CANNES – What happens when an AI identifies a perfect customer persona that doesn’t actually exist?
While AI models can optimize campaigns with breathtaking speed and efficiency, some theories suggest this could make knowing a real person’s identity less critical.
For Brian Silver, EVP of marketing solutions at TransUnion, that creates a need for a “validation path” to connect AI-generated insights back to a real, flesh-and-blood consumer.
The nine-times ROI of precision
Silver accepts that many companies remain stuck targeting consumers based on rudimentary data points like age and demographics. He argues that the key to unlocking performance lies in layering more precise, attributable data elements to create a much richer picture of the potential customer.
“We went out and looked at about a billion and a half dollars worth of campaigns, and what we saw was a nine times ROI results for our customers who are utilizing the right targeting,” Silver told Mike Shields, founder of Next in Media, at Cannes Lions.
Even a modest step forward yields significant gains. “If you just did two elements of targeting to a person, let’s say age and income, you would see like a 3.2x ROI.
AI needs a validation path
As AI’s role in ad-tech grows, Silver pushes back against the notion that it diminishes the value of identity. He disputes the idea that AI can operate effectively without a grounding in reality by posing a simple question.
“Who you going to sell the product to?” he asked. Silver explained that while an AI agent can generate “synthetic data” to create an ideal customer persona, it is meaningless without being tied to an individual. “You’re going to need a validation point.
“The rhetoric (around privacy) has died down because everyone’s talking about AI right now, (but) this is still really important from a consumer perspective,” he said.
You’re watching “The Beet.TV Leadership Sessions at Cannes Lions 2025, presented by TransUnion” For more videos from this series, please visit this page.
You’re watching The Beet.TV Leadership Sessions at Cannes Lions 2025, presented by TransUnion. For more videos from this series, please visit this page. You can find all of our coverage from Cannes Lions 2025 here.
