In an era when artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming industries and redefining roles, marketers are often left wondering about their place in this new landscape. Will AI replace marketers? After all, AI has already shown its potential in executing tactics like copywriting, design, social media planning, SEO and SEM/PPC optimization, and other specialized tasks. Yet, AI may also increase our work productivity, automating manual tasks and helping us with thought-starters.
Adopting the Renaissance Marketer Mindset—a new framework that embraces change and innovation—will help marketers irreplaceable. The Renaissance Marketer Mindset is based on three pillars: (a) being multi-disciplined; (b) thinking long-term with investment in mind; and (c) balancing the art and science of marketing.
AI’s Blind Spot
The first pillar of the Renaissance Marketer Mindset (being multi-disciplined) is a direct counter to the fear of AI replacing specialized roles. By pulling ideas and learnings from various disciplines like psychology and economics, marketers can bring a unique perspective that AI, with its current capabilities, can’t easily replicate. This cross-disciplinary approach allows marketers to create strategies that are not only innovative but also deeply human-centric, something that AI has yet to fully grasp. And, until humans are no longer making choices, being human-centric will matter. In a business that has more than a handful of people, being multi-disciplined also means being able to forge a path between the different functions (brand, product, data, finance, etc.). AI may be able to write a sound plan but it has yet to learn how to execute it with everyone involved.
AI’s Partnership
The second pillar (thinking long term with investment in mind) is where AI can be a powerful ally. AI’s ability to analyze vast amounts of data and predict trends can help marketers make informed decisions about where to invest our resources (dollars and people) for long-term growth. One of the biggest challenges for marketers is having data science support to build out media mix models or culling through lots of creative and engagement data. With AI crunching the numbers, this will free up marketers to think strategically about the future of investment and the types of trades offs we want to make (e.g. short-term wins vs. long-term gains). In addition, with AI building better CX and in-platform retention capabilities, marketers can focus on acquisition. For instance, Netflix’s recommendation engine, which uses AI, is estimated to save the company over $1 billion per year in customer retention costs [source: Business Insider], which allows marketers to invest that into other strategies such as acquisition.
AI’s Need
The third pillar (balancing the art and science of marketing) is perhaps the most crucial in the context of AI. While AI excels at the science of marketing, such as data analysis and trend prediction, it lacks the ability to fully comprehend the art of marketing, which involves creativity, emotional intelligence, and understanding the human experience. Marketers who can balance these two aspects can create campaigns that are not only data-driven but also emotionally resonant, providing a competitive edge that AI alone can’t offer.
Rather than replacing marketers, AI can be a powerful tool in their arsenal. Here are a few innovative ways marketers can use AI:
- Personalization at Scale: AI can analyze vast amounts of data to understand individual customer preferences, enabling marketers to deliver personalized experiences at a scale that would be impossible manually.
- Predictive Analytics: AI can identify patterns in data that humans might miss, allowing marketers to predict future trends and consumer behaviors because data means nothing without the ‘why’ behind it. Marketers can pair what AI provides as patterns to ‘common sense’ in human behavior.
- Content Generation: AI can generate basic content such as product descriptions and social media posts, freeing up time for marketers to focus on more strategic tasks.
So, stop fearing the AI revolution and embrace the change. Leverage the Renaissance Marketer Mindset to innovate with AI (not against it).
P.S. Why aren’t CEOs fearing replacement by AI? Because they have to “manage” the business, meaning they have to ensure the various parts of the business from brand to sales to product to finance all work together to drive the business. As the stewards of the business and future, they have to understand what else is happening in the world and therefore are inherently multi-disciplined. Today, AI can replace repetitive tasks and provide thought-starters, but it can’t bring together all these disparate pieces in a cohesive manner that’s human-centric. (At least, not yet.) The Renaissance Marketer Mindset teaches marketers to think like CEOs.
