“The fact that labour is external to the worker, i.e., it does not belong to his intrinsic nature; that in his work, therefore he does not affirm himself but denies himself, does not feel content but unhappy, does not develop freely his physical and mental energy but mortifies his body and his mind. The worker therefore only feels himself outside his work, and in his work feels outside himself.” (From “Estranged Labour,” 1844) — Karl Marx
While the past thirty years have been the most innovative for humanity in bringing new innovations like the internet , mobile devices and now AI , it has also led societies to drive efficiency through structure and process. With efficiency also comes about a lot of drudgery in our systems and processes. We in the marketing world have developed tools and layered processes into every portion of the CMO organization. The marketing world has long been governed by a tried-and-true process that consists of five key steps: Create, Setup/Activate, Execute, Analyze, and Report. While this structure has provided a roadmap for countless campaigns and strategies, the rapid evolution of society and technology is calling for a change. The traditional process, though foundational, has become somewhat of a double-edged sword, instilling a rigid approach that often stifles creativity and leads to a monotonous landscape.
The Perpetual Marketing Cycle: A Closer Look
In the conventional framework, each phase follows a linear trajectory:
- Create: Here, ideas are born and concepts are developed. We think of any a market survey, a social media campaign , a new copy for a product release or launching a new video ad.
- Setup/Activate: Plans are put into motion and the necessary tools are primed. Creative strategists , Media Planners and teams get to work collating existing information and setting up the standard rules of the playbook.
- Execute: The campaign is launched, and strategies are implemented. Eg. Pushing media through a DSP , launching a focus group for a consumer product etc.
- Analyze: Data is gathered to assess the performance of the marketing initiatives. Here the teams realm through the information and search for answers based on existing tools they have built or gotten comfortable with.
- Report: Finally, results are compiled, and insights are shared. The value of dashboards have been overemphasized here to drive structure and value for the work which culminated to these results.
This structure has been the backbone of the marketing industry, forming the contours within which talent is often restricted. As creativity knows no bounds, the walls of this process have inadvertently led to what some in the industry refer to as ‘marketing drudgery.’ The pace at which society changes and the behavior of consumers evolve has made these steps seem like a relic of a bygone era. People are not static, and thus, marketing processes should adapt and flow as dynamically as the human element it aims to engage.
The Drudgery Dilemma
A Harvard Business Review article explores how the repetitiveness of certain marketing processes can lead to creative fatigue. The need to follow a specific sequence can sometimes result in a ‘check-the-box’ mentality, where the focus shifts from innovation to task completion. Moreover, the current tools, while useful, often require manual intervention at every stage, making it a cumbersome endeavor.
Enter AI: The Catalyst for Change
The introduction of Generative AI (Gen AI) and advanced AI tools is set to revolutionize the marketing landscape. Unlike traditional software, AI has the capability to learn, adapt, and optimize processes in real-time. It queries each step of the process, gleaning data and insights to not only move the work efficiently to the next block but also refine its approach by incorporating human feedback.
For example, AI can now generate creative content, including written and visual materials, with tools like OpenAI’s DALL-E and GPT-4. It can set up campaigns by analyzing past successes and predicting future trends. During execution, AI can automate and personalize customer interactions, as discussed in an article by Forbes. In the analysis phase, AI systems can sift through vast amounts of data to unearth actionable insights, far beyond the capability of human processing.
A New Marketing Era
What’s most promising about AI in marketing is its potential to transform the drudgery into a dynamic, creative endeavor. With AI handling the repetitive and data-heavy tasks, human marketers are freed to do what they do best — innovate and connect on a human level. This MIT Technology Review article discusses how AI enhances human creativity and decision-making by removing the mundane aspects of any job. The above diagram shows how AI can come and change the process flow and aid humans in the query and feedback process.
Conclusion
The call for change is not just about adopting new technologies but also about rethinking our approach to marketing. AI tools offer a significant opportunity to reshape the process into something more fluid, reflective of the ever-changing society we live in. As we integrate AI into our marketing strategies, we’re not just streamlining tasks; we’re opening doors to new levels of creativity and engagement.
In the end, the goal is not to replace the human element but to augment it, allowing us to communicate and connect more effectively, which, after all, is the heart of marketing. As AI continues to evolve, so too will the way we tell our stories and share our messages, leading to a marketing future that’s as dynamic as the humans it seeks to inspire.
