Ohlmann Group recently participated in a spirited exchange of ideas with agencies across the country as a member of the client advisory board for StackAdapt. As part of those discussions, we talked about helping national and regional clients navigate the changing landscape of digital media. We will be sharing some of our insights on these topics in the coming weeks, starting with the ever-changing landscape of AI.

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has been developing at a rapid pace. The ability of computers to accurately reflect the instructions of users is continuing to improve to the point where content generated by AI is almost indistinguishable from content created by people. As marketers, what are the best ways to capitalize on this technology?

Content variation: While AI is good at creating content with limited inputs, it still lacks emotional depth to understand how humans might relate to content. To help create messaging that relates to a human experience, designers, writers, and other creative talent can create concepts that help convey a particular brand story. Then once this message is crafted, it can be uploaded to an AI engine to suggest visual or text edits that cater to sub-groups of a particular audience or to test variants of a campaign.

Repurposing assets: Virtually all self-serve ad platforms have some version of a built-in AI to help pull together Assets and quickly execute campaigns. Many seem to have similar capabilities, and the most recent one to roll out is Google.

A downside to using these platforms is that they don’t work when using multiple creative channels. For example, if a marketer created an ad with Google’s AI tool and they want to run something on Meta, they’ll have difficulty having the images look consistent across platforms. There is also a certain level of control that marketers lose when AI creates the ads. Images may not turn out perfectly, and there can be limitations to how assets are arranged.

Interpreting campaign information: When marketers have a lot of information that is difficult to parse, they can leverage AI to interpret the data.

Some uses of data interpretation include:

• Sending thousands of customer reviews or social media comments to AI to interpret how people feel about a brand.
• Uploading a spreadsheet or connecting a database to AI so that it can pull out trends or to summarize what data is notable.

Brainstorming: Don’t know where to start on a project? AI can be a good resource to ask questions about how to approach problems. Not all ideas will be winners, but it could unstick any creative process.

How should I move forward with AI?

There are many AI tools to consider, but regardless of which tool you use, keep in mind your strategic goals to ensure AI is delivering value-added content and insights. If you’re working with a Marketing agency like Ohlmann Group, then you’re already relying on AI’s interaction with marketing experts to deliver the most effective messages to the right people.

Need help unlocking the power of AI to support your marketing strategy? Let’s connect on the best ways to capitalize on this technology.