Metamorphosis

Great marketing is neither art nor science. It's both.

This is an extract from?IMTW Issue № 74.

Read on?to learn why:

①?Advertising platforms are using AI?to adapt ads based on user response.

②?No one ever made a decision because of a number.?They need a story.

③?Global investors look to domestic investors?for validation.

④?UK fintech has more advocate bodies?than it needs.

⑤?The toxic relationship?between news and search is getting more complicated.

⑥?Hype can be friend?and foe.

⑦?Quality journalism has nothing to fear?from artificial intelligence.

What's new

Meta announced this week that it’s using AI to overhaul its advertising business - and marketers can’t agree whether that’s a good or bad thing,?the FT reports.

① In short:

• “A Meta offering launched in August called Advantage+ uses artificial intelligence to automatically generate multiple adverts according to the specific objectives of the marketer, such as whether a brand is seeking to sell products or win new customers. The algorithms can run tests of potential ads and select what they think will be most effective, with the option to automatically alter text and images.”
• “Because it can no longer track Apple users beyond its own app without permission, Meta must lean more on so-called first-party data — such as whether users like or comment on a post, or tag or mention specific brands.”
• “Over time, Meta hopes to use generative AI — a fast-emerging technology that can be used to produce novel content such as graphics — in its ads systems to allow it to rapidly tweak text and images in campaigns based on users’ responses to them at faster rates than ever.”

Why it matters

This matters because, just in case you missed it, what Meta is really doing here is applying new tactics to an old strategy: keeping eyeballs glued to content - irrespective of whether that’s a good thing for the content consumer or its creator. No doubt the AI campaigns will outperform traditional ones, the metrics will look great, but will the end result be desirable?

By ceding control of their ad content to Meta’s algorithm in the pursuit of eyeballs, marketers will also be surrendering their brand’s most valuable asset: their voice, their unique message. They will likely get more attention but will the right people be watching, and will they be doing so for the right reason? High engagement - in the form of views, likes or comments - don’t necessarily translate into sales or even visits to your website.?

That’s because marketing isn’t a science. Or at least it’s not just a science. At its best, marketing combines a data-driven approach with some fundamental creativity, some humanity. Without that, it won’t connect with your audience.

What to do about it

Take action

Despite what Zuckerberg and his ilk would have you believe, software isn’t the answer to every problem. The best marketing teams are a diverse group of?

• Scientists:?They use data analysis to understand your market’s trends, your competitors and - most importantly - your target audience. They sift through the numbers to figure out your customers’ pain points and which channels to use to reach them.
• Artists:?They take your product’s message - which in B2B finance or technology is often hugely complex - and turn it into something simple, attention-grabbing and compelling. They apply wit, humour, and flair to create images, videos or words that your customers will relate to on an emotional level.

② As Daniel Kahneman, 2002 Nobel Prize winner in Economic Sciences wrote:

“No one ever made a decision because of a number. They need a story.”

What happens when your marketing team is just one person? Well, I hope they can metamorphose from scientist to artist and back again - half a dozen times a day.

Get help

• Visit InMarketing, my resource library?for leaders in finance or technology who want to innovate, interact and influence.
• Join the InMarketing community, either?on Twitter?or on Substack (you’ll need to?download the Substack app?and head to the chat tab). Either way, you can ask questions of me and fellow senior marketing practitioners.

Help me

If you found this useful?or know someone who would, please share it. It would really help me to grow the community of regular IMTW readers.

More...

For the rest of this issue, including points ③, ④, ⑤, ⑥ and ⑦,?visit my Substack >

About

Written for CEOs, marketers and other leaders in the financial sector,?InMarketing This Week?is a showcase for news likely to impact them - delivered with insight on why it matters and ideas on what to do about it. It’s published every Sunday to give you a head start on the week. Read it?here, or?subscribe?to?have it delivered straight to your inbox at six, before it's available anywhere else.