the Future. Full-spectrum thinking is a mindset that embraces complexity, recognizes multiple perspectives, and maintains human agency at the core of decision-making.
In the context of marketing, full-spectrum thinking means resisting the temptation to force ideas, people, or situations into rigid categories or binary labels. Instead, it involves seeking clarity across a continuum of possibilities and making sense of complexity while resisting premature conclusions. AI can help marketers access data and navigate uncertainty, but it is human wisdom, imagination, and creativity that ultimately drive meaningful change.
Greyson encouraged marketers to continue practicing full-spectrum thinking in their daily work, setting up frameworks for uncertainty while keeping human agency at the heart of every decision. This approach is essential for leading through times of rapid transformation, where the only certainty is uncertainty.
The surprising similarity between museums and marketing
One of the most thought-provoking insights from Greyson’s keynote was the parallel between museums and marketing. At first glance, museums and marketing may seem like unrelated fields, but both are fundamentally about creating and curating meaning, building trust, and navigating complexity.
Museums, like marketers, are trusted institutions that carefully curate and present knowledge. They ask the same questions as marketers: How do we create new knowledge and earn trust? In many countries, museums are among the most trusted institutions, more so than governments, journalism, or even science. This trust is built on their ability to embrace complexity, present multiple perspectives, and adapt to changing societal values.
Greyson highlighted that museums are not just about preserving the past; they are about envisioning the future. They challenge us to reconsider whose stories are being told and how those stories shape our understanding of the present. Similarly, marketing leaders must be willing to revisit their assumptions, embrace new perspectives, and use their platforms to create more inclusive and meaningful narratives.
Key takeaways from the keynote
Maggie Greyson’s keynote offered several key takeaways for marketing leaders:
The choice between AI and humans is a false dichotomy: The future of marketing is not about choosing between AI and human leadership. Rather, it is about leveraging the strengths of both—AI for efficiency and data-driven insights, and humans for creativity, judgment, and values-based decision-making.
Full-spectrum thinking provides clarity in uncertainty: Embracing complexity and multiple perspectives allows leaders to navigate uncertainty with confidence and creativity. Full-spectrum thinking is a powerful tool for making sense of the modern marketplace and driving meaningful change.
We can learn to navigate uncertainty from future-oriented museums: Museums offer valuable lessons for marketers in building trust, curating meaning, and embracing the unknown. By learning from museums, marketing leaders can develop the skills and mindset needed to lead through times of transformation.
Leadership is about shaping the future, not just reacting to it: Leadership is not about predicting or passively accepting the future, but about actively designing it with purpose and courage. Marketing leaders must be willing to challenge assumptions, revisit their narratives, and co-design a shared vision with their teams and communities.
Uncertainty is the new normal—and it’s an opportunity: Decisions made today do not last forever; the world is constantly changing. However, uncertainty does not have to lead to paralysis. By developing full-spectrum thinking and learning from institutions like museums, marketing leaders can turn uncertainty into an advantage, fostering resilience and adaptability in their organizations.
Embrace complexity and stay human: The most effective leaders are those who embrace complexity, resist binary thinking, and remain grounded in human values. The future is not set in stone—it is ours to shape. By leveraging both AI and human strengths, and by learning from unexpected mentors like museums, we can become better, more resilient leaders capable of driving meaningful change.
As the marketing landscape continues to evolve, these insights will be essential for leaders who want to drive meaningful, lasting change in their organizations and industries. Through events like these, we as marketing professionals are challenged to think differently, act boldly, and remain human in the face of rapid change.
Thank you sponsors
AMA Toronto would like to thank our sponsors Cvent, Microsoft Advertising, Dialekta, Ig2, N1, Empathy Inc., Yorkville University, Balmoral Multicultural Marketing and Nectar First, as well as our media partner Globe Media Group and venue partner IBM for their support in staging Marketing Leadership Week.
About AMA Toronto
AMA Toronto is a community of volunteer marketers who have been empowering leadership and business growth for nearly 80 years in Canada. The AMA, with more than 30,000 members and 70 chapters across North America, is the largest not-for-profit marketing association in the world serving organizations and individuals who practice, teach and study marketing.
About the author
Zeel Gandhi is a seasoned brand communications and public relations professional currently working as a Marketing and Communications Manager at CPA PLI while actively contributing as a public relations director at AMA Toronto.
