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Strategist · Independent Director · Author
AI agents buy needs. Humans buy wants. Your brand has to win both.
AI agents have started shopping for your customers. They judge on data and proof. Humans still decide on desire. Most brands are built for only one of them.
I help boards and CEOs build brands that win with both.
Why now
The buyer has changed
I asked Claude for the best gold ring. It dismissed Cartier, with its 180 years of storytelling, as 18 carat and overpriced, and told me to buy a plain hallmarked band.
I asked for the best milk. Akshayakalpa won, because it had the lab data.
My shopping agent was blocked by a captcha. My orders went to Blinkit instead.
If an agent cannot understand you, it will not recommend you. If it cannot transact with you, it will buy elsewhere.
A framework for marketing in the age of AI agents
The Two Lane Marketing Highway:
One for Agents, Other for Humans
01
Educate machines on wants
Agents judge on the attributes they can see. Make sure the attributes that favour you are in the consideration set, backed by data an agent trusts. If only needs are considered, every brand is a commodity.
02
Create human preferences
One lane is for humans: story, emotion, desire. The other is for machines: structured data, proof and reviews, available wherever agents look. Every emotion has to have a creative and credible asset.
03
Build both lanes
Human preference still overrides the agent. Brand storytelling, events and sampling are needed more than ever. It is also an opportunity for hitherto weak brands to leapfrog to Agentic Commerce.
Core or Surround? Choose.
There are two routes to standing out. I’ve been using this framework for 20 years, and it will work for the AI Age.
Core branding builds your position around what you sell. A car that talks about mileage.
Surround branding builds it around what surrounds the offering: your people, your values, your story. A car maker that talks about its eco-friendly plant. The plant adds nothing to the drive. It makes the customer feel better about buying.
My experience is that you have to choose which to lead with. Brands that try both end up saying neither clearly.. I
Proof
Advisory Results
More than 3×
Wipro’s revenue growth during my five years as CMO.
Over 10×
Infosys’s revenue growth during my five years as Global Brand Manager.
$100 million
Happiest Minds, positioned and launched from inception to $100 million, with the brand foundation for its IPO.
In the boardroom
Independent director
CreditAccess Grameen · Bajaj Consumer Care ·
Krsnaa Diagnostics ·CIEL HR Services
Previously
Expleo · Royal Orchid Hotels · PB Fintech (PolicyBazaar)
Author of Marketing Without Money and No Money Marketing.
Writer of the Marketing Booster, weekly since 2011.
Work with me
How I work with boards and CEOs
Board Advisory
What AI changes for customers in your category, and what the board needs to decide now for the marketing strategy. This can be either a briefing session or an ongoing presence on the Board.
Positioning and brand architecture
Why clients – human and AI – should choose your brand, said clearly, then built into a marketing plan.
Keynotes
For leadership offsites and industry forums.
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Relied On by Great Companies
What clients say
I have engaged with Jessie for a decade now. In my every meeting with her, Jessie comes across as a strong outcome driven marketing leader and consultant. She understands the business context well and applies that to create a differentiated marketing program. I also value her opinion because she is straight and knows where her focus is.
Deepali Naair
Former CMO, IBM, India and South Asia
Former CMO, IBM, India and South Asia
I’ve had the pleasure of knowing and working with Jessie for over 10 years or so. At Happiest Minds, Jessie and the Paul Writer team are involved since the launch of the company in areas of corporate identity, branding, positioning, social media and GTM strategy. They have always come up with innovative ideas and helped us execute them to satisfaction… Read more.
Kiran Veigas
Head – Marketing, Happiest Minds
Head – Marketing, Happiest Minds
Jessie is a strong outcome driven marketing leader and advisor. She relates to business situations very well and synthesizes marketing programs to get the best results for brands. Jessie can also transpose learnings from one industry and organization to another and bring novel approaches. I would recommend Jessie for her strategic thinking and sound execution capabilities!
Sunder Madakshira
Former Head Marketing, Adobe India
I worked with Jessie and her team when I was CMO for a B2B software vendor. We were investing in the Indian market and they helped us considerably with our go-to-market strategy, producing for us a wonderful content asset that included market research and insight from her amazing network of industry leaders, supporting our local team with in-person networking events and navigating our way … Read more.
Ian Truscott
(Former) CMO, Censhare
(Former) CMO, Censhare
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