Robots, VR, and AI — Oh My!
I have learned a lot this semester. I have learned how to make fresh pasta, Shakira’s choreography at the Super Bowl, and how to skateboard (badly). I have also learned a lot about the digital world, and what it means for the future of marketing. I tend to lump robotics, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence within the same category because they all occupy the same sort of transhumanisic concepts in my brain, even though they are fundamentally different things. I had previously wrote about AI and my initial fears about it. So, I decided to give AI, robotics, and VR another look and see how I would implement these elements into my future marketing career.
Robotics is a fun concept to talk about. I think many of us envisioned having some sort of helper robot around the house when we were younger after watching R2-D2 in Star Wars for the first time. Surprisingly, we’ve made it pretty far in terms of robotics. We have iRobot Roombas cleaning around the house, Amazon Alexa as a digital member of the family, and Walmart Robots helping others in store. I find the Walmart Robots to be particularly interesting, because they interact directly with customers and the products at the store. These robots can also be helpful during these times considering that people are now afraid to interact with others in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. While robots such as the Walmart robots are in their infancy, I definitely think a smart marketer can utilize these technologies to create a very rewarding experience for consumers.
Oh artificial intelligence… how I hate to love you. I must admit I have come around to AI, and I am not scared anymore. The thing I love most about AI is that it helps the most with the one thing I am bad at, analytics. AI has the potential to collect information beyond Google algorithms to get better results for in depth marketing. This is important for the future marketing as so much data on the internet on your customers, competitors, influencers and industry, exists in large quantities beyond human comprehension. Therefore, it is imperative to have AI systems that dig deep and finds relevant information on what works and what does not in the marketing mix for your company. Therefore, AI is a valued member of the team that I will definitely utilize in my marketing career going forward.
Virtual reality is also a fun one, and businesses know it. 75% of top world brands have already integrated VR into their content strategies with great success, with some to follow. While VR is also somewhat in its infancy of being a part of the cultural zeitgeist, I do believe VR can greatly benefit a marketing campaign successfully if used in a clever creative manner. VR allows for an immersive and sometimes personalized experience that can be done in the comfort of your own home. As a result, VR can be used extensively during this pandemic to provide marketing experiences for those who are quarantined. Think about it, wouldn’t it be amazing to just put on some glasses in order to tour a potential home, drive a car, or even visit a potential hotel room before you purchase it?
We’re living in weird, weird times people… and its just getting weirder. The Pentagon has publicly acknowledged UFOs for the first time in history, Grimes has named her baby something more complicated than my Wi-Fi password, and giant killer hornets are on the loose. But, the world is still turning and us marketers must learn how to market even if the world is seemingly crumbling. Maybe the future will need these systems in order to spearhead successful campaigns. Or maybe we’ll all just become robots, anything is game now!
