When EY Saw the Future of AI Marketing at Kellogg

Sometimes, the most powerful validation comes when you least expect it.

Yesterday at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management, something remarkable happened during a session featuring our AI Marketing Simulation. As EY professionals completed their simulation experience, the leader of EY's internal AI initiative paused and delivered an observation that stopped us in our tracks:

"This game is a good approximation of what it is we are trying to build internally for ourselves here at EY. You just got a glimpse into the future."

The Convergence of Education and Enterprise

What makes this moment particularly significant is what it reveals about the state of AI in marketing education. Here's one of the Big Four consulting firms -organizations that invest billions in developing cutting-edge internal capabilities - recognizing an educational simulation as mirroring their own strategic initiatives.

This validation comes at a critical time. According to McKinsey's latest research, 78% of organizations now use AI in at least one business function, up from 72% in early 2024. In marketing specifically, 79.05% of professionals highlight AI's role in streamlining processes and boosting productivity, with AI saving marketers on average more than 5+ hours every week.

"When we founded Novela, it was to solve a fundamental problem I experienced firsthand," says Clark Boyd, CEO of Novela. "After spending a decade leading digital strategies for brands like American Express and Adidas, then moving into academia, I realized we were failing our students. We could show them interfaces, but we couldn't give them the real experience they craved—until now."

What EY Experienced

During the session, facilitated by Professor Jim Lecinski, EY team members worked through our AI Marketing Simulation, which challenges users to:

• Collaborate with an AI copilot to analyze market research

• Make data-driven decisions about audience targeting

• Allocate budgets across marketing channels with AI assistance

• Generate and evaluate AI-powered creative content

• Analyze campaign results through an AI-augmented lens
  

Throughout the experience, participants don't just learn about AI in marketing—they practice the actual skills of human-AI collaboration that define modern marketing roles.

The Power of Simulation-Based Learning

The effectiveness of this approach is backed by compelling research. Meta-analyses show simulation-based learning produces a pooled effect size of 0.70, with high-fidelity simulations achieving even stronger results at 0.86. In one striking study, learners who went through simulation performed twice as well as traditional training groups with only half the training time.

"The data validates what we've always believed," notes Boyd. "Students don't just want to hear about marketing—they want to experience it. When you combine that experiential learning with AI collaboration skills, you're not just teaching today's marketing; you're preparing students for tomorrow's workplace."

This is particularly crucial given that 88% of marketers believe they must implement AI technology to stay competitive and meet customer expectations, yet 53% of sales professionals say they don't know how to get the most value from generative AI at work.

Why This Matters for Students

When a leading consulting firm says your educational technology reflects their internal future, it sends a clear message to students: the skills you're developing here are exactly what industry leaders are building toward.

Research demonstrates that simulated environments can lead to comparable, or better, proficiency than physical environments. This means students using Novela aren't just preparing for today's jobs—they're preparing for tomorrow's.

"Every time I see students use our simulation, I'm reminded why we built this," reflects Boyd. "They're not just learning about AI—they're learning to collaborate with it, evaluate its outputs critically, and make strategic decisions. These are exactly the skills that will differentiate successful marketers in the AI era."

The Broader Implications

EY's recognition highlights a crucial shift in marketing education. We're moving beyond theoretical knowledge and even beyond traditional practical exercises. Instead, we're entering an era where students can experience and master the AI-augmented workflows that leading organizations are still developing.

Consider the context: AI is expected to improve employee productivity by 40%, and the AI market is growing with an expected CAGR of 37.7%. Yet many educational institutions struggle to keep pace with this rapid transformation.

"The traditional model of updating curricula every few years simply doesn't work when AI capabilities evolve monthly," explains Boyd. "Our simulation approach allows us to continuously update scenarios and AI interactions, ensuring students always work with current best practices. It's not about teaching students to use today's tools—it's about teaching them to think and work alongside AI, regardless of how the technology evolves."

Looking Forward

Professor Lecinski and the team at Kellogg continue to pioneer this approach, creating opportunities for students to engage with tomorrow's tools today. Their partnership with organizations like EY demonstrates the power of bringing industry and academia together around shared visions of the future.

Studies show that blended learning approaches incorporating simulations have a positive effect in reducing dropout rates and improving exam marks. This isn't just about better grades—it's about better preparation for the real world.

"What excites me most is that we're democratizing access to these experiences," says Boyd. "Not every student can intern at a Big Four firm or work on million-dollar campaigns. But through simulation, every student can experience what it's like to make those decisions, work with those tools, and develop those skills."

As we continue developing our simulations, feedback like EY's reinforces our commitment to staying ahead of the curve. We're not just building educational tools—we're creating windows into the future of marketing practice.

Join the Future

For educators wondering how to prepare students for an AI-transformed marketing landscape, the message from EY is clear: the future is already here, and it's more accessible than you might think.

With marketers worldwide already transforming AI from a side project into their competitive edge, the question isn't whether to integrate AI into marketing education—it's how quickly you can give your students these essential experiences.

Ready to give your students a glimpse into the future? Get in touch to learn more about bringing Novela's AI Marketing Simulation to your institution.