Deepal Mistry is a Harvard-certified leader with over 22 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. She has successfully launched top divisions and brands like ‘Telma’, whose case study is featured in Harvard Business Review and studied at IIMs. Formerly Strategic Business Unit Head at Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Deepal excels in strategy, brand building, and phygital marketing. She holds a pharmacy degree from Mumbai University and a marketing postgraduate from NMIMS. Also, she has received multiple awards, including the Global 50 Glory Award 2021 and Nationwide Under 50 Business Leader Award.

In a recent interaction with M R Yuvatha, Senior Correspondent at siliconindia, Deepal Mistry shared his insights on ‘The Power of Strategic Innovation and Technology Integration for Brand Growth’.

Nowadays, there is a fundamental shift from reactive to proactive automation, especially in the form of agentic AI. Companies like Ascent Insights observe that agentic AI follows goal-oriented adaptive planning and autonomous execution, unlike traditional automation with predefined rules. Agentic AI performs tasks, makes decisions, and interacts with users.

It automates and manages the entire customer journey, from engagement to post-purchase support, assisting in real-time adjustments based on behavior. Reading and mapping behavior patterns, it facilitates engagement and decision-making. Agentic AI’s precision and adaptability, even in pharma, make it the future of marketing, journey mapping, and hyper-personalization.

The Fusion of AR, VR, and Personalized Engagement

The AR and VR market is rapidly expanding globally, expected to surpass $100 billion by 2025. The landscape has matured dramatically, transforming customer experience. Companies emphasize customer-centric immersion, integrating the entire purchase funnel seamlessly. For example, Sephora’s virtual artist app lets customers try makeup virtually using AR, boosting engagement and conversion.

AR and VR shift the journey from physical stores to virtual try-ons anytime, anywhere. This new frontier, powered by AI and 5G, enables real-time personalization. Customers can visualize furniture or home redesigns instantly, eliminating costly drafts or models, putting hyper-personalization and customization directly in consumers’ hands.

The most critical challenge that marketers face today is personalization. Data shows that companies excelling at personalization can generate 40% more revenue than competitors who do not invest similarly. Yet, personalization is still only scratched on the surface. They also emphasize a transparent value exchange, being explicit about the value given to customers in return for their data. Their framework involves data minimization, focusing on collecting only data essential for personalization. There are three pillars they follow:

• Data Minimization: Collect only the data that is essential for personalization.
• Privacy First: Advanced algorithms anonymize user data without losing analytical value, balancing privacy and technology.
• Dynamic Consent Management: Offering clear opt-in and opt-out options, allowing users to manage preferences and build trust that data will not be misused.

The future belongs to brands mastering privacy and personalization to deliver hyper-relevant experiences while making customers feel secure about their data.

The Rise of Edge and IoT in Retail

Real-time technologies are creating great visibility and responsiveness across the value chain. The critical role of supply chains is now enhanced by these technologies bringing a new level of precision to retail and FMCG sectors. Edge computing is transforming the landscape by processing data at the collection point whether a sensor in a warehouse, a smart shelf in a store, or an IoT device in transit allowing brands to respond to supply chain events in milliseconds instead of hours or days. This enables dynamic customer engagement previously not possible.

For instance, if an IoT sensor detects low or out-of-stock status in a region, edge computing can trigger hyper-localized marketing campaigns, adjusting prices, strategies, or inventories in real-time while notifying customers about offers and alternatives.

This shift goes beyond supply chain optimization; it enhances customer experience through real-time intelligence. FMCG brands use smart packaging for contextual commerce, offering usage tips, reorder prompts, and personalized recommendations.

IoT-enabled tracking ensures transparency from sourcing to delivery, building trust and brand authenticity. Additionally, IoT sensors in refrigerators suggest recipes based on available ingredients and alert users to expiring products, helping consumers live better, more engaged lives.

The future of marketing is envisioned as a symphony of human intuition and data-driven insights, balancing AI’s strengths with human creativity and judgment.

The New Era of Sustainable Branding

Sustainability is the way of consciousness ahead. It has evolved from being a nice-to-have to a must-have. More brands are choosing to practice sustainability, driven mainly by Gen Z, who looks for green marks, alternative packaging, and reusability when purchasing products.

Companies like Ascent Insights, they create beyond green marketing through embedded sustainability marketing. From manufacturing to packaging, products are made using recycled, biodegradable, or consciously clean materials, embedding sustainability throughout the journey. This approach benefits the environment.

Marketing now features honest, unfiltered images and reviews rather than perfect, diva-like models, reflecting brand honesty. Brands focus more on reducing carbon emissions, carbon footprints, renewable energy transitions, and circular economy practices. For instance, some brands plant five trees per product sold, and cricket balls are linked to tree planting.

Sustainable personalization helps consumers make eco-friendly choices, like seed-embedded visiting cards. Circular business models, from retail marketplaces to upcycling communities, are growing. Transparency makes sustainability data accessible and actionable.

Virtual and augmented reality will showcase behind-the-scenes sustainability efforts. Increasing awareness will lead to greater consumer engagement and a positive environmental impact.

Future of Marketing through Human-AI Synergy

The collaboration of humans and machines has existed for a long time, though it is only now being usually discussed. This has changed into a more digital form, reshaping how creativity, strategy, and execution are approached. It is becoming more nuanced, with AI progressively handling data-driven and repetitive tasks. The focus is ever-changing from these repetitive tasks, which AI can perform, to humans concentrating on creativity, emotional intelligence, and ethical decision-making.

Thus, AI represents the human-machine collaboration. When referring to machines, the emphasis is primarily on AI. This human-machine collaboration is effectively replacing marketers by taking over repetitive tasks, freeing humans to focus more on emotional intelligence and ethical decision-making.

The combination of human expertise, skills, and experience with AI is where acceleration is observed. This is about creating hybrid intelligence that amplifies human capabilities. Ultimately, the future of marketing is envisioned as a symphony of human intuition and data-driven insights, balancing AI’s strengths with human creativity and judgment.

Conclusion

To thrive in the future, brands must embrace a holistic approach that blends innovation with technology and puts the customer at the center of every decision. Leveraging AI, IoT, and personalized marketing empowers brands to deliver unique experiences and drive meaningful growth. Those who proactively integrate these transformative tools and align with sustainable, purpose-driven values will set themselves apart as industry leaders in the future-ready marketplace.