Beyond the Hype: Moving from FOMO to AI-First at MarTech World Forum
MarTech World Forum wrapped up its second day with a bang, featuring practical advice from industry leaders on implementing technology with purpose rather than panic.
Tim O’Neill presenting his keynote at MWF 2025
My presentation "From FOMO & FUD to AI-First" seemed to resonate with the audience who are clearly tired of the hype cycle and looking for pragmatic approaches to generative AI adoption in enterprise.
The journey I mapped out is one we've seen repeatedly with Australian companies over the last two years at Time Under Tension. It begins with the Fear Of Missing Out (classic FOMO) that drives initial interest, quickly followed by Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD) that stalls implementation. Breaking through these barriers to reach an "AI-First" mindset requires a structured approach focused on finding genuine business value.
I shared our four-part framework that's worked well with clients across various industries:
Upskill - Build AI literacy across the organisation
Quick wins - Identify low-hanging fruit for immediate ROI
Enterprise AI - Implement scaled solutions for consistent value
Big bets - Make calculated investments in transformative opportunities
It was fantastic to see the framework connect with marketers who are drowning in AI announcements but struggling to separate signal from noise. Several attendees mentioned that the "hot dog memes" illustrating different flavours of FUD (Legal FUD, IT FUD, Staff FUD, Exec FUD and Marketing FUD) were both amusing and painfully accurate.
Special thanks to Juan Mendoza, Keanu Taylor, Julia Dyer and The Martech Weekly crew for putting together such a stellar event. Also great to see RMIT College of Business featured as a partner.
Looking forward to seeing how attendees turn their FOMO into genuinely valuable AI implementations over the coming year!