In the past two years, AI innovation has swept through all facets of the marketing world, from hiring to deployment. While AI has always run in the background, now it’s become front and center, raising potential for efficiency and innovation — alongside concerns and frustrations. Employers who prioritize the intersection of human potential and technology will not only keep pace—they’ll lead.
Integrating a Human Touch in Talent Recruitment
Tech tools were supposed to make it easier and more efficient to hire best-in-class talent. And yet, both talent and employers still face frustrations over applicant tracking systems (ATS) which are used by nearly all Fortune 500 companies. LinkedIn and Reddit boards are full of stories from talent and recruiters alike, frustrated that the best talent can sometimes be overlooked, including a viral story of a manager whose own resume was rejected by the ATS, leading him to realize a code error was auto-rejecting all applicants.
Relying on applicant tracking systems alone can also open employers to vulnerabilities: AI platforms can raise bias, fairness, and equity concerns, with one hiring platform even facing a lawsuit alleging the platform’s AI-based hiring tools are discriminatory. And candidates too, can use AI tools to enhance and tailor their resumes for positions they might not be qualified for: According to one 2023 survey conducted by resume services company Standout CV, nearly three-quarters of job candidates would consider using AI tools to “embellish their resumes.”
To address these challenges, organizations should invest in hybrid recruitment models that blend AI efficiency with human oversight. This helps to ensure fairness, reduce errors, and align hiring practices with organizational values.
Having a Strong Tech POV for Maximum Results
Generative AI has significantly disrupted and impacted creative work, from ideation to execution, and the results have hit mainstream conversation. For example, an AI-made update of a classic holiday Coca-Cola commercial generated controversy, and AI integration into the popular Spotify Wrapped has also drawn mixed reactions. Ultimately, the outcome still matters, and the most successful teams in the future will likely be the ones that can integrate AI tools to boost efficiency and innovation, while using a human touch to ensure projects align with core values.
There’s also the concern over “non-authorized AI use;” Creatives who are bringing AI tools into the office without disclosure or approval, raising concerns over privacy, copyright, and more. One 2024 report published by LinkedIn and Microsoft found that 78% of workers — especially those at small and mid-size companies — are bringing their own AI tools into work, and more than half of them are reluctant to admit to using it, due to concerns that doing so might make them seem replaceable.
Employers can mitigate these risks by developing clear guidelines on how and when AI tools should be used. This not only fosters transparency but also empowers employees to leverage AI responsibly for better results.
Building a Holistic Tech-Integrated Strategy for Everyday Tasks
Tech tools can be invaluable — but it’s key that all parties feel confident using them to enhance the KPIs and goals of the department. While AI potential has only increased, new data from Slack’s Workforce Index Study has found that there has been stagnation in AI adoption, partially due to lack of training.
Marketing departments also face the problem of too much tech, not enough talent. One 2023 study found that marketers only use about one-third of their stack, partially due to a skills gap within their teams.
To bridge this divide, organizations can continue to prioritize ongoing training and bring in outside experts to maximize the stack.
Looking forward, thoughtful tech adoption can parallel alongside robust talent development. By fostering a culture of innovation and integration, employers can transform AI and tech tools into catalysts for creativity, efficiency, and growth.
Talent and Tech: The Path Forward in 2025
Our new report, Finding the Human Edge: Where Talent Meets Technology, explores key trends at the intersection of talent and technology. With more tech advancements on the horizon, it’s clear that AI and human talent are complementary. The companies who are poised to succeed will be prepared to integrate AI efficiencies alongside human innovation.
At Creative Circle, our human recruiters identify the right candidates and teams for your marketing and creative projects. By forging transformative relationships, we ensure your pain points are solved with top-tier talent, backed by deep industry expertise. From building creative teams to evolving marketing strategies and maximizing tech stacks, we help you exceed your goals and drive meaningful results.
Marketing has gone through a full tech revolution, transforming departments from creative islands into data-driven, digitally powered machines. This reliance on tech, when executed well, is a powerful force—fueling decisions, streamlining workflows, enabling precise measurement of campaign impact, and all while delivering a seamless customer experience. But in reality, even top-performing companies face challenges: duplicated efforts, inefficiencies from knowledge gaps, and ongoing frustration over how to optimize and truly streamline their tech stack so it works in concert with human teams.
The martech landscape has exploded, with over 14,000 solutions now available—representing a 27.9% growth year-over-year. According to a study by LXAHub, CMOs report an average of 56 tools in their tech stack, yet more isn’t always better. Another survey, run by Protean Studios, found that many CMOs are prioritizing simplification as they move forward, aiming to trim down and refine their stacks.
Here’s how marketing leaders can optimize their tech, empower their teams, and continue to maximize the transformative potential of AI and automation in the years ahead.
Smaller Stack, Larger Results
As martech options multiply, the paradox is clear: simplification has never been more critical. This means integrating specialized, long-tail apps into larger, core solutions like customer relationship management (CRM) and marketing automation platform (MAP) systems. Often, marketing teams inherit a mishmash of niche programs, some outdated or overlapping, making it hard to streamline. Conducting a thorough audit can help CMOs and marketing leaders alike identify the essential tools and ensure best-in-class solutions are deployed effectively across the marketing funnel.
Inherited programs can also make migrations a logistical nightmare, with data transfer, integration compatibility, and team training all posing significant hurdles. A phased migration approach, backed by a clear roadmap, can ease the transition. Leveraging third-party experts can also provide valuable support, ensuring a smoother handover and minimizing disruptions to the core team’s workflow and productivity.
Making Smart Decisions to Maximize AI Potential: Building the Right Team to Handle Platform Integration
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Model (LLM) technology has changed the martech landscape, rapidly evolving how sentiment analysis, predictive analytics, and demographic segmentation, for example, operate at peak efficacy. Relying on old programs is likely ineffective, or potentially damaging to your brand. However, it can be challenging to select the right tools for your goals and leverage the power of AI to stand out from the pack.
Statistics from Salesforce show that 43% of marketers “don’t know” how to get the most value from AI, and, according to the same dataset, less than a quarter of firms have AI education and training for the marketing team. Still, nearly 50% of CMOs are piloting, or looking to pilot, initiatives surrounding AI and machine learning within the next 24 months, according to LXA Hub data.
How can marketing departments quickly and effectively deploy the best AI solutions?
One approach for successful platform integration is to look for external consultants who can fill in the knowledge gaps within your team to quickly and effectively move AI and LLM solutions from pilot to scale.
By partnering with external specialists, marketing departments can better deploy AI strategies, without waiting for headcount to open up. This flexibility allows teams to focus their budget on the most pressing concerns, ensuring resources are most effectively allocated.
Additionally, tapping into subject matter experts in this area can provide the flexibility to pivot and adapt as opportunities and needs arise, keeping your team nimble, with the capability to comfortably execute campaigns with new technology.
Building the Right Team to Maximize the Stack from Head to Tail
With AI and machine learning taking center stage in marketing strategy, tech budgets are soaring: according to LXA Hub, technology now consumes 30% of marketing spend, a jump from 24% in 2022. Yet, as marketing leaders focus on talent and acquisition, many face a skills gap in their teams.
One common issue: Often, marketing operates in isolation from IT, even though today’s tools demand a solid tech foundation and a sophisticated mastery of tech implementation. Finding talent that aligns with both the stack’s demands and the team’s overarching goals isn’t easy. A G2 survey highlights this friction, with over half of marketers citing integration issues as a roadblock to adopting new technologies.
The path forward is complex: Marketers need tech-savvy talent to fully leverage their stack’s potential, while also ensuring that their team has a balanced mix of creatives and strategists to drive innovation and effectively execute the campaigns derived from the data extrapolated by today’s next-gen tech.
Bringing in the right people can bridge this gap: from auditing current tools and training team members to crafting workflows and roadmaps, expert talent in these areas can help ensure every solution is fully utilized and aligned with long-term strategy.
A Stack Built for Evolution, Created by Top-Tier Talent
Investing in your martech stack is one of the most impactful choices marketing leaders today can make. But even the best technology can fall short without the right team to fully harness its potential.
How can you keep both your tech and team performing at peak capacity?
Finding the right balance between internal teams and outside expertise when needed is imperative to ensure that your tech investments are being effectively utilized not just for the campaigns of today, but for the campaigns of tomorrow. Additionally, having access to a broader talent pool gives your team the flexibility to efficiently allocate resources, rather than waiting for internal capacity to catch up. Moreover, outside expertise can foster an overall environment of learning and development, empowering your core team to confidently adapt and leverage solutions within your stack.
At Creative Circle, we bring the talent and expertise to not only optimize your martech stack today but also prepare it for future market shifts. Our custom, talent-driven solutions enhance your team’s potential, helping them leverage current resources for ongoing success. From consulting support to audit and enhance your stack, to building tech-savvy teams that seamlessly integrate with your current roster, we ensure your martech is precisely where it needs to be—so you can stay focused on results.
Experts warn that climate change is one of the most significant threats of our time. As extreme weather events like major wildfires, epic floods, storms, heat waves, and droughts affect more and more people, pressing issues like water scarcity and deforestation become increasingly urgent. We are witnessing a degradation of natural systems and a drastic decline in biodiversity.
Tech has become a significant part of our lives, but the tech sector is one of the biggest pollutants on the planet. As electronic devices become an increasingly inseparable part of modern existence, so does our need to mitigate the e-waste that comes with them. The communication tech sector now makes up over 2% of global greenhouse emissions — and it’s forecast that it will constitute 15% of global emissions by 2040. And that’s just what’s in the air. On the ground, we’re talking an estimated 57.4 million tons of e-waste in 2021.
Companies are only just now starting to find solutions as the climate crisis becomes increasingly life-threatening. Yes, the challenges are immense and complex — but there is hope, as innovators (and their innovations) are helping make the world healthier and safer. The good news is that tech companies are also beginning to step in and lead the sustainability charge, making concrete efforts to drastically reduce their impact on the climate and protect the environment.
In honor of Earth Day, let’s take a peek at how 10 of today’s biggest tech companies are driving impactful eco-initiatives today and where they’ll be tomorrow, according to Technology Magazine and Sustainability Magazine:
Image: Google
Google
Google’s sustainability aims revolve around three key pillars: accelerating the transition to carbon-free energy, empowering individuals and communities to lessen their climate impact using innovative technology, and creating positive impacts for the people and places across the globe where Google operates.
Google first began purchasing renewable energy in 2010, and in 2017 it became the first major tech company to match 100% of its annual electricity usage with renewable energy purchases. By 2030, Google plans to operate all its data center and office campuses using carbon-free energy sources. It is investing heavily in sustainability research and development to create new technology that can help reduce waste and conserve natural resources, employing machine learning to discover ways to increase efficiencies, like using smart thermostats to cool its data centers.
Google is itself a major innovator in climate tech. Its Maps app is infused with sustainability features, like showing the most fuel-efficient routes, which help drivers make more ecological choices. Google’s parent company, Alphabet, created a $5.75 billion Sustainability Bond — 100% of the proceeds are dedicated to supporting environmentally and socially responsible projects. With these ambitious and innovative initiatives, Google sets an example of how a tech company can use its influence and resources to help address the climate crisis.
Image: Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft’s sustainability efforts are on the ramp-up. In 2022, the company contracted to have 1.4 million metric tons of carbon removed from the environment. The tech giant is also strategically working to ensure it can secure renewably sourced energy for its global operations in the future by weaving sustainability into its purchasing strategy today.
That same year, the company launched Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability, which offers a comprehensive set of enterprise-grade sustainability management tools geared to support other companies to lessen their climate impact. What’s more, Microsoft is significantly accelerating the development of new climate technologies through its Climate Innovation Fund with the goals of bolstering climate policy efforts, advocating for skills programs to expand a global green workforce, and developing a more dependable carbon accounting system for global use.
By 2030, Microsoft plans to achieve carbon negativity — in other words, removing more emissions than it has generated since its inception in 1975! With additional plans to achieve zero-waste and water-positive status by 2030, Microsoft is elevating the standard for sustainability strategy in big tech.
Image: Amazon
Amazon
Another major play, Amazon, is the world’s largest corporate buyer of renewable energy and has set impressive sustainability goals for itself. These include achieving 100% renewable energy usage by 2025 — five years ahead of the company’s original target of 2030 — and plans to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.
In fact, by 2022, 90% of Amazon’s electricity came from renewable sources, and the organization’s strong water reduction efforts resulted in 3.9 billion liters less water used from areas surrounding Amazon’s operations.
Amazon Web Services, Amazon’s cloud computing division, also enables customers to build robust sustainability solutions. From waste reduction and energy conservation to carbon tracking, AWS data services are a powerful tool for clients to input, analyze, and manage complex sustainability initiatives and even track their success — effectively driving strong connections between sustainability and desired business outcomes.
Image: Apple
Apple
Sustainability has been a core part of Apple’s business, with strategic initiatives that encompass reducing its carbon footprint, increasing its use of recycled materials, and consuming renewable energy. A testament to this, since 2008, Apple has tweaked its product design, reducing the average energy use of its products by 70%! And in 2021, the company doubled the amount of recycled cobalt, tungsten, and other rare earth elements in its products.
Apple’s latest reports show significant progress toward its carbon reduction goal. Lisa Jackson, Apple’s Vice President of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives, said in the company’s 2023 ESG report that Apple had reduced emissions by 45% since its 2015 baseline. In that same period, the tech juggernaut increased its revenue by 65%, ultimately proving that sustainability strategies can (and probably should) align with financial ones. “We demonstrated that the choice between a thriving business and a thriving planet is a false one,” said Jackson.
Today, about 20% of the materials Apple uses in its products are made from recycled content, and by 2034, the company plans to be carbon neutral. It’s clear that, in this case, going green means increasing both eco-friendliness and profits.
Image: Intel
Intel
In 2022, Intel made some incredible strides toward its 360 approach to reducing its climate impact across its entire operational footprint. That year, 67% of manufacturing waste was upcycled — showcasing a big win for Intel’s circular economic business approach. The company also increased its renewable energy to 100% within the United States, Europe, Malaysia, and Israel, bringing its global average of renewable energy use to 93%. And, with respect to water conservation, Intel saved about 9.6 billion gallons too.
Looking ahead, Intel also plans to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across its worldwide operations by the year 2040, with 100% renewable energy use and zero waste to landfills. This ambitious goal certainly puts Intel on par with industry leaders.
Image: IBM
IBM
IBM is making moves as part of its sustainability strategy to drive ethical and equitable impact as it continues to support businesses entering the digital landscape. In 2022, it implemented conservation projects that saved 71,000 megawatt-hours of energy and 25,600 metric tons of carbon. The company is investing in research and development to create technology that can help reduce waste and conserve resources, to divert 90% of nonhazardous waste from landfills and incineration by 2025.
By 2030, the company plans to have net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and have optimized operational plans in places that further reduce pollution and minimize climate risk. With these goals in place, IBM is at the forefront of the tech industry’s eco-efforts.
Image: NVIDIA
NVIDIA
Tech multinational NVIDIA’s sustainability strategy is centered around its commitment to acquiring or producing renewable energy to offset its global electricity consumption. The company seeks sustainable solutions especially when building new or expanding existing data centers as part of its overall carbon prevention and efficiency process.
On top of this, NVIDIA’s core technology is part of a societal shift towards electric and AI-driven vehicles, helping to drive these sustainable initiatives forward. They believe that autonomy will allow greater efficiency via simplified transportation and that their chips allow the smartest integration into cars and other modes of transport, ultimately making a green impact that’s scalable and future-forward.
Image: Meta
Meta
Since 2010, Meta has had net-zero carbon emissions across its global operations, showing a reduction in operational emissions by 94% based on its 2017 baseline. They have even followed this up with 100% renewable energy implementation across all its data centers. In 2021, Meta supported carbon removal projects in Mexico and Kenya, representing more than 200,000 tons of carbon sequestration through forest and soil capture.
By the year 2030, Meta will support efforts to remove carbon equivalent to the amount they cannot reduce. With these initiatives, Meta shows its own involvement in the fight against climate change and its alignment with global efforts to restore the health of the planet.
Image: Dell Technologies
Dell Technologies
To mitigate the 57.4 million metric tons of e-waste currently being produced yearly, Dell Technologies is taking a quid pro quo type of approach. The company is planning to reuse or recycle an equivalent product for each new product a customer purchases. They have also set a goal of net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2050, while actively investing in research and development to create new technologies to meet these sustainability goals to drastically reduce waste and conserve natural resources. As the world moves towards a more digital and connected future, Dell Technologies is moving along with it, delivering sustainable solutions to meet the needs and expectations of its clients.
Image: HP
HP
Last but not least, HP is making sustainable changes of its own to match the competition. The company has set the target goal of zero waste by 2025 across all operations and is investing in sustainability research and development into new technologies that can help it achieve its aims. By 2025, HP will also use 100% renewable energy to power its global operations — and by 2040, it plans to be carbon neutral. The organization’s commitment to corporate social responsibility across its supply chain and operations is set to drive positive change for the planet, people, and profits alike.
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Bottomline
Our society’s push for sustainability has become a centerpiece of American business culture that permeates organizational strategy from operations to product design. Just as companies continue to fall in line with consumer preferences and expectations, their business goals continue to fall in line with their desired economic outcomes. For the first time, the Department of Energy had a CES booth, where Jennifer Granholm, The United States Secretary of Energy, spoke about the Biden administration’s goals of achieving 100% renewable clean electricity for the nation’s grid by 2035 and a net-zero carbon economy by 2050.
As large and small companies seek ways to become more sustainable to stay competitive, they will face challenges — finding a smarter path forward can require a lot of trial and error. If you’re at an eco-conscious crossroads or need help navigating this operational terrain, reach out to us at Creative Circle. We have systems experts and operational gurus who can help you transform your company into an eco-friendly powerhouse that’s prepared for what is to come.
