AI can do the heavy lifting, but humans must still tell the big stories: Gunjan Khetan

New Delhi: For Gunjan Khetan, Director – Marketing, Perfetti Van Melle India, the biggest missed opportunity in FMCG right now is not a new platform or format, but the way the industry is using adtech and AI.

“Adtech is one piece where, at least, the FMCG industry is under-leveraged, especially the role of AI in marketing. I’m very passionate about this,” he said on the BestMediaInfo podcast.

On the media side, Perfetti is already leaning on AI for programmatic optimisation. “Right now, for example, on YouTube, most of the bidding we do is AI-led bidding, which means every nanosecond I’m able to optimise my bid and get a better rate,” he explained.

The company is also testing AI on the creative side, but only for tactical work and at scale. “We are trying to experiment on how tech could play a part in mass-producing creativity at a scale and with variations and with flexibility that does not exist with typical creative outcomes,” he said.

For large, marquee campaigns, though, he drew a firm line. “I still believe having humans is key to good storytelling. So I don’t see, at least in the near future, a world where we will move away from our big campaigns from the traditional way of telling stories,” he said.

On guardrails, Khetan said Perfetti is still evolving its AI policies, but the core principle is brand consistency. AI output must stay within the brand’s narrative boundaries and feel “as close as possible” to human work. 

He also believes the “uncanny valley” in AI-generated films is a short-term problem. “It’s probably a year max, two years down, where AI learns things so quickly that they can recreate almost human-like emotions,” he said.

Perfetti has been an early mover in gaming, but Khetan stressed that it is driven by brand fit, not FOMO.

“We were one of the early ones as a company to start working on gaming,” he said, pointing to a Chupa Chups Halloween game launched around 2021–22 and later work for Centre Fresh.

“We keep doing a lot of work on gaming, but only where it makes sense, on brands where it makes sense… Gaming is not a passion point for all brands, but it’s a passion point for a couple of brands,” he added.

Khetan also challenged the assumption that higher-priced packs are only a metro phenomenon.

Referring to internal numbers, he said, “It’s a misconception in the industry that low-tier cities and rural India still buy low-ticket-price products… Five and 10-rupee products are selling as well or actually even better in non-metro cities.”

A large part of growth in higher-value packs, he said, is “actually coming out of these smaller, smaller cities.” Post-COVID, aspirations in these markets are “through the roof” thanks to information access and exposure to the same content and culture as metros.

On properties such as IPL and big-ticket reality shows, Khetan said Perfetti invests when both brand fit and value are clear, especially when a brand needs a quick reach build-up.

“For me, as long as a property makes sense from a value perspective, we would definitely invest,” he said.

He was more cautious about connected TV despite the buzz around it. “We’re still trying to understand connected TV and the role it plays in building unique reach and the value it brings to the table,” he said, making it clear that Perfetti has not yet taken a definitive position.

“My personal belief is I won’t do things just because everyone else is doing,” he said. “The job that the media agency and my media team have is to first convince me that there is great value for us. And once I’m convinced, I’m going to overinvest in that.”

Looking ahead, Khetan said the next three years will be crucial as technology and AI reshape the function.

“2025, 26 and 27 are going to be highly dynamic periods for marketers,” he said. “We are in flux today, with technology suddenly becoming so important in everything we do. And with AI, it is having a direct impact on marketing. So the next few years are going to decide how the new marketing world will look.”

At the same time, he insisted that fundamentals have not changed. “You have to be relevant to the consumers,” he said, arguing that while the ecosystem of platforms, pipes and technology around the consumer looks very different, the basics of how brands should converse with people remain the “bedrock of marketing”.

His advice to 24-year-old marketers who want to become CMOs by 40 is to slow down, learn and avoid comparisons. He urged young professionals to treat careers as marathons rather than races against peers.

He further argued that the real problem is not Gen Z’s attention span but the quality of stories brands tell, and said creative is “a tool to deliver the business”, not an end in itself. 

Khetan also called out decks that badge raw data as “insights”, pushed agencies to understand client business much more deeply upstream and urged marketers to go “brand-out first” when engaging with pop culture trends, including so-called “cringe” content.

Taken together, his message across both parts of the podcast is clear: AI, adtech and new platforms will reshape marketing between 2025 and 2027, but the brands that win will still be those that tell sharp, single-minded stories, rooted in real consumer insight and executed with discipline on the right platforms.

The full conversation with Gunjan Khetan is available on the BestMediaInfo podcast and can be watched below: