AI in Marketing: Democratizing Content Helping Brand Blitzscale

Saurabh Agrawal, Chief Executive Officer, DAIOM

 

There is a big conversation in the boardrooms today about how the company is and using the power of Generative AI for the next Digital and AI transformation. And everyone is looking at something creative to be done in the Marketing side. 

In the past year, marketers have witnessed a dramatic shift in digital strategies and content creation, thanks to significant strides in AI. This technology hasn't just enhanced marketing efficacy and creativity; it has redefined its role as a dynamic storyteller, crucial for brand engagement. According to a recent global survey, 52% of CMOs are experimenting with generative AI in live projects.

The Traditional Marketing Paradigm

 

Historically, marketing has been the pivotal driver for brand and company expansion, crafting and disseminating campaigns across various platforms. However, the digital revolution has transformed this landscape, not just amplifying brand presence but also becoming a robust lever for growth. 

This holds true for digital-native and omni-channel brands alike. The conventional methods of campaign execution have evolved in this digital era, giving way to a more agile, data-centric, and omni-channel marketing approach.

 

CMOs in the Digital Era: From Marketing to Driving Growth

 

Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) are now at the forefront of driving growth. In the pre-social media era, their focus was primarily on TV, print, and email.Today, CMOs must navigate over 20 channels, including performance marketing, social media, retention marketing, OTT, affiliate marketing, and more. With the explosion of channels comes a tenfold increase in the demand for content and creative assets. 

Few of the startups find it hard to find the perfect CMO who is equipped to manage all this in one role and hence end up splitting role in to head of growth and head of brand & social marketing.

Generative AI has brought not only democratization and supersonic speed of execution but also an unprecedented level of creativity. The convergence of AI, analytics, and technology has elevated the expectations from the CMO role, endowing them with heightened responsibility in aligning marketing endeavors with tangible business outcomes.

 

"In the realm of marketing, AI is not just a tool; it's the architect of personalized experiences, the curator of data-driven insights, and the catalyst for a dynamic future where brands connect with audiences on a profound and individual level."

 

 

Uses Cases of AI in Marketing

 

As per industry research, below are few areas where AI in Marketing is expected to be having significant impact:

 

Gen AI is set to transform various aspects of the digital landscape:

 

1. Content Generation: It will revolutionize the production of material, drastically cutting down the time and effort required.
2. SEO: Gen Ai enables faster generation of content and blogs will enable more effective content analysis and optimization, leading to superior search engine rankings and audience targeting esp. With the use of programmatic SEO. 
3. Customer Service: With the use of conversational chatbot enabled with the company's data knowledge bank, human-like conversational skills would be enabled, helping in a real-time, accurate support, significantly improving the quality and personalization of customer interactions.
4. Hyper Personalization: By understanding individual behaviors and preferences, AI  will allow for highly tailored experiences and content using the digital distribution method helping drive increasing user satisfaction and loyalty. Personalization till now was looked at in copy, now personalization in image and video in near real time is been looked upon.
5. Analytics: Gen AI will refine analytics processes, aiding marketers in superior and personalized marketing and faster, more informed decisions and gaining a clearer understanding of market trends.

 

Democratization of Distribution

 

Traditionally, content distribution was primarily paid for through TV and print.Digital platforms have democratized distribution, disrupting previous cost dynamics and reshaping campaign traction. Organic content through blogs, social media, and word-of-mouth has enabled virality without exorbitant spending. With the rise of video content and platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, massive distribution can be achieved at a fraction of the cost. 

This has led to the rise of influencer marketing, with over 1 million influencers in India alone. 

Today, engaging an audience has become the linchpin of success, with organic social media generating 100% more leads than its paid counterpart. With distribution platforms getting accessible, use of AI has helped blit scaled the impact. 

 

Marketing & Content the biggest impact area 

 

"What calculator did to Maths, ChatGPT is doing to Content." 

Much like how calculators simplified complex mathematical operations, ChatGPT is streamlining content creation. It offers a powerful tool for marketers, enabling them to produce innovative, engaging content swiftly and efficiently, thereby transforming the landscape of digital communication and creativity.

The process of content creation is super enhanced with the use of Gen AI tools across Copywriting, Image generation , Music and Video Generation. 

Areas in marketing where Gen AI is impacting –

• Text Copy Writing: Chatgpt, Bard, Copy.ai , Jasper
• Image Generation: DALL-E 2, MidJourney
• Video Generation: Runway, Hugging Face
• Music: Audiocraft, Veed, Hugging Face

 

Currently, the advancement has been seen in text and to some extent in video generation.The key has been to effectively use these tools to switch the idea and narrative to build the idea. While building the content from scratch has been the main focus, the prompt based editing method has made it much easier for creative editors to improve and enhance the content. 

 

Driving Business Growth with Marketing

 

Growth marketing, distinct from traditional brand-led strategies, is inherently sales-driven, focusing on measurable tactics to boost customer acquisition and retention. 

This approach is supercharged in the AI and social-first era. Generative AI rapidly produces diverse content ideas, allowing for quick campaign iterations and real-time adaptability. 

This means strategies can be more responsive to market trends and consumer feedback, driving conversions and revenue more effectively. 

Moreover, AI's advanced analytics provide deep insights into customer behavior and predict future trends, enabling precise targeting and personalization. These capabilities enhance the customer journey, leading to higher engagement and conversion rates. 

By leveraging AI for both content generation and analytics, growth marketers can drive business impact efficiently, making informed decisions that propel sustained growth and profitability. 

Growth marketing, therefore, represents a dynamic, results-focused evolution of traditional methods, perfectly suited to today's fast-paced, data-rich digital landscape.

 

Evolution of Talent in Marketing 

 

When refrigerators were invented, it was one of the biggest inventions and products which changed customers' lives. But sadly the companies making refrigerators didn't make money or survive long.

It is the beverage industry of soft drinks , the food industry which really UNLOCKED value and made 1000x more impact.

There are Producers of technology (Refrigerators companies) and there are Users of technology ( beverage, food industry).

Then there are Consumers of data & AI. These are businesses who put these technologies to transform the products and functions.

As people in marketing think about our careers , if in our core roles we use Data and Ai , we would be transforming the industry and accelerating our careers.

 

For example :

 

• Creative Designer who becomes super creative and efficient with use of midjourney / dalle2 .
• Marketing executive is able to drive higher campaign ROI with use of ai in copy writing and intelligent targeting.

 

About two decades back, in job descriptions people started adding "understanding of Word, Excel and PowerPoint" will be key.

Now soon we will see a line in each job description - "having a strong understanding of data, analytics and AI".

 

WIll Prompt Engineers disrupt the roles ?

 

In the world of dealing with Gen Ai tools, one key topic is talked about is Prompt Engineering. 

 

To me Prompt Engineering is not a job , It's a skill

And it is a skill that everyone should and will learn, regardless of their profession.

 

The key to writing good prompts is to be very good at Problem formulation. 

This means being able to clearly identify the problem you want to solve, and then breaking it down into smaller, more manageable steps.

Once one can do that, you can start to write prompts that will help the AI tool solve your problem.

In simple words being able to explain the tasks to a child is what is Prompt engineering. 

Will Traditional Creative Tools like Adobe Loose Steam?

Adobe has long been the standard for advanced creatives, yet over a hundred generative AI tools now offer competitive services at lower costs. 

Despite Canva's recent rise as a user-friendly option for novices, Adobe is actively integrating AI into its suite, launching Adobe Firefly ai for image generation and Adobe Express for template-based designs. 

Their market strategy includes a free tier, an affordable paid option, and an upgradable professional suite. Additionally, Adobe's text-to-image feature enhances the user experience, further solidifying its market position.

Meanwhile, Microsoft has joined the fray with Microsoft Designer. The real contest is in constant innovation, user-friendly design, and affordability. As the generative AI sector grows, major players like Adobe and Microsoft are evolving their offerings, with Canva securing the entry-level market and Adobe enhancing its tools for broader AI adoption.

 

The Role Of Generative AI and chatbots in marketing

 

In this era of digital transformation, Generative AI and chatbots are emerging as powerful tools in revolutionizing marketing strategies. With more than 100 M users of chatgpt and bard , it has already disrupted information retrieval uses cases traditionally addressed by search. Till now brands had deployed structured chatbot which can help address queries in a set q&a format.

Chatbots, powered by Generative AI, are  key player in reshaping customer interactions. These conversational agents, armed with a company's data knowledge bank, possess human-like conversational skills, providing real-time and accurate support. This not only significantly improves the quality of customer interactions but also enhances personalization. The use of chatbots is a testament to the democratization of customer service, making it more accessible and efficient for businesses of all sizes.This gen ai chatbot play will open a world of human like conversation across customer service , product discovery and marketing too. 

Look ahead in 2024 : 

Today the gen AI hype is at its peak as per latest Gartner report. Which means it is at the height of peak expectations. 

2023 was a year of imagining the possibilities and testing waters. 

In 2024, the frenzy surrounding Generative AI (Gen AI) in marketing will face a reality check. The initial excitement will give way to pragmatic experimentation, with brands meticulously testing AI's potential for crafting personalized experiences and data-driven content.

Instead of impulsive decisions, marketers will leverage AI's insights to orchestrate strategic campaigns, fine-tuning their effectiveness through constant testing.

 

Generative AI is expected to revolutionize every nook and corner of digital marketing by paving the way for automated tasks, such as simplifying market analytic tools like content creation, prompt services, and personalized advertisements, allowing marketers to gain instant and comprehensive marketing insights to improve decision-making, boosting conversion rates and increasing engagement.

What Gen AI brings to the table is the ability to generate accurate and reliable insights. It tackles and resolves concerns and challenges associated with AI, such as biased data, by automated analysis processes, identifying and understanding user behaviors and market trends, and offering a treasure trove of suggestions for better and more effective marketing strategies.

2024 will be a year of discovery, where we learn which applications of Gen AI truly captivate audiences, paving the way for a future where innovation and data dance together to paint a brighter marketing landscape.

 

The journey into industry

Mr. Saurabh Agrawal, Founder and CEO at DAIOM, leads transformative initiatives within the dynamic omni-channel landscape. A visionary strategist, Saurabh specializes in driving growth through data-centric AI strategies that bridge the online and offline realms seamlessly.

With a profound entrepreneurial mindset, he champions first-principle innovations, excelling in AI, Cloud, IoT, and product development to build intelligent, scalable solutions. His expertise spans fintech, e-commerce, retail, manufacturing, and D2C, empowering enterprises to thrive in a customer-centric, data-driven ecosystem.

Mr. Agrawal has steered enterprise-wide AI and analytics solutions, crafting strategies that harness data for marketing efficiency, performance, and CRM optimization. His impact-driven approach fosters robust enterprise analytics platforms, fueling data-driven decision-making.

Mr. Agrawal is a sought-after industry speaker, recognized as a Top 100 AI Thought Leader in India and a LinkedIn Top Voice for Digital Marketing and Analytics. His engagements with renowned institutions like the Economic Times, NASSCOM, and IIM-A underscore his leadership in AI, IoT, Growth Marketing, and Startups.

As a passionate mentor, Mr. Agrawal aids startups in data, analytics, and product scaling strategies. His dynamic career spans leadership roles at Lenskart, MothersonSumi Infotech & Designs Ltd., Tata Insights and Quants, and American Express, contributing significantly to industry transformation.