Brands and marketing teams can master AI and still misunderstand the people their advertising is meant to reach. As marketing races to adopt new tools, the more consequential shift may be happening in how people think, what they expect and how they understand their own value. In this conversation from the 2026 Nedbank IMC Conference, Tahaab Rais challenges marketers to give that psychological change the same attention as their technology plans.
On The Lead Creative, Tahaab Rais, Group Chief Strategy Officer of Publicis Groupe MENAT, explores what that means for brand strategy, cultural relevance and creative leadership. His starting point is that people change with technology, and brands need to understand those changes to remain useful.
Watch the conversation
An AI roadmap needs a psychological roadmap
Tahaab points to a gap in how brands approach technological progress. Teams plan the tools, the data and the experience, while giving less attention to how people respond. He contrasts journey maps with the memories people form during those journeys, encouraging marketers to consider what an experience leaves behind.
That perspective also applies inside agencies and marketing departments. He describes strategy work that once took a week being completed in two days. Yet getting people to use AI involves more than demonstrating its speed. A strategist may question their value when an agent generates insights; a writer may feel the same when it produces a case study script. Leaders need to help their teams see how their contribution develops as the tools change.
Human needs become meaningful through culture
Rais identifies five needs he considers universal: love, purpose, discovery, success and belonging. Their expression changes between cultures and communities, which is where brands need to look more closely.
He shares an example of work for a tea brand in the UAE that used cricket to connect with Indian and Pakistani communities. Its relevance came from a shared passion within those communities. For marketers, the useful insight lies in understanding the tensions and opportunities within a passion, then finding a credible role for the brand.
His observations of South African creativity reinforce this point. He praises the humour and cultural understanding in the work, alongside thoughtful channel planning. He also values the way creative communities support each other and explain why local work matters.
Five key insights for your marketing strategy
- Build a psychological roadmap alongside your AI roadmap, considering how technology changes the expectations and experiences of the people you serve.
- Use the four E’s to identify a specific contribution your brand can make through education, empowerment, enrichment or entertainment.
- Research the passions and tensions within particular communities so that cultural relevance informs the idea from the brief onwards.
- Include channel planning in the creative brief, connecting the idea to how people will encounter and experience it.
- Support your team’s confidence as AI changes their work, helping people understand the value of the judgement and direction they bring.
A useful next step is to review an AI initiative through the eyes of the people it affects. What becomes easier or more valuable for them, and what will they remember about the brand afterwards?
Recorded at the Nedbank IMC Conference during The Lead Creative’s second year of conversations with marketing leaders at the conference.
Sponsored by award-winning digital agency Rogerwilco.
Filmed and edited by production partners, Soweto Media. Hosted by Mongezi Mtati.
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