Session Link: https://youtu.be/KwuxfMZ-b94

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Session Title:  From Pipeline to Platform: How AI is Disrupting Digital Marketing Business Models

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Speaker: Mr. Chris Selland, Lecturer, Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Northeastern University D'Amore-McKim School of Business

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Session description:  Digital marketing is experiencing a fundamental business model transformation driven by AI—but most organizations are falling into the "hybrid trap" by layering AI tools onto legacy pipeline thinking. This session explores how AI is shifting digital marketing from transactional pipelines to intelligent platforms that create network effects and compound value.
Drawing on disruption theory and platform strategy frameworks, you'll learn to distinguish between companies using AI for incremental improvements versus those leveraging it for true business model innovation. Through real-world examples from companies like Netflix's content personalization, Google's search evolution, and emerging AI-native marketing platforms, we'll examine how AI enables new forms of customer relationship ownership and value creation.
Attendees will gain practical frameworks for evaluating whether their AI marketing initiatives represent sustaining innovations or genuine disruptive opportunities—and how to avoid getting trapped between old and new models.

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Bio: Chris teaches entrepreneurship and innovation at Northeastern University's D'Amore-McKim School of Business, where he specializes in disruption theory, business model innovation, and platform strategies. His courses explore how emerging technologies transform competitive landscapes and create new strategic opportunities. He regularly brings industry executives into the classroom to bridge academic frameworks with real-world practice. His teaching focuses on helping students and professionals distinguish between incremental improvements and fundamental business model transformations—a skill increasingly critical in the AI era. He holds expertise in analyzing how companies navigate technological transitions while avoiding the "hybrid trap" of straddling old and new business models.