How AI is Shaping the Future of Customer Engagement
Discover how top marketing leaders are leveraging AI to transform customer-centric marketing. Insights from John Watton, Kirsty Fraser, and Simon Morris reveal practical strategies for personalisation, creative optimisation, and enhancing customer engagement. Learn how AI can streamline tasks and drive marketing success.
At Advertising Week Europe, leaders from various sectors gathered to share their experiences and insights on the transformative power of AI in marketing.
This article draws on episodes of the Business of Marketing podcast by Demand Exchange, featuring John Watton, Kirsty Fraser, and Simon Morris, who delve into the impact of AI on customer-centric marketing.
Their discussions offer valuable strategies that you can implement in your business to enhance customer engagement and drive success.
John Watton: AI as a Marketing Copilot
John Watton, with his extensive background in B2B marketing, emphasises the transformative potential of AI in enhancing marketing efficiency and creativity.
He acknowledges that while the marketing industry has access to advanced technologies, there is still room for better implementation to achieve truly personalised and relevant customer experiences.
"I think what I love now, and we're on the precipice of, is the ability to accelerate creativity with AI. And a lot of the things that were just cumbersome and burdensome - now you can action a lot quicker."
John believes that AI can handle mundane tasks, allowing marketers to focus more on strategic and creative aspects.
He highlights that good marketing involves understanding the customer and combining data with creativity to stand out in a crowded digital landscape.
"And for me, good marketing is about understanding the customer and knowing who they are, what they want and where they are. But great marketing is using data and creativity to stand out in the crowd, because we have to do just as much work now to stand out in a digital feed than a consumer marketer did in the 50s to make a box of soap powder jump off a supermarket shelf."
By referring to AI as a "copilot," John underscores its role in assisting marketers rather than replacing them, enhancing productivity and efficiency.
"I think the generative side of things is a great copilot for marketers… your little assistant sitting on the side helping you with a few things."
Key Takeaways:
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Implement AI to handle repetitive tasks, freeing up time for strategic and creative work.
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Use AI-driven insights to enhance personalisation and relevance in customer interactions.
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View AI as a supportive tool that assists rather than replaces human creativity.
🎙️ Listen now:
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Kirsty Fraser: Thoughtful AI Integration for Personalisation
Kirsty Fraser, Senior Director of International and Lifestyle Marketing at Movable Ink, shares her journey of integrating AI to create personalised content.
She stresses the importance of a mature approach to AI, moving beyond initial hype to meaningful applications.
"So Movable Ink is very much focused on personalization. And we activate our clients' data to create personalised content across the customer experience. And basically what we do, is we personalise the creative within your emails and across mobile and we use that through AI and automation."
Kirsty acknowledges the initial panic around AI but highlights the shift towards a more thoughtful and practical application of the technology.
"I think AI still represents a huge opportunity and one that I'm still learning about. It boomed onto the market last year and everyone panicked. And everyone was like - I've got AI in my tool… AI washing I think someone called it the other day. But I feel like this year it's kind of a grown-up period where everyone's like, okay, let's take a step back and be a little bit more thoughtful about this."
She shares practical ways AI can streamline administrative tasks, enhancing productivity and creativity.
"So I'm exploring it in small ways, in terms of my world. So ways of just trying to get rid of those boring admin tasks at the moment. So summarising meeting notes or presentations. So if I need to write a blog post, and I just don't know where to start, it gives some talking points, and then using that as a way to springboard into writing it myself."
Kirsty also highlights the importance of continuous learning and staying informed about AI advancements.
"And yes, I think the main thing about that is educating yourself. And just being aware because you might not need it in your current role. But in a future role, it might be really important and it's just important to be aware of what's happening."
Key Takeaways:
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Adopt AI thoughtfully, moving beyond hype to practical applications that enhance customer experiences.
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Use AI to streamline administrative tasks, boosting productivity.
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Continuously educate yourself about AI to stay prepared for future advancements.
🎙️ Listen now:
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Spotify
Amazon
Simon Morris: Optimising Creativity with AI
Simon Morris, Vice President of International Marketing at Adobe, discusses the explosion of content creation and the critical role of AI in managing this deluge.
He highlights how AI enables marketers to optimise and personalise their content more efficiently.
"I think we are truly in this golden age of creativity where we're seeing that democratisation of creativity. Anyone who has a story to tell now has the tools and the ability to share those stories which, consequently, is leading to this huge deluge of content being created."
Simon acknowledges the initial fear around generative AI but emphasises its tremendous opportunities for brands.
"We've seen generative AI become an incredibly hot, hot, hot topic. And whilst there's some elements of fear around that, we see it as a tremendous opportunity for brands."
He explains the practical benefits of generative AI in kickstarting creativity and handling mundane tasks.
"Rather than starting with a blank piece of paper you can actually start to use these tools to get some thoughts flowing early and then build and iterate upon that as well as eliminate some of the mundane tasks that consume a lot of people's time."
Simon stresses the importance of creative optimisation, especially as audiences demand more personalised content.
"The focus on creative optimization becomes so important and can truly make an enormous difference on your ROI."
He elaborates on using data-driven insights to tailor content and ensure it resonates with the audience.
"We take a lot of insight from product usage and what's driving value. And then we can connect that to the type of content we're creating and serving up to our customers."
Key Takeaways:
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Leverage AI to manage and optimise the growing volume of content.
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Use generative AI to boost creativity and handle repetitive tasks.
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Focus on creative optimisation to enhance ROI and meet audience expectations.
🎙️ Listen now:
Apple
Spotify
Amazon
Conclusion
The insights shared by John Watton, Kirsty Fraser, and Simon Morris provide a comprehensive view of how AI can revolutionise customer-centric marketing.
By thoughtfully integrating AI, marketers can enhance personalisation, streamline tasks, and optimise creative efforts.
These strategies not only improve efficiency but also enable marketers to deliver more relevant and engaging customer experiences.