CHICAGO — Mondelez International is leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) technology to create and deploy marketing content via a collaboration with tech and professional services firm Accenture and global advertising and communications firm Publicis Groupe.

Under the partnership, Chicago-based Mondelez said it has launched a marketing platform that enables faster, more efficient creation of personalized text, images and videos through expanded use of AI and generative AI. That capability, in turn, will help the snack and confectionery products manufacturer — whose brands include Oreo, Chips Ahoy!, Cadbury, Clif, Ritz, Wheat Thins, Triscuit, belVita, Tate’s Bake Shop and Enjoy Life, among others — “stay a step ahead” of changing consumer preferences, the company said.

“Partnering with Accenture and Publicis Groupe, our new platform embraces responsible use of gen AI to create highly personalized, empathetic consumer experiences,” said Dirk Van de Put, chairman and chief executive officer of Mondelez, in a LinkedIn post on the AI marketing collaboration.

“Building custom-tailored content – using high-quality images paired with just the right wording – traditionally took weeks. Soon, we can do this in just a few hours, leveraging years of marketing performance data and insight to help our creative teams make smarter, more data-driven decisions,” he said. “From the mom planning school lunches to the family shopping for a Halloween party, gen AI will help our brands more efficiently reach consumers with the most relevant products, flavors and formats at the right time, in the right setting.”

An Accenture-developed “digital core” will collect and process real-time data for generative AI to devise contextualized insights that Mondelez said can be easily accessed, shared and used by marketers and other decision makers across the company.

“Harnessing the power of gen AI will empower our people to play a proactive role in how our brands show up in the market,” said Jon Halvorson, senior vice president of global consumer experiences and digital commerce at Mondelez. “This drives real value for the business through creating, personalizing and distributing on-trend creative not only at pace, but also safely, securely and with brand integrity.”

Already a longtime Mondelez partner, Dublin, Ireland-based Accenture also will drive employee training and adoption to help scale and activate the new platform, the snack maker said.

“As curators of some of the world’s most iconic brands, Mondelez marketers will be able to tap into the power of data, AI and gen AI to drive innovation, gather audience and market insights, improve behind-the-scenes processes, turbocharge measurement, conduct near real-time testing and facilitate higher degrees of personalization at every consumer touchpoint,” said Venky Rao, Americas and AI lead and global client account lead for Mondelez at Accenture.

Publicis Groupe, meanwhile, will lead execution and build the generative AI foundation to power the creative assets, according to Mondelez. The company said that, “to realize the vision of redefining consumer goods marketing,” both Publicis and Accenture will work closely with Mondelez’s marketing teams.

“Publicis is proud to be a transformation partner in this journey, as part of our broader ‘Power of One’ solution for Mondelez, and shares this same holistic approach — bringing the best capabilities together to deliver a truly game-changing solution, underpinned by best-in-class data and technology,” said Scott Hagedorn, global chief solutions architect for Paris-based Publicis Groupe.

The AI-driven marketing partnership comes as Mondelez ramps up promotion of new price-pack sizes, product innovations and brand collaborations.

“To meet the right price points, we are implementing new, targeted promotions as well as a new pack size priced in the $3 to $4 range to drive continued brand loyalty and value for Oreo, Chips Ahoy! and Ritz,” Van de Put said in a July 30 conference call on fiscal 2024 second-quarter results. “Additionally, we are continuing to launch compelling activations like Star Wars Oreos and Oreo Space Dunk to delight our fans while driving incremental lift.”

The limited-edition Stars Wars Oreo cookies with red or blue crème, a collaboration with Lucasfilm, rolled out in early summer.

“This collaboration is the latest example of our strategy to cement the cultural relevance of Oreo with key partners who help us bring their favorite stories to life,” Van de Put said in the July 30 call. “We’re planning some more exciting but still top-secret collaborations for the remainder of this year and into 2025.”

That includes a collaboration between Mondelez and Coca-Cola Co., unveiled in mid-August, to launch two limited-edition products: Oreo Coca-Cola Sandwich Cookies and Coca-Cola Oreo Zero Sugar Limited Edition Soda. The new items, marking the iconic brands’ first collaboration, rolled out to stores in September.

“It’s the biggest activation we’ve ever done on Oreo, and we already see it in the volume,” Van de Put said in a Sept. 4 session at the Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference. “It’s going to be double the volume of any other activation we’ve done so far.”