How Lenovo Is Putting AI to Work in Marketing — with CMO Emily Ketchen

In this episode of Next in Media, I sit down with Emily Ketchen, SVP & CMO of Intelligent Devices Group & International Markets at Lenovo, to talk about what it actually looks like to operationalize AI inside a global marketing organization. Emily shares how Lenovo is standing up the AI PC and AI phone category, why contextual and generative AI drove efficiency gains in the brand's Formula One partnership, and what it means to be "the first generation of leaders tasked with managing an agentic workforce." Emily walks through Lenovo's AI governance council, the grassroots prompt library her team built, and tangible and intangible measurement frameworks behind big sponsorships. We also dig into Lenovo's Creator Odyssey campaign — a Sundance-recognized global collaboration — and close on the tension every marketer is navigating right now: how to use AI-driven media optimization without giving up control, transparency, or human judgment. KEY HIGHLIGHTS: 🧭 Three Fronts for AI in Marketing: Emily frames Lenovo's AI work across category creation, internal upskilling, and marketing applications — with governance at the center. 🏎️ AI in the Most Precious Media: Rather than starting with low-stakes creative variants, Lenovo deployed contextual and generative AI in its Formula One sponsorship to sharpen targeting and creative impact. 🤖 The First Generation Managing an Agentic Workforce: Emily reflects on leading teams that now include agents alongside humans — a workforce that doesn't sleep, doesn't eat, and isn't looking for a raise. 📚 Grassroots Prompt Library: After Lenovo's governance council rolled out AI training, two employees built an internal prompt library that's now a go-to resource for the whole marketing org. 🎨 The Creator Odyssey: For the Yoga line, Lenovo built a global creator chain where digital artists around the world built on each other's work — a process-first campaign that picked up a Sundance brand storytelling award. ⚖️ Personal, Useful, Human: Emily's framework for talking about AI with wary consumers and creators: lead with what it feels like in everyday life, not what it is. 🛡️ Not All Agents, No People, No Agencies: On AI-driven media optimization, Emily argues the black-box version isn't the answer — experimentation has to come with guardrails and human judgment. RESOURCES & NEXT STEPS: 🌐 Learn more about Lenovo: Lenovo.com 🔗 Follow Emily Ketchen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/emilyketchen 🎧 Subscribe to Next in Media on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube CHAPTER TIME STAMPS: 00:00   Cold open — Where Lenovo sits on the AI adoption curve 01:34   Introducing Emily Ketchen and Lenovo's AI mandate 03:56   Betting on Formula One with contextual + GenAI creative 05:52   Human judgement and Lenovo's AI governance council 07:33   Ecosystem marketing & AI category creation 10:11   The first generation managing an agentic workforce 13:50:  Sponsor break: Reaching the right audiences on CTV 14:47   Measuring big sponsorships in a performance era 18:02  Creator strategy, Yoga product line, Sundance accolades 21:05   Talking to creators and consumers who are wary of AI 22:39   AI-driven media optimization without the black box 00:00   Wrap up and thanks