Sydney – 2 September 2026: The Australian Centre for AI in Marketing (ACAM) has launched the Global Centre for AI in Marketing (GCAM), an international platform combining original research, benchmarking and evidence-led insight to help marketing leaders measure organisational AI maturity, identify priorities and build capabilities to turn AI investment into measurable business value.
The United States will become GCAM’s first international benchmark market through a partnership with The CMO Syndicate, a global commercial growth and transformation firm founded by experienced chief marketing officers.
As GCAM’s founding US benchmark market partner, The CMO Syndicate will lead participation and help ensure it reflects the operating realities and strategic priorities of American marketing leaders.The inaugural US AI in Marketing Benchmark will gather evidence from CMOs and senior marketing executives across industries, with the findings to be unveiled at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., in the last quarter this year.
The benchmark will establish a baseline for ongoing comparisons between the United States, Australia and future participating international markets.
Louise Cummins, co-founder and CEO of ACAM and GCAM, said the international expansion addresses a widening gap between the pace of AI investment and organisations’ ability to embed the leadership, capability and operating changes needed to create value.
“CMOs don’t need more AI tools, they need credible intelligence that shows where their organisation stands, how it compares and what will make the greatest commercial difference next,” Cummins said. “GCAM will turn benchmark insight into action. It gives marketing leaders the evidence needed to focus investment, strengthen executive and board conversations, build team capability and create a structured pathway from isolated pilots to responsible, measurable transformation.”
The Global AI in Marketing Benchmark moves beyond studies that primarily track adoption rates, technology investment or attitudes. Built specifically for the marketing function and underpinned by ACAM’s proprietary research, it takes an independent, technology-agnostic approach to assessing whether marketing organisations are building the interconnected leadership, capability, governance, data, workflow and measurement foundations required to generate sustainable value from AI.
GCAM’s diagnostic evaluates organisations across seven maturity drivers: Leadership and Culture; Skills and Capability; Governance, Risk and Brand; Data and Technology Readiness; Use Cases and ROI; Team Design and Workflow; and Roadmap, Planning and Investment.
Results are mapped across six maturity levels, giving marketing leaders clear visibility into where their organisation stands against industry peers and where to focus investment and resources next.
The methodology builds on ACAM’s 2026 Australian AI in Marketing Benchmark, conducted with Kantar as the Australian research partner and supported by IBM Australia. That research found that 83 per cent of organisations remained at the early to mid stages of maturity, with none reaching the two highest levels. The result highlighted a critical gap between widespread AI experimentation and the organisational capability required to scale AI responsibly and deliver measurable returns.
Participating organisations will contribute to a shared evidence base on AI maturity in marketing and as it grows, GCAM will develop intelligence across organisations, sectors and markets, introduce peer comparisons and track how marketing AI maturity evolves around the world.
Ani Matson, founding partner of The CMO Syndicate, said: “AI is advancing faster than most organisations can build the leadership, capabilities and governance needed to use it well. That makes it increasingly difficult for CMOs to know whether they are truly progressing or simply experimenting.
“The Global AI in Marketing Benchmark provides a credible way to understand where an organisation stands, where the gaps are and what to prioritise next. As GCAM’s founding US market partner, The CMO Syndicate brings the perspective of experienced CMOs who understand the realities of leading marketing transformation. Our role is to help ensure the benchmark reflects the US market and, ultimately, produces insights that CMOs can use to make better business decisions.”
The CMO Syndicate will also contribute to the GCAM Advisory Group and co-host the benchmark’s launch at Georgetown University.
ACAM will continue to develop and deliver the underlying research, capability programs and transformation methodologies, including internationally, while GCAM provides the global platform through which benchmark intelligence and market collaboration expand.
The benchmark methodology, diagnostic and underlying research assets were developed and remain owned by ACAM, with GCAM established to lead their international expansion.
