Put the customer at the center and build relationships that last a lifetime - Adobe Summit 2025
At Adobe Summit’s Strategy Keynote, Chris Norton, SVP of Marketing, Data Activation, and Personalization at Marriott International, and Sundeep Parsa, VP of Experience Platform at Adobe, shared insights on how Marriott transformed its marketing strategy to put customers at the center of every interaction.
Marriott’s customer-centric transformation
Challenges Marriott faced before its transformation:
- Fragmented customer data that made personalized experiences difficult.
- Siloed marketing teams with disconnected campaigns.
- Limited real-time customer insights affecting personalization efforts.
Chris Norton detailed Marriott’s journey to overcoming these challenges, emphasizing the need for a unified and customer-first approach. The brand recognized that customers expect brands to understand their preferences before making a purchase, and traditional marketing methods were no longer enough.
How Marriott leveraged data and AI to enhance personalization
Marriott partnered with Adobe Experience Platform (AEP) to
- Unify customer data across touchpoints, ensuring a consistent experience.
- Deliver real-time personalization, allowing customers to receive offers tailored to their behaviors and interests.
- Streamline journey orchestration, creating a seamless experience from booking to on-property engagement.
- Leverage AI-driven content optimization, automating the creation of personalized messaging at scale.
Chris Norton emphasized that Marriott’s shift was not just about better marketing—it was about building lasting loyalty. By understanding guest preferences and tailoring experiences accordingly, Marriott increased engagement, retention, and overall customer satisfaction.
How Adobe supported Marriott’s transformation
Adobe played a crucial role in Marriott’s evolution, providing essential tools that helped the brand create a truly personalized guest experience. Key Adobe innovations that assisted Marriott included:
- Adobe Experience Platform (AEP): Unified customer profiles and improved data-driven decision-making.
- Adobe Real-Time CDP: Allowed Marriott to segment audiences dynamically and send personalized messages.
- AI-Powered Personalization: Enabled the creation of relevant and timely offers to enhance engagement.
Rather than focusing on short-term transactions, Marriott adopted a customer-first mindset, reinforcing long-term brand affinity. By using AI and data-driven strategies, Marriott could anticipate customer needs, optimize marketing efforts, and offer seamless, hyper-personalized experiences.
Final thoughts
One clear message from this session: putting customers at the center isn’t a buzzword—it’s a business strategy.
Marriott’s journey shows what’s possible when brands embrace AI, automation, and a unified approach to personalization. The results? Higher engagement, stronger loyalty, and experiences that guests remember.
Key takeaways
- Personalization builds loyalty—it starts with unified, accessible data.
- Connected teams and campaigns create stronger customer engagement.
- AI and automation unlock scale without sacrificing relevance.
- Customer experience goes beyond marketing—it’s the foundation of trust.
Filip helps businesses excel through smart strategies and data-driven decisions. As a Sales professional at Cyber64, he focuses on connecting the right solutions with the right people, making the most of Adobe solutions. He’s passionate about understanding what customers really need and finding creative ways to help them succeed.
Filip helps businesses excel through smart strategies and data-driven decisions. As a Sales professional at Cyber64, he focuses on connecting the right solutions with the right people, making the most of Adobe solutions. He’s passionate about understanding what customers really need and finding creative ways to help them succeed.