Is It Fashionable to Fear AI?

Welcome to Monday Marketing Briefing, where the week begins with a quick jaunt through the marketing world. Stick on the kettle, grab a chair, and enjoy the latest news, insights, and opinions (all of which are my own).

Last week I volunteered my mornings and evenings to help my friend in promoting his album launch event (if you're into folk music, check 'em out).

And although I love B2B, I have to admit that it was a little thrilling being back on the other side of the marketing fence, snapping photos for the band and managing their Instagram account. There's something ridiculously fun about being there in the moment, capturing and crafting the message in real time.

Of course, the best part of it was the exclusivity - getting access to the music ahead of time, playing with Instagram's myriad Creator features, and (especially) being kitted out with a backstage wristband. There's nothing like being able to say "I'm with the band" to really give you a buzz.

All in all, it was a successful launch and the album itself becomes available later this week. In the meantime, I'm hanging my music promoter hat up and sitting back with the large bottle of wine coming my way as thanks.

Then again if Florence and the Machine's people call...well who would I be to resist?

Whether you're a regular reader who spotted last week's teaser or a new follower (hello!) picking up MMB for the first time, it really shouldn't be a surprise that we'd end up talking about AI in marketing. After all, 80% of conversations in 2023 seem to be about AI - How will it affect [insert industry]? Hollywood studios are putting artists/writers/actors out of work. Isn't this how Terminator started? It feels like a necessary discussion at this point.

As with many other industries thrown into something of a panic at the first mention of ChatGPT and its peers, marketing has suffered its own nervous fretting. I had half a dozen discussions with copywriters worried at being forced out by generative AI; I read many, many articles about the likes of Midjourney and Stable Diffusion stealing work to create graphics; and, of course, Google's new AI-powered search has cropped up in more than one conversation.

The potential for all these different tools and applications is as terrifying as it is astounding. But being replaced by machines is not a new fear; inspired by his time working for General Electric, Kurt Vonnegut's Player Piano describes the growing discontent of workers replaced by machines. More than that, though, there's something of a spoiler for what will undoubtedly happen in the real world: the workers of Vonnegut's book miss the convenience of having the machines, so rebuild them. You've got to admit that's a huge possibility.

While initial distrust is hard to overcome, it's worth making the effort. Marketing, for example, has been presented with a great opportunity to bridge a growing resource gap without making an extensive case for more personnel. Recent research by OneBite showed that 75% of CMOs are feeling the pressure to 'do more with less' - and AI might have come at the perfect time to support.

Before strolling across that bridge and enjoying the benefits and various marketing tool enhancements, however, a mindset shift is needed - or sometimes just a bit of perspective.

Take Neil Patel's advice on Google's AI-powered search functionality as an example. Yes, it's probably going to cause some disruption at first (who else remembers 2017's Mobilegeddon?), but ultimately we have to trust that Google won't want to alienate the advertisers responsible for a whopping 58.1% of their revenue.

Once that hurdle has been crossed and the fog of war has cleared, it's much easier to see the opportunity being presented. But what do those opportunities look like?

• Optimise Your Day: There's no need to sweat the small stuff with the right tools. I'm already a fan of PowerAutomate taking tiny tasks off my plate, but now there's a whole new raft of smart tools to support - many of which you'll find built into the tools you already love. Buffer's AI Assistant feature, for example, makes for quick social media posts when you've got a million things going on and very little time to keep baseline socials active. Elsewhere (and as mentioned in last week's issue), ChatGPT's status as a glorified search engine means it can do the research needed to grease the wheels on a project.
• Explore New Areas: For single marketers struggling to keep up with demands on their skillset, the likes of Canva's new Magic Studio can be invaluable in widening the scope of their capabilities in the short term (until a graphic designer or agency can be brought on board). Yes, using AI to make graphics can seem a little soulless, but if you're not a visual person and need a starting point - or you're the CEO/CMO/CFO of you're one-person start-up - it's there for you to build on. Plus, Canva's Magic Studio does much more than just generate graphics from text prompts: you can use AI to make clever edits, give you a starting point on some text, or even translate materials.
• Give More to Your Audience: Last week, I had a call to chat all things website with the wonderful Laura Lumley Ellis from Tribus . Inevitably, talk turned to AI - and there are some fascinating possibilities for websites. Imagine, for example, being able to personalise how your website visitors discover answers. As Laura explained, new advancements have paved the way for highly intelligent visitor engagement thanks to the combination of ChatGPT's learning model and WordPress plug-ins. This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what websites could be capable of with AI - think accessibility, custom content, and much more.
• Support Your Sales Team: Last week, a leading AI-powered sales platform called Outreach announced expanded AI assist features, with the aim of better supporting sales teams through smart recommendations, meeting summaries, and more. Such features could make for a smarter sales journey, freeing up selling resources to support marketing while easing a few requirements. And how can I possibly resist a tiny plug of Surveil 's Navigator tool? By presenting smart recommendations, Navigator empowers sales and marketing teams to launch highly-relevant campaigns backed by genuine intelligence. Nice.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. In fact, I'd recommend reading HubSpot's excellent article on AI in marketing. Tellingly, it had to be updated heavily between May and October because so many new strides had already been made since its first publication.

That's the speed of change we're working with here, and it can be scary - especially when we find ourselves having to learn how to leverage these tools while juggling everything else going on. This is when it pays to be part of a marketing network, collaborating with other professionals and trading notes on best practice (MMB roundtable anyone?).

Still, we haven't answered the question posed in the title: so, is it fashionable to fear AI? It's easy to be swept up in the panic, but there's definitely an advantage to getting into the swing of things early. Besides, I suspect by the time we realise the answer, it'll be very unfashionable to be anything but supportive of our new robot overlords.

Sorry, I mean 'AI friends'. ??

I love Halloween, technology, and the occasional wine - so 19 Crimes' AR collaboration with Universal Monsters is just chef's kiss. Definite triumph.

In sad news, the death of Paul Noble - a celebrated marketer behind Sony Picture's Spider-Verse and Jumanji campaigns - was announced last week. No doubt his creative legacy won't go forgotten.

Meta rolls out generative AI tools for advertisers. A shrewd way of leveraging new technology, or a grab for more revenue that could open the floodgates to a lot of duplicated content? We'll have to see...

The CMOs of several recognisable brands (Tesco, Octopus, Costa) share the mistakes that shaped them with Marketing Week. I'm obsessed - very useful read for aspiring CMOs.

And then in a surprising start to the week, The Cut has an article about how teens are dropping other social media in favour of LinkedIn. Yeah, I wasn't expecting it either.

In this new segment, I'll be looking at the tools and tips that belong in every marketer's toolbox.

What is it? Snitcher, a website analytics tool that tells you where your visitors are from.

Who is it for? Definitely one for the B2B gang, with equal value to be found for both Sales and Marketing teams.

Why does it belong in the toolbox? Yes, trackable links and Google Analytics are a great way of monitoring the journey your website visitors take, but what about the rest? How are you identifying and following up on the visitors you weren't expecting? Snitcher illuminates blindspots, pairing insights into visiting companies (including size, industry, and URL) with the usual stats, such as pages visited and length of time. With this intelligence to hand, it's easier to launch retargeting campaigns, zero in on the content that's resonating, and maximise ad spend. And yes, it integrates with Google Analytics.

To nobody's surprise, this week I want to hear your thoughts on the use of AI in marketing. Is it something to fear, or have you already embraced our artificial overlords?

Have your say in the comments.

For so many of us, the back-third of the year looks very similar: it's event season, no question. We're gearing up for our sponsorship of an IAMCP meet-up for Microsoft Partners on Friday, as well as prepping for an appearance at the Saegus Summit in France next week. So my week will be spent dusting off my French to ensure our messaging translates, while my wonderful Marketing Exec, Beth, negotiates with Parisian printers. It feels very glamorous when you put it like that.

Have a great week!