Renae Lunjevich

AI in marketing isn’t the future, it’s the now. Loved representing the Australian Centre for AI in Marketing and being part of The Marketing Club AU/NZ x Grazitti Interactive’s "AI in Marketing" event tonight! Biggest takeaway? Marketers who learn to partner with AI - not fear it - will win. Key points that hit home: * Start small, scale fast. Experiment, don't overthink. * AI amplifies human creativity. It doesn’t replace it. * Trust and adaptability will be the real currency. Ethical AI use matters. * Think about what new skills you need to adopt in this next era Thanks to my fellow panelists for a smart, no-hype conversation about what’s really next. Loved the energy and excitement in the room! Thanks Chanel Clark for the invitation! #AIinMarketing #FutureOfMarketing #AIReady #marketingleadership

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The Creative Census, the annual survey of Australia's media and marketing industries, measuring creative thinking – is back for the fourth year running, proudly presented by digital outdoor media leader QMS.   The 25-question survey asks participants working in media publishers, agencies (media, creative, content, production, communications) and consumer marketing for their perceptions about the level of creativity, collaboration, and innovation in their company, which is then measured against the broader industry.   This year the survey will concentrate on the augmentation of artificial and human intelligence.   Founder of The Creative Census, Wade Kingsley, said: “This year truly has been a turning point in the maturation of generative AI and adoption in our industry.   “We are seeing strong use cases, but we also know there’s a level of anxiety on how human creative tasks are being replaced. With the Census we aim to understand the balance, along with our annual benchmarking topics around levels of curiosity, bravery, and risk taking.”   QMS, a long-time champion of creativity, is returning as presenting partner for 2025 for the third year running.   QMS Chief Marketing Officer, Tennille Burt, said: “Out of home has long been one of the most creative media channels and the exponential rate of innovation in DOOH has significantly increased its appeal, impact and influence.   “We’re delighted to once again be a part of The Creative Census. As the only survey of its kind in Australia, it sets an important benchmark and adds to the marketing and media industry’s understanding of the value of creativity across clients, agencies and publishers.”   The Census will be open for participation on 1 September, with the results to be released early October. #creativity #census #creativethinking #media #australianmedia #marketing #CMO #advertising #AI #artificialintelligence

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Good leadership isn’t volume. It’s clarity. Teams don’t need perfect speeches; they need to know what matters now. Say the quiet part out loud. What’s in. What’s out. What can wait. Uncertainty drains more energy than hard work. Put dates on choices. No date, no decision. Momentum is a calendar habit. Keep notes short and public. Half a page beats a 60-minute meeting. Written context travels further than charisma. Use “no” to keep standards kind. A clear boundary saves a messy week later. People do their best work when the fences are visible. Own the change when the brief shifts. “Context moved; that’s on leadership.” Trust grows faster than explanations. After any launch, start with what was learned. Curiosity finds fixes. Blame finds walls. Progress sounds like, “Next time, we’ll try this.” Calm isn’t passive; it’s a skill. Teams copy the temperature they’re given. Set it low. Keep it steady. Watch quality rise. #Leadership #ManagingDirector #TeamCulture #Execution #B2B #WorkHabits

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Yesterday's Australian Marketing Institute VIC and T garage Strategy & Research Thought Leadership Breakfast was such an inspiring way to start the day! A big thank you to Luke Gibson, Susie White, Michael Magee GAICD, and Jed Simpfendorfer for their insights on "Transforming Innovation for Tomorrow’s Consumer." The panel highlighted the need for businesses to occasionally step back from their routine operations to adopt a broader perspective on innovation. Here are my takeaways: Strategic Innovation: Innovation should not just be an add-on; it needs to effectively complement and enhance the core offerings of a business, expanding reach and penetration. Challenge the Norm: The encouragement to be an agitator and push boundaries reflects a dynamic approach to marketing and product development—something I strongly believe in. Embrace AI: The panel's emphasis on AI as an essential tool for rapid ideation and market adaptation underlines its critical role in staying competitive. Understanding Generational Shifts: The discussion on Gen Z and Millennials not being category killers but rather catalysts for adaptive marketing strategies was insightful. It’s about leveraging existing brand strengths to meet new consumer expectations. For me, this session was a fantastic fusion of expert opinions and actionable insights, providing much food for thought on the future of innovation. #marketing #innovation #fmcg #AMI

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🚀 Big announcement time 🚀 After 13 years running Hello and growing it into one of Australia’s largest and most recognised marketing agencies, I couldn’t be prouder of what we achieved. But over time my focus started to shift. I became more interested in business strategy, systems and productivity, in how companies actually work, not just how they market themselves. Then came the rise of AI. The pace of change was mind-bending. The more I learned, the more questions I had: 👉 What will happen to my business? 👉 What are competitors doing? 👉 How far behind am I already? 🤖 Should I have an agentic workforce? That curiosity kicked off a deep dive into AI, not just the hype but the practical side of transformation. And I realised something along the way. Almost every business leader I spoke to felt the same. They knew AI would change everything but didn’t know where to start or who to trust to help them do it. Even those who had already invested in AI often struggled to see results. Through my research, including studies like MIT’s report showing that AI projects led by specialised consultancies and development studios were over 200% more likely to succeed, it became clear why. The problem wasn’t the technology. It was the approach. Many companies lacked the right skill sets, weren’t thinking big enough, or tackled projects that didn’t move the needle. The models were plentiful, but meaningful impact was rare. Coming from a marketing background where every decision is driven by measurable outcomes, I wanted to bring that same discipline to the AI industry. To create a way for companies to deploy AI solutions that are practical, strategic and built for tangible business results. 💡 Introducing Intersect AI An AI consulting and development studio that helps companies: • Discover how AI can improve business outcomes • Develop custom tools and systems tailored to their needs • Deploy these solutions successfully with training and change management We are a one-stop shop for businesses that know AI will reshape their future but need help making it real. Together with my co-founder, Mikael Kreuger, we have assembled a world-class team of consultants, product designers, data scientists and AI engineers, ready to guide companies through the next era of intelligent operations. If your business is exploring where AI fits into your strategy, I’d love to connect and chat over coffee. Wish me luck for the next chapter, and here’s to building smarter, better, faster, stronger. 😉

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Over the past 12 months, we've organised dozens of training initiatives for over 30 New Zealand publishers. These include sustainability and digital business model audits, optimisation of digital advertising, analytics and YouTube strategy, as well as extensive training in Google's AI tools for news publishers such as Pinpoint, NotebookLM and Gemini - all free of charge. I love this quote from Joanna Norris of Stuff, who said of their Subscribe with Google work, “This collaboration accelerated our subscription growth, which is up approximately 628% year-on-year” through Google Play. Our investments are reflective of the changing way people are looking for and consuming information online, and the continuing evolution of the local news industry. I’m proud of the way our team continues to find new ways to bring the best of Google to news publishers of all sizes across the country. Read more about the programmes here: https://lnkd.in/g2qVKrif

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2025 has been a marquee year for some seriously impressive humans building New Zealand’s AI future 🇳🇿 These people aren’t just talking about #AI – they’re making it real in boardrooms, warehouses, classrooms and everyday workflows across Aotearoa. 🌟 Mike Bayly – The AI Corner From a niche idea to a must-read, The AI Corner is now landing in the inboxes of thousands of Kiwi leaders. In 2025 Mike’s expanded it into a full ecosystem – long-form articles, podcasts – all focused on lifting AI literacy and spotlighting NZ’s own operators, not just the Silicon Valley headlines. 🌟 Cowan Henderson – Avocado AI Avocado AI has doubled down on something most skip over: real behavioural change in teams, with 12‑week programmes that move people from “curious about ChatGPT” to confidently building custom GPTs and organisation-ready workflows. 🌟 Mark Laurence – Ten Past Tomorrow With Ten Past Tomorrow, Mark has created one of the few AI education offerings designed specifically for NZ boards, execs and knowledge workers – grounded in local risk, regulation and opportunity, not imported slideware. This year he’s partnered with The Icehouse, helping leaders turn AI from hand‑wavy hype into measurable productivity, margin and capability gains across the country. 🌟 Dascha Cooper – AI Supercharge AI Supercharge has become a go‑to for in‑person AI training, running practical sessions in Wellington, Auckland that leave people with real prompts, workflows and practical skills. They’re on a mission to lift NZ’s productivity by making AI accessible to everyone through live, high‑energy workshops that demystify the tools and get people using them the same day 🚀 Caitlyn AI – caitlyn.ai Caitlyn has quietly become an award winning AI engine behind some of NZ’s most interesting applied AI projects. In 2025, Caitlyn has proven what “trusted, contextual GenAI” looks like in the real world: domain‑specific assistants embedded in workflows, not generic chatbots on the side. 🚀 Arcanum AI – arcanum.ai Arcanum is helping finance teams 10x productivity by handing the mundane work to AI – freeing humans up for the kind of judgment, insight and relationship‑driven work that actually moves the needle. From Wellington roots they’re now taking home‑grown generative AI to global SMEs with a distinctly Kiwi, mid‑market focus. 🚀 Autohive – autohive.com Autohive is building a no‑code AI agent platform that lets business teams design and run their own agents, automating complex workflows without needing a data science squad. Autohive launched this year with the ambition to make AI automation “bigger than the internet” for business productivity – and it’s already enabling anyone to spin up agents with zero coding experience. Huge respect to all of you – you’re not just building businesses, you’re lifting AI capability for the whole country. Here’s to an even bolder 2026 for AI in Aotearoa 🇳🇿 #AINewZealand #AIForBusiness #NZTech #Productivity #GenAI #Aotearoa

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