AI in Advertising & Marketing: What’s Now, What’s Next

Join NextNW on January 21st for a high-impact panel featuring four leading AI innovators: Mike Houston, Janet Lee Johnson, Jordan Plawner, and Garett Stenson, as we explore how artificial intelligence is transforming advertising, marketing, and the business of agency services. This candid conversation will unpack what’s hype, what’s real, and what’s actionable for professionals navigating an industry in rapid evolution.

Our panelists will examine AI’s role across the creative stack, from concepting and copywriting to media planning, customer targeting, and campaign optimization. We’ll dig into how AI is reshaping digital advertising, marketing, and share practical frameworks for integrating AI into workflows, tools, staffing, and agency business models. The discussion will also address some of the toughest issues dominating trade publications and forums today, including copyright and training data, legal and ethical implications, disclosure expectations, and the growing importance of human oversight.

Attendees will walk away with:

• Clear guidance on where AI delivers real value today
• Best-practice approaches for creative and operational integration
• Emerging risks, and how to mitigate them
• Examples of successful AI-enabled campaigns
• A roadmap for preparing your team and agency for the year ahead

A live Q&A will give participants the chance to tap directly into the panel’s expertise. Don’t miss this future-shaping conversation.

Panelists:

Garret Stenson – Founder of DB Clay

Garett Stenson is the founder of db clay, a creative research lab and strategic advisory studio helping brands, agencies, and startups navigate the age of intelligence. An AI-forward strategist and business transformation consultant by day, his work blends strategy, storytelling, and systems—guiding teams with the logic of strategy and the magic of creativity.

By night, Garett has teamed up with AI Portland to create MIXED*—a first-of-its-kind film showcase exploring the future of storytelling across traditional cinema and generative AI. His mission is to empower the next generation of creatives by championing responsible, human-centered adoption of AI that elevates—rather than replaces—human imagination.

A lifelong artist and entrepreneur, Garett was previously Co-Founder, Executive Creative Director, and Head of Strategy at Revery, where he helped scale the global storytelling studio while leading work for Amazon, Nike, and OLLY. Earlier roles at INDUSTRY, Evolve Collaborative, and Ziba shaped his approach to brand-led innovation.

Janet Johnson – Founder, AI Governance Group

Janet Johnson is committed to making AI work for everyone. An international speaker on AI Literacy and AI Governance, she guides organizations of all sizes in using AI responsibly, protecting employees, intellectual property, and brands. Leveraging her expertise in technology ethics, Janet also shares her knowledge as an adjunct professor at Portland State University’s Center for Executive and Professional Education, teaching AI workshops and communications courses.

With a rich background in marketing and sales leadership, Janet has steered teams in Fortune 100 companies, mid-size organizations, and growth ventures. Her diverse experience spans industries including adtech, financial services, real estate, and technology.

Janet’s focus lies at the intersection of emerging technology, ethics, and strategic risk management. She’s dedicated to fostering innovation and creativity while ensuring ethical considerations remain at the forefront of AI adoption.

Jordan Plawner — Founder, Pacific AI Advisory | Former Global Director of AI, Strategy, Intel

Jordan Plawner enables business leaders to shape AI to power their strategy and preserve what makes organizations unique. As Intel’s Global Director of AI Strategy, he built and led teams that grew a $4B AI business with Fortune 500 clients, integrating AI into products and services by aligning advanced technology with business operations, human values, and measurable outcomes. 

With three decades of experience building data center and AI products, Jordan partners with executives to move past hesitation, avoid the pitfalls that derail most corporate AI efforts, and realize the full ROI of AI by aligning bold vision with actionable, people-centric change. Through Pacific AI Advisory, he equips organizations with the clarity, skills, and confidence to build decisive strategies—delivered through Signal Keynotes that inspire vision, Catalyst Workshops that build literacy, culture, and momentum, and the Pacific Pathways AI Acceleration Program, a hands-on roadmap from purpose to deployment at scale that accelerates time to market and business model innovation. Jordan believes successful transformation starts with people, not technology.

When organizations use AI to free people rather than replace them, they unlock new capacity to invent, accelerate progress, and tackle the challenges that shape the future. AI is a force to amplify creativity, deepen collaboration, and strengthen what makes people and organizations distinct.  Attendees will discover actionable strategies, proven tools, and best practices to adopt AI effectively, unite teams, and realize the full potential of their people.