AI has had an impact on nearly every industry, revolutionising the way we approach problem-solving. It has also sparked a debate about whether AI might render human roles obsolete, especially in professions that call for a great deal of number crunching and routine processes. In this new world, marketing is no exception. From extracting consumer insights to crafting strategies and generating visuals for new products, AI has changed the marketer’s landscape.
Given that AI can perform many tasks more efficiently and accurately, does this imply less human involvement and a potential wave of job obsolescence? Will the future be dominated solely by AI, transforming it into a function of algorithmic inputs and outputs?
Consumer behaviour is at the heart of modern marketing and the more we veer away from it, the more likely we are to get the wrong insight – and insights are the seeding ground for any good communication. Data is the backbone of well-conceived and successful marketing campaigns. For instance, before AI, a simple packaging test required the involvement of at least two agencies (creative and research) and a timeline of three to four weeks. Now, we can develop visuals for a new pack and run a quick A/B test within a few hours to determine which packaging is likely to work. The result is that brand managers, free from run-of-the-mill work, can focus more on strategy. On the flip side, however, AI presents several problematic areas.
One of the key uses of AI in marketing is predicting future trends and strategies. However, if AI predictions are based on trends and past success rates, nothing new will emerge, and what differentiates great communication from the basics is its ability to connect and tap into the emotions of the target audience. And it is this innate ability that makes human beings indispensable when it comes to developing campaigns that resonate with their target groups.
The ability to connect to consumers on a deeper level is more important to brand and equity building than developing a perfect product.
Many campaigns fail – especially those led by multinational companies – because their head office, based elsewhere, often insists on using the same copy for the entire South Asian region. This is a one-size-fits-all approach that rarely works. In a similar vein, injecting cultural context and deeper consumer understanding cannot be replicated by AI.
AI algorithms depend on past data, trends and stats, and this helps get the segmentation right. However, although AI may tell you which copy will work best with the target audience, it cannot produce original ideas. AI is not an originator or innovator and marketers will always have to step in to provide original ideas and the right cultural context. Another danger is that an over-reliance on Al can lead to formula marketing and ‘Me Too’ campaigns that end up failing.
This does not mean that human beings will get everything right all the time. We have seen many campaigns left to human ingenuity go wrong. What is required is a measured approach that combines AI and humans. A good example of this is creative augmentation, whereby AI generates the initial ideas and the design templates, which are further refined and contextualised by humans – a process that allows for balance and the best of both worlds: data and creativity.
It is also important to remember that because AI is trained on data, this can perpetuate discrimination when the data is skewed towards what works best for a majority of people.
Think of a situation where Donald Trump’s supporters are only exposed to the fact that immigrants are taking away their jobs. So, before conceiving a world where AI and humans work together, ethical standards need to be set. A regulatory entity needs to be created to check content before it is released into the public sphere (like PEMRA). Left unchecked, AI can tap into the insecurities of people or appeal to biases within certain groups. Audits and standards of compliance can ensure that such instances do not take place. These ethical issues do not stop at the campaign development and deployment stage. Gathering information can be challenging and data privacy issues must be addressed to build trust among consumers.
The future of marketing in an AI-driven world lies in the harmonious integration of AI and human ingenuity. AI will scour the data for better segmentation, targeting and personalisation, and humans will develop ideas based on emotional resonance and cultural sensitivities. Such a hybrid approach will make marketing more effective, distinct and relevant. However, this approach must be monitored by regulatory entities to ensure data privacy so that no one can take advantage of this emerging technology.
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