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AI Marketing — Should You Crawl, Walk or Run?

In recent years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has undoubtedly emerged as a game-changer for many industries with tools like ChatGPT and MidJourney — but it has also raised questions on its efficacy in real world applications such as script writing and other areas.

One industry that has could benefit the most from Generative AI is Marketing according to a McKinsey report (June 2023). Supercharging certain aspects of marketing, like any tool, will depend on the wielder.

Here, I delve into the intricate relationship between AI and modern marketing practices, weighing the pros and cons from a first-hand perspective and determining whether you should crawl, walk or run.

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The Transformative Power of AI in Marketing

AI’s entry into the marketing domain has been nothing short of revolutionary. In a world inundated with data and competition, AI offers marketers a unique edge. For those with the skills and understanding to harness it, AI acts as a catalyst, elevating their strategies and creative endeavors to new heights. These marketers use AI not as a substitute but as a potent amplifier of their existing capabilities.

However, every coin has two sides. Some marketers, especially those less versed in the core principles of brand identity and strategy, have used AI as a shortcut. For them, AI risks becoming a crutch, bypassing the deeper and often more challenging aspects of genuine brand storytelling.

If you want to see a live example on how AI has already become a crutch — take a look at the Writers and Actors Strike

Do I Crawl, Walk or Run with AI in Marketing?

AI integration into marketing practices is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. Organizations and individuals navigate the AI landscape with the “Crawl, Walk, or Run,” principle.

Let’s break these down:

1. Crawl: The preliminary stage, marked by cautious exploration, limited AI application, and a preference for basic tasks, such as editing copy.
2. Walk: This intermediate phase witnesses a more strategic AI deployment, steering specific functions like campaign optimization. It’s characterized by a harmonious blend of AI suggestions and human decisions.
3. Run: The most advanced stage, where AI is deeply integrated, driving primary marketing functions, and even autonomously crafting content tailored to audience behaviors.

So, do I crawl, walk or run?

I walk into the embrace of technology and AI, but always with a discerning eye. AI, for all its computational prowess, can’t fully grasp the intricate nuances of human behavior, a cornerstone of effective marketing. However, in moments of creative stagnation, AI has been a beacon, providing fresh insights and accelerating processes, especially when deadlines loom. Among the many tasks that AI has seamlessly integrated into are brainstorming, minor copy writing, and lay out creation.

AI’s Advantages in Marketing:

AI’s benefits in marketing are diverse:

• Efficiency: With AI, content production is faster than ever, catering to the real-time demands of today’s digital landscape.
  — Use Case: Using Adobe Express to Remove Backgrounds from Images and Drafting Quick Advertising Pieces
• Innovation: Breaking the shackles of conventional thinking, AI introduces new avenues of ideation, especially when creative blocks rear their heads.
  — Use Case: Using Large Language Models (LLMs) to brainstorm marketing strategies to capture the audience.
• Clarity: With the capacity to process vast amounts of data, AI tools can fine-tune a message, ensuring it reaches a broader audience with the intended impact.
  — Use Case: Using Large Language Models to Augment Native Writing

Whatever the element — there’s always a human driver and that is the true benefit

The Pitfalls of AI-Driven Marketing:

Yet, the path with AI isn’t devoid of pitfalls. The very efficiency it offers can sometimes be its Achilles’ heel, spawning content that’s lackluster or generic. LLMs are trained on available data and what the algorithm does superbly is reconstruct existing content into your directed form. With the democratization of AI tools, there’s a rising tide of similar-looking content. This ubiquity threatens the essence of originality, a core tenet of impactful marketing.

• Over-Reliance on Automated Content Creation: In January, CNET “experimented” with AI tools to write over 70 articles.
  — Problem: Content becomes generic, lacks human touch or emotion and customers feel less engaged.
• Data-Driven Over Personalization: Spotify Wrapped is a prime example of just the right amount of personalization.
  — Problem: Over personalization can come across as invasive or creepy to consumer and instead of fostering brand loyalty it generates mistrust. While an over personalization use case hasn’t come to the public eye — companies use data and sell that data to data brokers who in turn give it to the Department of Homeland Security for instance.
• Homogenized Creative Campaigns: Marketing teams leveraging similar AI tools and datasets will inevitable overlap on content and creation that echo’s similar tones, styles, or messages.
  — Problem: AI tools are trained on comparable datasets and are directed to yield the “optimal” results, often producing striking similar outputs. This phenomenon is being highlighted in the Writer and Acting Strike as Studios are attempting to replace humans with Generative AI. Adam Conover’s podcast, “Factually,” with guest Gary Marcus, provides insight into how LLMs function, emphasizing that it tends to overshadow the hard work of human creators.

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Final Thoughts on AI’s Role in Organizational Marketing.

Organizations should temper their approach to AI and carefully evaluate their methodology and understand their user base’s comfort to AI — in all aspects — not just marketing.

As an individual who is part of a large organization and an independent consultant, my approach is measured by the use case.

Running:

I embarked on consulting in 2020, and started using AI to the degree the technology was available such as Grammarly and Notion. Since December 2022, AI has taken large strides and has overshadowed go to resources. Utilizing tools like LLMs have streamlined my thinking, turned abstract concepts into tangible, executable strategies.

Walking:

Simultaneously, within the bustling corridors of our marketing team, AI’s influence is tempered with a higher degree of skepticism. However, we have infused LLMs into enhancing the clarity and tone of website content and creating cohesive voice of the brand. This transformative tool accentuated our efforts without sidelining the irreplaceable touch of human innovation.

Conclusion:

AI in marketing? Definitely transformative. But the heart of the matter is that the best results come from blending this impressive tech with our innate human touch.

Irrespective of your stage in this journey, my hope is that this road map and examples helps delineate the gradual embrace of AI.