Don’t panic – AI isn’t going to replace marketeers anytime soon
Last week’s blog on ‘The Transformative Power of AI in Digital Marketing’ was interesting, primarily because it was written by AI itself. And to be fair it did a pretty good job. There were some good observations, especially around how AI can help with customer insights and customer service, and it’s true that marketing automation simplifies and streamlines marketing tasks, as that’s something it’s been doing that for years.
But there was something about the blog that was just a little bit bland and flat. The sub-headings were fine but not particularly compelling. In fact, ‘Introduction’ and ‘Conclusion’ are more appropriate for a research essay than for an engaging blog. And the whole thing was just very matter of fact and contained no personal opinions or pithy one-liners that give blogs a little bit of colour to encourage people to carry on reading. So, while we were mildly impressed, we aren’t worried that our P45s will be in the post anytime soon.
But it did get us questioning the recent furore about AI taking over digital marketing, as based on our own experiences, we honestly think it is highly unlikely. These are our reasons why.
AI lacks the human touch
This is a bit of an obvious statement given its not human, but as we found with the ChatGPT blog, what it produces may be fine in terms of content, but it lacks any kind of style or voice to distinguish it from any other blog out there. To put it another way, it would be like books by Isaac Asimov, Philip K. Dick and Arthur C. Clarke all being written in exactly the same way with no stylistic differences to tell them apart.
And this in itself poses a problem for brands. Good marketeers know if you want to succeed your business must be memorable, differentiated from the competition and should inspire loyalty from customers and employees alike. It’s why your brand and brand proposition are unique to you and so important to get right. In our branding workshops, we suggest companies imagine their brand as a person as this helps clarify how you want your brand to come across, the tone of voice and language it uses, how it looks and how it behaves.
Is there a risk that AI would just produce something totally generic? We decided to put it to the test.
Our current brand proposition is
“The world’s smallest global agency, delivering world-class creative”
Could ChatGPT come up with anything better? We gave it our brand USP, brand role, brand ethos and brand reputation. This is the result:
“Our brand proposition revolves around being the smallest global agency in the world that makes a significant difference by creatively adding value to our clients’ businesses. We are deeply invested in our clients’ success and strive to become the agency of choice for all. Through our innovative solutions, genuine care, and a global network, we foster meaningful connections that drive impactful outcomes.”
Short it definitely isn’t, and as most marketeers know a brand proposition should be to-the-point, succinctly summarising why a customer should choose your product or service over your competitors.
And let’s face it, ‘foster’, ‘meaningful connections’, ‘impactful outcomes’ isn’t really the language an agency would use, when two of their brand values are ‘playful’ and ‘courageous’!
And that’s the problem with AI. It’s very good, at what we would term ‘marketing wank’ i.e., producing stuff that sounds good and would probably impress a non-marketeer of a big corporate company, but when you really come down to it, it lacks that human touch.
And, in the words of ChatGPT “Effective marketing should focus on clear, concise, and honest communication that genuinely highlights the value and benefits offered to customers, without relying on buzzwords or vague language.”
Ultimately, AI lacks the ability to finesse and edit content to ensure it really connects with its audience. Or to put it another way – it can’t genuinely talk human no matter how hard it tries.
It’s only as good as the information already out there
There is so much information online it can sometimes feel like a needle in a haystack trying to find the exact detail you need. And to be fair for that kind of scenario AI comes into its own as with the press of a button you can immediately have a solid overview of any topic of your choice. Our ChatGPT blog on AI and digital marketing is a case in point.
But AI is only as good as the data it has access to and while that will mushroom over time, it will still be information provided by us humans and as the saying goes ‘to err is human’.
This raises the whole issue of the accuracy of AI’s data, how it distinguishes fact from fiction and how frequently its data is updated. For example, if you asked it ‘Who is Tina Turner?’ on May 25th 2023, it comes back with:
“Tina Turner is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her powerful vocals and energetic performances, as well as hits such as “Proud Mary” and “What’s Love Got to Do with It”. She has won numerous awards throughout her career and is considered one of the greatest singers of all time.”
There is no mention she sadly passed away the day before.
In fact, most AI includes disclaimers along the lines of ‘AI responses can be inaccurate or misleading or produce offensive or biased content’, so, while AI might be a great tool for providing a jumping off point for producing marketing content, it is still just a tool, and can only be as good as the person wielding it. This means that anything produced using AI will need editing, checking, and refining.
It risks marketing becoming substandard
The content AI produces is good, but that in itself poses a massive problem. If what it is producing is good enough, why would anyone need a copywriter or a content writer? Why would anyone hire someone to come up with a brand proposition or strapline, when you could use AI to create them. In fact, why would any company need a marketing function at all, when you can save time and money by just using AI?
While it’s unlikely big brands with deep pockets will succumb completely to the power of AI, purely because they have more understanding of the importance of brand identity and product differentiation and therefore the need for human creativity and imagination, there is a chance smaller companies may be swayed. After all, marketing tends to be a nice to do, and if there is a cheap and cheerful way of doing it, what’s not to like?
But does that mean we will end up with large amounts of marketing content that is bland, flat, and frankly a bit samey, as it will lack any originality or creativity?
Does that mean we won’t have any more ‘I can’t believe they’ve done that’ and ‘who the hell signed that off’ moments (yes, DeadHappy, we’re looking at you!) or get to enjoy things like the ongoing Caterpillar Wars between Aldi and M&S?
And just in case you aren’t convinced that would happen, here’s ChatGPT’s take on a life insurance billboard. Unsurprisingly, there isn’t a serial killer in sight!
[Visual] A billboard with a vibrant blue sky as the background. In the centre, there is a warm and inviting image of a family, smiling and embracing each other. The image portrays love, security, and happiness.
[Text] “Protect Your Loved Ones. Life Insurance – Your Shield of Security.”
[Call to Action] “Call Now for Peace of Mind: 1-800-XXX-XXXX”
[Additional Text] “Secure their future, even when you’re not there. Visit www.yourlifeinsurancesolution.com“
And while we don’t agree with using serial killers to promote life insurance, we would rather bad marketing than something that is bland and completely forgettable.
Conclusion!
It would be remiss to dismiss AI completely as it undoubtedly has a role to play in the future of marketing, especially in the areas of data analysis and marketing automation, but from our initial foray into its powers, we aren’t overly impressed. Yes, it’s a great tool to help with a marketing project, but like any tool it’s only as good as the person using it and nothing can beat human creativity and imagination. And hopefully, that will always be the case.