Mapping AI Market Messaging to the Hype-Cycle
In case you missed it, there's a lot of noise in the market today related to AI, and the promise Generative AI (GenAI) holds for the future. According to the hype, GenAI is poised to revolutionize everything from how we work, entertainment, healthcare, supply chains, manufacturing and more. While much of the promises of GenAI will eventually be delivered, does the hype or marketing messaging correspond to technology innovation cycle?
Is the Innovation Cycle Just Human Nature?
There are several examples of innovation cycles. For example industry, social, science, healthcare, and technology all go through cycles of innovation and disruption. These cycles can share common attributes, such as:
Gartner's visual representation of these stages is probably the most powerful and familiar way to convey this cycle. Their "hype-curve" depicts the different phases that innovation passes through, from the initial excitement and hype to eventual disillusionment and either mainstream adoption or rejection. Interestingly, the innovation hype-cycle looks a lot like the Dunning-Kruger cycle as well.
Hype-Cycle & Dunning-Kruger Correlation or Causation?
If you haven't visited the Spurious Correlation website, take a moment and check it out, for a great lesson in Causation. My favorite is the Correlation between Air Pollution and Tesla stock prices. The point is Correlation and Causation are very different things, but taken together they sometimes provide insights. What the correlation between the Hype-cycle and Dunning-Kruger reveals is how human's learn through trial and error. It also reveals how we tend to over-inflate expectations. Often the height of our expectations, directly impacts the depths of our despair. This is where marketing comes in.
Marketing's Impact on Hype-cycles
Marketing in the age of AI is disruptive, innovative, and next level productive. The tools available to marketers for content, collaboration, and productivity are profound. The tools for image generation and copy production are already having an impact. While these tools are helping increase marketing's efficiency, and increase production speed, they don't help marketer's understand when and where their content should be used for greater efficacy. The effect this has is an increases in hype content and volume, driving up expectations, or causing target segments to tune-out because the content they receive from marketers doesn't relate to where they are in the hype-cycle.
Mapping Content to Shorten the Dunning-Kruger Effect
Every marketer wants to shorten the marketing response to SQL funnel, but mapping "just-in-time" content and lead nurturing to the buyers journey is just as much science as it is art. Now layer in an industry wide disrupting technology innovation like GenAI. The challenge before marketers today is, understanding where in the hype-cycle their industry is (Lagging or early adopters), and providing the right content to their target market segment that maps to where they are at in the hype-cycle and buyers journey. One small step in that process is mapping content categories to the hype and buyers journey.
What follows are the various phases of the Hype-cycle and categories of content marketers can map to the cycle to drive progression at each phase.
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Phase 1: Ramping up and managing expectations
In this initial phase, decision markers, influencers and evaluators begin to grasp the potential of a cutting-edge innovation. Content impacting this phase is all about setting realistic expectations. Content consideration:
Phase 2: Approaching peak expectations
As the innovation gains momentum, it inevitably leads to lofty expectations. At this stage, marketers can capture widespread attention by crafting compelling narratives around the technology's ability. Share content that shows how to uplevel skills to meet expectations: For example:
Phase 3: The downside of the peak
Expectations eventually face a reality check, as the limitations and challenges of the innovation come to light. During this phase, it's essential for marketers to address any concerns and effectively manage expectations. Here marketers can adjust messaging, and emphasize lessons learned, common mistakes, or how to content.
Phase 4: The valley
In this phase, the dust begins to settle, and businesses gain a clearer understanding of the innovation's true potential. Marketers can position here by providing educational content that fosters credibility:
Phase 5: Results
Congratulations! You've reached the phase where the innovation start to really work well and benefits are widely being noticed. Consider content the showcases customer impact. Teach their peers how to do the same using content that focuses on getting more from their investment, and demonstrates the ROI.
Conclusion:
Mapping content to the Hype-curve phases by using category topics allows marketers to navigate the disruptions in the nurture flow with finesse, and it helps fine tune messaging for the target market segment ensuring content is received when appropriate for the audience.