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In the age of AI, the most creative act is to feel. |
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AI isn’t replacing creativity—it’s forcing us to remember why we create in the first place. As the internet fills with content, people are searching for contact. Authenticity, tactility, and emotional connection—the things algorithms can’t fake—are becoming the new cultural currency. |
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That’s where experiential marketing shines: creating shared, sensory moments that feel real in an increasingly synthetic world. Digital still matters, but only when it feels human. |
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The more people learn to distrust what they can’t touch, the more they’ll crave what they can. As digital trust declines, embodied trust rises. We call it embodied trust—the emotional credibility that can only be earned through lived experience. The brands that win will use AI to sharpen creativity behind the scenes and amplify human touch at the surface. |
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When everything is accessible, presence becomes aspirational. Real life has become the new luxury—and the rarer the experience, the greater its value. |
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As the Tin Man said, “Now I know I’ve got a heart, because it’s breaking.” |
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In a world teaching machines to mimic emotion, feeling may be the last proof of humanity. |
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| Pulse Check: AI Tools Shaping The Future |
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| The next era of creativity won’t be defined by what machines can generate, but by what humans choose to do with them. This issue of The Pulse explores the tools at the intersection of intelligence and intuition are reshaping storytelling, brand design, and experience—proving that emotion, not efficiency, is still the ultimate differentiator. ➔ |
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| BMF Connects With Isabel Quinteros |
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| As technology rewrites the rules of art, Isabel Quinteros—SVP of Marketing and Industry Relations at Jen—is ensuring the artist’s voice stays at the center of the story. In conversation with BMF Founding Partner Brian Feit, she reflects on creativity, AI’s evolution, and the role of integrity in innovation. ➔ |
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The New + The NoteworthyEverything Worth Doing/Seeing/Getting/Booking |
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| | Meet your new beauty bestie: BMF client Sephora’s Smart Skin Scan. Snap a selfie, and the AI does the rest—analyzing tone, texture, and pores before serving up a custom skincare routine in seconds. Trained on over 70,000 dermatological images, it’s basically a dermatologist with better lighting. Proof that when AI meets skincare, the glow-up gets personal. Start your scan here. ➔ |
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| Photos via DirecTV/Glance |
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| BMF client Glance AI is bringing personalization to prime time. Through a new partnership with DirecTV, their technology will let viewers see themselves inside ads—turning passive TV moments into interactive, shoppable experiences. It’s the next step in Glance’s mission to blend personalization, creativity, and design into everyday entertainment. Build your avatar here. ➔ |
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| Photos via Marriott International |
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| BMF client Marriott International’s Renaissance Hotels has been blending hospitality and intelligence since 2023 with RENAI—short for Renaissance Artificial Intelligence—its AI-powered virtual concierge. Acting like a well-connected local, available 24/7, RENAI connects guests with curated restaurants, hidden gems, and experiences through text or WhatsApp. It’s a reimagining of discovery, personalization, and technology to make every trip effortless. Book your next stay and chat with RENAI here. ➔ |
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| | Have a style question? Just Ask Ralph—Ralph Lauren’s new AI-powered style concierge. Whether you’re chasing the perfect cable knit, curating a look for the season, or just want Ralph’s take on your next dinner outfit, the tool’s got you covered. Available across the brand’s site, app, and stores, it’s classic Lauren charm with a little algorithmic polish. Ask away here. ➔ |
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| | Are the stresses of Q4 getting to you? Don’t fret, Google’s saving everyone time in the mornings with its new AI-powered upgrade. Google Meet’s new AI filters can apply realistic makeup looks that stay put no matter how much you move, talk, or sip your coffee. With 12 natural-looking styles to choose from, the feature turns your camera into a digital mirror—helping everyone look (and feel) a little more polished on screen. Discover more here. ➔ |
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| | Meet Amata, the AI matchmaker rethinking online dating with a twist: no swiping and no endless messages. Instead, users chat with a dedicated AI, get paired with someone who matches, and pay only when the setup is confirmed. It seems a clever move at a time when dating app fatigue is high. Real life is still the test, so Amata is bringing its AI matchmaking to life with an in-person event in NYC on November 12. Find out more and register here. ➔ |
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| | You can now text Spotify’s AI DJ. Premium users in 60+ countries can type song requests or tell it what mood they’re in—no fancy tech talk required. The update also adds suggested prompts and, for anyone who’s not in the mood for banter, an option to silence the DJ between tracks. It’s a simpler way to connect with Spotify’s music-curating sidekick. Check it out here. ➔ |
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The FrequencyWhat We’re Listening To Now. |
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| Photo via The Beatles Official Store |
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| Decades after it was first written, “Now and Then”—the final Beatles song—found its voice. While working on a documentary, Paul McCartney discovered a rough John Lennon demo and used AI to separate John’s vocals from the original tape. With Ringo Starr joining him in the studio, the 2023 song became a posthumous reunion, blending memory, music, and machine learning into one timeless farewell. Listen here. ➔ |
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That’s Fire By Sir Candle Man 🔥 |
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| BMF tapped fragrance tastemaker Kudzi Chikumbu, aka Sir Candle Man, for this edition’s scent spotlight. Floating Forest by Future Society uses biotechnology to revive the scent of extinct ingredients like Shorea cuspidata, once native to the forests of Borneo. The aroma is lush, green, and meditative: a reminder that technology can do more than automate, it can reawaken what we’ve lost. Proof that innovation, much like scent, is best when it brings us back to our senses. Smell the future here. ➔ |
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The DestinationNow Departing... |
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| | San Francisco may be the tech mecca, but its spirit extends far beyond Silicon Valley. In its restaurants, boutiques, and hilltop vistas, the city translates innovation into lived experience—creativity with a pulse. Continue reading to discover our top picks for your next trip. ➔ |
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| | Let’s chat about how we can keep your brand in tune with the pulse of culture. |
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The SublimeCreators, Innovators, And Cool $#!+ You Should Know About. |
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| | For its Paris pop-up, Glossier invited guests into a dreamscape where fragrance met feeling, and AI played muse. The two-day “You Fleur” installation blended scent, sound, and motion into a softly lit world of lavender and light. Visitors left with an engraved bottle and a personalized AI-generated poem, crafted in response to their presence within the space. Transforming biometric data points into verse and purchase into keepsake, the future of luxury isn’t just smart—it’s poetic. Immerse yourself with a bottle here. ➔ |
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| | Hollywood is buzzing over Tilly Norwood, an AI-generated “actress” being courted by agents as though she were flesh and blood. Many warn her arrival signals a path toward total replacement of humans. Yet in her creator’s vision, Norwood is less a replacement than a new tool. A stage for experimentation in narrative, identity, and the uncanny. Whatever your stance, her rise forces a reckoning: how do we protect what’s human in art even as we invite machine collaborators? Follow along her journey here. ➔ |
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| | If you’ve been in San Francisco or Phoenix—or just on the internet—recently, you’ve probably come across Waymo. Once a Google moonshot, now a fully operational driverless rideshare powered by AI, Waymo has turned science fiction into street-level reality. Every trip refines its intelligence, blending machine learning with human-like judgment to make the road a little smarter—and a lot more autonomous. Now available via Uber, find out if you’re near Waymo and book your next ride here. ➔ |
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| Photos via Momentum Worldwide |
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| Before “AI” became our favorite buzzword, Coca-Cola was already experimenting with it at their New York pop-up. Last year’s “Spiced Shop” in Soho blurred the line between brand and creator, inviting guests to try their product, Coca-Cola Spiced, and step inside a world of taste, sound, and color to create a personalized music video generated by AI. A year later, it stands as a reminder that success isn’t about following trends—it’s about creating the ones worth chasing. Spice up your life with their range of flavors here. ➔ |
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| | A new AI system from MIT can recognize specific, personal items—like your pet or your favorite coffee mug—after seeing only a few examples. It’s a subtle but powerful shift: AI that understands what’s meaningful to you, not just what’s in front of it. The next wave of creative tools could feel a lot more personal. Read the study here. ➔ |
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The Week in ReviewICYMI... |
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Travel Have A Thanksgiving Road Trip Coming Up? AI Can Make Your Travel Route Planning Easier ➔ AI Usage Is Growing Among Travel Advisors ➔ You’re Not Using Google Right To Plan Your Trips ➔ Online Agencies Build Travel-Planning Apps In ChatGPT ➔ KAYAK Launches AI Trip Planner That Works Like A Conversation ➔
Fashion & Beauty Where Fashion’s AI Ambitions Could Backfire ➔ Why Michelle Obama’s Stylist Invested In The LVMH-Backed AI Styling Platform Alta: ‘It Was A No-Brainer’ ➔ Samsung Partners With Fashion Eyewear Brands For Its First AI Glasses ➔ AI Wants To Tell You Which Beauty Products to Buy. Should You Let It? ➔ New ‘SkinGPT’ Tool Uses AI To Predict Facial Aging. Noom Is Its First Adopter ➔
Entertainment Orlando Bloom Talks AI Use In Entertainment ➔ Netflix ‘All In’ On Leveraging AI As The Tech Creeps Into Entertainment Industry ➔ Michael Mann Says He Might Experiment With AI In ‘Heat 2’: ‘Aging And De-Aging May Be Very Important’ ➔ Jay-Z Meets With Sheikh In Abu Dhabi To Discuss A.I. And Entertainment’s Future ➔ Taylor Swift’s Fans Are Angry About Her Use of AI. It’s A Warning to All Leaders ➔ Evil AI Is Boring Now — Which Is Kind Of Scary ➔
Technology Sora Just Got the Ability To Make Longer Videos ➔ Big Tech Turns AI Agents Into Enterprise Muscle ➔ GM Plans To Launch Eyes-Off Driving, Google AI And Other New In-Vehicle Tech By 2028 ➔ AI Adoption In Healthcare Is Surging: What A New Report Reveals ➔ Attention Shoppers: AI’s On The Job in Retail Media ➔
Media Ok, How Do You Do That AI Celebrity Elevator Trend Everyone’s Obsessed With On TikTok?! ➔ Indie Agencies Focus On Optimizing Media And Creative Using AI To Pick Up More Clients ➔ Why Media And Creative Need More Than Just AI Tools ➔
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