Last month, I attended the Marketing AI Conference (MAICON), an annual event held by the Marketing AI Institute that has evolved into a hub for marketers working to advance AI in their sector.
MAICON, now in its fifth year, drew more than 1,100 attendees interested in AI’s rapid advancement and potential. Industry leaders such as Paul Roetzer, Adam Brotman, and Andy Sack presented ideas, and the announcement of OpenAI’s new model, “Strawberry,” brought urgency to the event.
One prominent theme was that, despite the rapid advancement of AI, many marketers and organizations are slow to adopt it. To prosper in the future, marketers must adopt a deliberate, organizational-wide approach to AI or risk falling behind as AI-native competitors advance.
The marketing AI chasm
In his introductory lecture, Roetzer demonstrated how quickly picture production has advanced, delivering high-quality photos in under a minute. However, as I strolled around the conference, it became evident that many marketers were still experimenting with AI.
The majority were experimenting with GPT models, often informally, while their firms tried to formalize AI initiatives. This has resulted in a large number of “random acts of AI” that are unrelated to larger corporate objectives.
The disconnect: A meteor on its way to Earth.
Those closely following AI’s advancement are analogous to astrophysicists watching a meteor. They see the speed and size of change, as well as the potential for upheaval. Meanwhile, many marketers carry on as usual, failing to plan for AI’s impact.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the next major disruptor for businesses and marketers. AI-native companies with AI-native marketing teams will transform the future in the same way that digital-native companies like Airbnb did for traditional sectors.
At last year’s MAICON, Dan Slagen told the story of Tomorrow.io, a $80 million firm with just four marketers. These marketers started each initiative by asking, “How do we use AI to drive this work?” The leadership did the same. That is the foundation of an AI-powered marketing firm.
This year, Slagen discussed how his team used artificial intelligence to promote Tomorrow’s weather prediction goods to a big film studio. They studied the studio’s films, selected weather-related scenes, and developed a compelling AI-driven presentation that resembled a studio picture. With such a small crew, this could not have been accomplished without AI. Their unique technique advanced them to the next level of the RFP, making a tiny firm appear large.
Marketing directors who see AI exclusively as a strategy to reduce staffing risk are falling behind firms like Tomorrow.io, who use AI to drive innovation and growth.
The Five Steps to AI Adoption
The good news is that we’ve been through disruptions before, and there are recognized strategies for preparing for and responding to change. Marketing businesses can adopt the steps outlined below to prepare for the marketing AI meteor.
- Promote AI literacy.
Begin with education. Encourage every team member to understand about AI’s potential and limitations. Discover courses, webinars, and local AI meetups.
- Create a communication plan.
Share your organization’s AI perspective. Are you connecting AI to business outcomes? Are you looking for efficiencies? Set boundaries and cultivate an informed environment to combat rumors and miscommunications.
- Develop an AI-powered culture.
Create an AI council or task force to help guide strategy, encourage cross-functional collaboration, and recognize rapid wins. Begin with low-risk, high-impact pilots to demonstrate AI’s use and gain traction.
- Scale strategically.
Align AI with business goals. Concentrate on use cases that directly affect revenue, customer experience, or efficiency. Document processes, record successful prompts, and assess outcomes to improve strategies and demonstrate ROI.
- reassure marketers.
AI is a potent technology that increases capabilities rather than eliminating responsibilities. To provide reliable results, AI requires human creativity, critical thinking, and strategic decision-making, much like an automobile does. Tomorrow.io’s creative campaign was not created by AI, but it did help to execute it.
Narrowing the gap.
Marketing AI is evolving swiftly. AI-native marketing businesses have the potential to disrupt organizations that are unable to adapt quickly enough. As with earlier disruptors, those firms that can move swiftly, adjust to change, and stay up with lightning-fast innovations will triumph.
To do so, firms must consider integrating new technology and assisting their teams in navigating a complicated transformation curve. I left MAICON humming with energy and a sense of urgency, eager to assist marketers with this transition.