Marketing in the age of AI with Adobe Enterprise CMO, Rachel Thornton

Rachel Thornton, Enterprise CMO at Adobe, joins us to unpack how one of the world’s leading technology companies is navigating marketing in the age of AI. From brand building in B2B to launching complex software products, Rachel shares what it takes to drive growth at global scale.We discuss the role of major events like Adobe Summit, how AI is transforming both the practice and perception of marketing, and why community and storytelling are becoming more important than ever. Rachel also explains how Adobe balances brand and product marketing, invests in partnerships like sports sponsorships, and what “agentic orchestration” actually means in practice.Timestamps00:00 - Start01:39 - Rachel’s career and what makes a successful CMO04:12 - The importance of brand in B2B08:57 - The role of large events in B2B marketing (like Adobe Summit)12:29 - The biggest changes AI have had in marketing18:06 - How Adobe approaches community in their marketing20:26 - How Adobe use AI in their marketing22:53 - How Tesco use Adobe24:22 - Adobe’s product launches at Summit 202626:50 - What does agentic orchestration mean?28:33 - How to successfully launch new software?29:58 - How Adobe addresses brand vs product marketing?30:57 - Why Adobe invests in sports sponsorships34:26 - The power of storytelling in sport36:07 - The best advice Rachel has received