MarTech Podcast™: “Marketers Will Be Embarrassed They Used to Do Manually”

Date: February 20, 2026
Host: Benjamin Shapiro
Guest: Ariel Kelman (President and CMO, Salesforce)

Episode Overview

This episode centers on how rapid advances in AI and automated content creation are fundamentally changing marketing practices, particularly high-cost manual production like traditional TV ads. Guest Ariel Kelman, CMO of Salesforce, forecasts that in five years, marketers will look back and be embarrassed by how much time, money, and effort they invested in manual processes that will soon be automated. The discussion explores current tech stacks, AI-driven video production, and real-world applications transforming the industry right now.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Decline of Manual Traditional TV Ad Production

• Ariel Kelman predicts: Marketers will soon feel embarrassed about spending significant money on filmed, traditional TV ads, as AI-driven tools make video production faster, cheaper, and exponentially more sophisticated.
  • Quote:
    “I'm going to say spend large amounts of money on traditional filmed TV ads.” — Ariel Kelman (02:45)

2. The Exponential Rise of Video Editing and Production Tools

• Ariel describes the growth of video editing technology:
  • Tools have improved dramatically (notably with noticeable advancements “every six weeks”).
  • These tools can convert stills or short clips into high-quality videos—a process that used to require massive crews, budgets, and time.
  • The current state: Companies are still hiring traditional crews, but the transition to automation is accelerating.
  • Quote:
    “It's production. It's the ability to take stills or short video clips and make large videos out of it. But we've just been able to generate things that are incredibly high quality that previously would have required, you know, a massive amount of people and time and money.” — Ariel Kelman (03:20)

3. Technology Stack and AI Tools in Use

• While Ariel doesn’t specify individual brand names, he references a coming shift toward chained, integrated tools that automate what used to be manual marketing labor.
• He recommends inviting more practitioners and CEOs from the space onto the podcast for deeper dives into specific toolsets.

4. Real-World Example: AI-Powered Production at Davos

• Application: At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Salesforce’s team used the AI-driven platform Agent Force to enhance their mobile app for attendees.
• Creative process: The team needed to present multiple spatial designs and demos. They produced a comprehensive, animated, AI-generated video fly-through to help align internal stakeholders on the design across four locations.
  • The entire fly-through was produced by a newly hired video AI engineer—in just six hours on his second day.
  • This level of speed and cost-effectiveness would have been "unthinkable" a few years ago.
  • Quote:
    “We would have never done that before, but it provided a really easy way to see in one place how what we're doing in four different locations is all going to look … it was built by a video AI engineer we hired on his second day in six hours. Never would have even thought of creating an actual video fly through for that.” — Ariel Kelman (04:35–05:12)

5. AI Customer Experience & Visibility

• The episode’s sponsor, Scrunch, highlights a major shift in marketing: Brands must now prioritize how AI agents (not just human visitors) experience their websites.
  • AI platforms decide what gets surfaced, trusted, and recommended; so understanding content and citation gaps—as well as technical blockers—is a new frontier.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the rate of technology improvement:
  “It has gotten exponentially better like every six weeks.” — Ariel Kelman (02:56)

• On the future of manual video ads:
  “In five years, I think very few companies are going to be manually shooting 30-second spots.” — Ariel Kelman (04:01)

• On the transformative impact of AI-driven video production:
  “It's like new things that are possible that weren't before that allowed all, all the different leaders in the company to be like, are we aligned on what we want all this to look like? Yes, we're aligned.” — Ariel Kelman (05:12)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:45 — “What will marketers be embarrassed they used to do manually?” — Main topic introduced.
• 03:20 — Explaining difference between traditional video production and new AI-powered workflows.
• 04:13 — Commentary on the emerging tech stack for video production.
• 04:35–05:12 — Salesforce’s real-world example of AI-driven video fly-through for Davos event.
• 05:12 — Broader reflections on how new possibilities create better internal alignment and decision-making.

Takeaways

• The marketing industry is on the cusp of a dramatic shift, as AI tools rapidly automate previously resource-intensive work, especially in video production.
• Marketers need to adapt, building AI into both their content creation workflows and their understanding of how AI "views" and ranks their brand.
• In the near future, investing heavily in traditional, manual methods will seem both wasteful and outdated.