MAD STARS 2026 Day Two: Reimagining Marketing in the Age of AI

BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA — August 27, 2026

If Day One of MAD STARS 2026 asked whether artificial intelligence can transform creativity, Day Two moved the conversation one step further: what happens when the transformation reaches the very foundations of marketing?

On the second day of the three-day festival in Busan, the conversation shifted from the capabilities of AI to the future of brands, consumer relationships, culture and creativity. Under this year’s theme, “AMPLIFY,” global marketing and creative leaders explored how technology can expand human potential without diminishing the human thinking behind meaningful ideas.

At the centre of the day was one of the festival’s most anticipated speakers: Raja Rajamannar, Senior Fellow and former Chief Marketing & Communications Officer at Mastercard, who delivered the keynote “The Next Frontier of Marketing.” MAD STARS had previously named Rajamannar the recipient of its International Honor Award, recognizing his contribution to global marketing innovation.

Beyond Traditional Marketing

Rajamannar’s appearance was particularly significant because his career represents the evolution of marketing itself.

During his 12 years leading Mastercard’s marketing and communications, he helped transform the brand and evolve its iconic Priceless platform from a traditional advertising campaign into a broader, experience-led brand platform. His work has also been recognized through case studies at Harvard Business School and Yale School of Management.

His Day Two keynote, “The Next Frontier of Marketing,” focused on a new marketing paradigm in which emerging technology, data, cultural change and human-centered creativity converge.

The significance of the discussion extends beyond the tools marketers are using today. The industry is entering a period in which technology can accelerate production, personalize communication and generate content at unprecedented speed.

But speed alone does not create a meaningful brand.

The real challenge is understanding what deserves to be amplified.

When AI Meets Human Imagination

Later in the afternoon, Tara McKenty, Chief Creative Officer at AKQA, took the stage alongside Justine Leong, Managing Director of AKQA, for the keynote “Creative Intelligence: Where Human Imagination Meets Technology.”

The premise behind the session is particularly relevant to the broader conversation at MAD STARS this year: the question is no longer simply what can AI create?

It is how AI can amplify human creativity.

McKenty brings more than 17 years of experience across the APAC creative industry, including roles at TBWA, Saatchi & Saatchi, BMF and Google APAC. At AKQA, she leads the creative offering across Australia and New Zealand and has been recognized with more than 200 international awards.

Her perspective reinforces one of the clearest themes emerging from MAD STARS 2026: AI may dramatically expand the creative toolbox, but human imagination remains responsible for deciding what to build with it.

From Creativity to Creative Intelligence

The terminology itself is changing.

The industry increasingly speaks not only about creativity, but about creative intelligence — the ability to connect technology with human insight, culture, business challenges and imagination.

That shift was reflected throughout the Day Two programme.

Sessions examined topics ranging from AI, fandom and culture to global marketing, brand transformation and local cultural expression. Fabio Seidl of Digitas North America explored how AI, fandom and culture can become a new creative superpower, while other sessions examined how Korean brands are building global revenue and how brands can transform through social-first strategies.

The message is increasingly clear: the next generation of marketing will not be defined by a single technology.

It will be defined by how effectively brands connect technology with people and culture.

The Power of Local Culture in a Global Market

One of the most important implications for marketers across Asia is the growing value of local cultural understanding.

As technology makes content production increasingly accessible, differentiation becomes harder. A brand can now produce more content, more quickly, across more platforms.

But cultural relevance cannot simply be automated.

The ability to understand a local insight, translate it into a universal emotion and then scale that idea globally is becoming one of the industry's most valuable capabilities.

This is particularly relevant to Asian markets, where diverse languages, cultures and consumer behaviours coexist within the same region.

MAD STARS' own programme reflects this reality, with sessions dedicated to global brands, local culture, Korean marketing, Chinese beauty and the international influence of Filipino creativity.

From Campaigns to Solutions

Another important shift emerging from the festival is the definition of what constitutes a great creative idea.

The Executive Jury's discussion on Day One offered a revealing perspective. Across the standout work selected by the jury, a common thread emerged: the strongest ideas did not simply seek attention. They solved real problems.

From financial services and airline safety to industrial waste and dementia care, the examples highlighted by the jury demonstrated how creativity can move beyond communication and become a practical intervention in people's lives.

That perspective provides useful context for Day Two's discussions about marketing's future.

The next frontier may not be about creating better advertisements.

It may be about creating better solutions.

A Different Kind of Competitive Advantage

For marketers, this creates an interesting paradox.

As AI becomes more capable, the technical barrier to producing content decreases. More people can access powerful creative tools. More brands can produce more content.

But when everyone has access to similar tools, the tools themselves become less differentiating.

The competitive advantage shifts elsewhere:

Insight. Culture. Strategy. Imagination. Taste. Empathy.

And ultimately, the ability to understand people.

This is where the AMPLIFY theme becomes more than a festival slogan. Technology can amplify reach, speed and production. But the quality of what gets amplified still depends on the quality of the human idea behind it.

Looking Beyond the Screen

MAD STARS is also demonstrating this shift through its exhibition and Business Market.

The festival's Professional Division finalist works are being showcased at SIGNIEL BUSAN alongside companies working across AI advertising platforms, AdTech, big data, immersive content, production and marketing technology. The exhibition also incorporates AI-powered multilingual translation.

Walking through the exhibition, the distinction between advertising, technology, product design and social innovation becomes increasingly difficult to define.

That may be one of the most important changes taking place in the industry.

The creative agency of the future may not simply make campaigns.

It may design experiences, systems, products and solutions.

What Does This Mean for Markets Like Mongolia?

For emerging creative markets such as Mongolia, the conversations at MAD STARS offer an important perspective.

The gap in access to technology is narrowing rapidly. AI tools that were once available only to major agencies and global brands are becoming increasingly accessible.

That creates an opportunity.

Instead of competing with larger markets purely on production scale, smaller creative industries can compete through original cultural insight and distinctive ideas.

Mongolia has stories, landscapes, traditions, social behaviours and cultural perspectives that cannot simply be replicated by an algorithm.

The challenge is to transform those unique insights into ideas that can travel beyond the local market.

That is perhaps one of the most valuable lessons from MAD STARS 2026 so far:

Global creativity does not require becoming less local. It requires making local ideas universally meaningful.

One Day Left

With only one day remaining, MAD STARS 2026 is moving toward its final chapter.

The final day will bring further conversations on AI, creativity, brand building, data, culture and global marketing, alongside the final awards programme at SIGNIEL BUSAN. The Awards Show is scheduled for August 28 at 17:00, where this year's winners will be announced.

After two days, the central message of MAD STARS is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

Technology is changing what marketers and creatives can do.

But it is still people who decide what is worth doing.

And perhaps that is the real frontier of marketing.