In an exclusive conversation with MartechAI.com, Gill Rosen, Chief Marketing Officer of Amdocs, opens up about how he’s transforming the marketing playbook at one of the world’s leading telecom tech giants. From killing sub-brands to developing a new science called personality engineering, Rosen’s approach blends the best of traditional marketing philosophy with the bleeding edge of AI innovation.

Brij Pahwa (BP): Gill, let’s begin with Amdocs itself. Under your leadership, how has Amdocs' marketing strategy evolved over the last three years, especially as it transitions from being seen as a telecom services giant to a modern technology brand?

Gill Rosen (GR):
The first major shift was rebranding. Historically, Amdocs operated like a federation of multiple brands — nearly 20-plus — due to acquisitions. Each acquired company retained its brand under the Amdocs umbrella, which caused confusion, inefficiencies, and diluted brand equity. I moved decisively to a monobrand strategy: there is now one Amdocs brand, period.

This wasn’t just a visual rebranding exercise. We redefined our brand purpose: “Make It Amazing” — not focused on our technology or capabilities, but on enabling our customers to deliver amazing experiences to their customers. The entire portfolio, with over 100 products, was reorganized. Internally, we restructured marketing into three major streams: brand & corporate, customer & regional marketing, and product marketing — all designed to maximize brand power and alignment.

BP: In many ways, this is a very classic approach to brand building. But you’ve also injected an interesting B2C angle into your B2B marketing.

GR:
Absolutely. Even in enterprise marketing, we’re talking to people. For example, in India, we recently won the Little Elephant Award for our Live Amazing, Do Amazing campaign featuring artist Raja Kumari. The goal was to build employer branding that also appeals to families and friends — because when someone decides where to work, parental and peer brand recognition matters.

Instead of bombarding people with the Amdocs logo, we embedded the brand subtly in quality content. When you see creative storytelling done right, you enjoy it — and you remember who’s behind it.

BP: You’re saying the fundamentals of marketing haven’t changed — but CMOs now have many more pressures and responsibilities than before. How do you view the evolving role of the CMO in 2025?

GR:
You're right: the fundamentals haven't changed, but the tools have evolved massively. First, the CMO still must define market positioning — how we differentiate, why anyone should care. I always assume: nobody cares about us until we give them a reason to. That reason is not us but the value we bring to them.

Second, today’s CMO needs to understand technology deeply. Yes, we run personalized journeys, funnels, A/B tests, hooks in the first 3 seconds — but none of it matters if your story isn’t relevant. You can't trick your way into long-term customer relationships with gimmicks or clickbait.

Finally, the internal audience matters as much as the external. Employees are our biggest social ambassadors. We run internal social clubs to encourage organic, authentic amplification of our brand.

BP: You’ve spoken extensively about how AI is impacting marketing. But you’ve also introduced a fascinating term: Personality Engineering. Can you explain?

GR:
AI is transforming everything — and yes, a lot of what’s sold as AI is actually sophisticated automation. But when you get into real generative AI, you see new possibilities.

Inside Amdocs marketing, we now have an AI Innovation function with a dedicated leader, responsible for ensuring we remain AI-fit — meaning we can adopt and integrate emerging tools rapidly.

From that AI journey, we’ve developed something we're calling Personality Engineering. As brands launch more AI-powered agents (chatbots, virtual assistants, customer service AIs), these agents become brand ambassadors. They can no longer sound robotic or generic.

Our research shows that customers increasingly expect empathy from these AI agents. They want an interaction that adapts based on mood, context, and even brand tone. That’s where Personality Engineering comes in — creating playbooks to embed brand personality into AI agents so they reflect not just information but also the brand's emotional DNA.

BP: So this goes beyond basic personalization into emotional intelligence.

GR:
Exactly. For instance, an agent representing a luxury airline should not sound the same as one for a budget carrier. We’re talking about dynamic adaptation — detecting customer mood, adjusting tone, offering empathy in real-time. It’s humanizing AI.

And this has implications beyond marketing — it’s reshaping product design itself. Marketing now informs product development, ensuring Amdocs solutions support emotionally intelligent customer journeys.

BP: Fascinating. You mentioned budgets earlier — without asking for exact numbers, what percentage of Amdocs' marketing budget today goes into Martech and AI?

GR:
Without getting into specifics, it’s aligned with what you hear from global peers — 25-35% is a reasonable ballpark. But it’s not just about spend; it's about how effectively you integrate the stack. Martech today is less about one-off tools and more about creating fully connected, end-to-end customer journeys across touchpoints.

BP: That brings me to data. Sitting at the intersection of telecom and tech, Amdocs has unparalleled exposure to global consumer trends. How do you leverage customer data without owning the data directly?

GR:
We don't own the telco’s customer data — that's theirs. But we do have global visibility across industries, markets, and behaviors. That allows us to offer thought leadership and proactive insights to our clients.

For instance, Personality Engineering emerged from this global perspective. By studying diverse customer behaviors and expectations, we help our clients stay ahead of their own customers.

As a CMO, one of my roles is to act as a trusted advisor, not just a marketer — helping clients understand market shifts before they happen, and designing solutions that prepare them for those shifts.

BP: Truly thought-provoking. Before we close — what’s your big-picture vision of where Martech is headed next?

GR:
We’re moving toward a world where human and machine interactions are indistinguishable. Martech’s future is not just about automation or optimization but about emotional resonance. AI will evolve from automation into empathy engines that sense context, emotion, and intent.

Technology is becoming more human. And as that happens, marketers must lead the charge in ensuring our AI-powered experiences reflect our brand’s values, tone, and soul. That’s the next decade of Martech.