Generative AI in marketing is a source of excitement for some and worry for others. So, media update spoke with Dr Adam Pantanowitz about how machine learning impacts the marketing industry and its future.
Whether it's about marketing in an increasingly digitised world, streamlining customer interactions, or keeping your knowledge up-to-date about new AI developments, every professional has questions.
Without a doubt, the increasing influence of machine learning in marketing brings about a lot of uncertainty.
media update's Joreke Kleynhans asked Dr Adam Pantanowitz insightful questions about the matter to help:
So many shifts are taking place in the marketing industry right now that point to a convergence between humans and machines. How can brands and companies stay relevant in an increasingly digitised world?
The convergence began such a long time ago (if we look at our dependency on our devices, it is plain to see how connected and embedded we already are). It has just been slow and has not happened as a step change.
In the future, we may see the convergence speeding up — perhaps the onset of new exponential technology even necessitates it for us to keep up.
Brands and companies should invest time and effort in familiarising, immersing themselves in and adopting technology. If we choose the "Ostrich" approach, we'll only find ourselves buried in the sand when we try to come up again.
So, the best thing to do is to engage with technology. This allows us to take the ultimate step of actually building the future we choose, rather than being a passenger heading toward it.
How can machines be leveraged to enhance what is already being done in the marketing industry?
The marketing industry is undergoing a huge transformation with the onset of scalable accessible generative Artificial Intelligence (gen AI). Gen AI is changing the way we generate and even consume our media.
Marketing companies should look at the tools available to augment and enhance their existing practice. These tools are quick to get "hands-on" and create a dramatic improvement in productivity.
Right now, it's about augmenting your skills to accelerate and scale your abilities. Tech is a partner in doing that.
What should current marketing professionals do to equip themselves with the skills they need for using machine learning to their advantage?
Start playing. We tend to shy away from new things as we get older. But remember how quickly you jumped into something new when you were a child? We haven't lost that, we've just been stuck in the comfort of the mundane — and often, this means we inadvertently avoid and then get left behind.
Professionals should check out the latest toolset in their spaces — whether in software development, advert creation, video editing, video creation — tools are spinning up all the time in these various domains which can enhance and enable your business.
It's almost overwhelming, but the trick is to pick something and start and then learn while doing it.
How can media professionals ensure that the skills they have to offer are clearly distinguished from those of AI or machine learning models?
This is a tough question because more and more our human abilities are being encroached on by the incredible performance we're seeing in AI.
But, right now, we should leverage this technology to our advantage — that is, make the technology work for us to enhance our existing skills.
Think of these tools as a wildly efficient partner in whatever it is you're building and doing — you can do it 10 times better, 10 times faster and 10 times more cost-effectively right now.
And so, to me, the best thing you can do to distinguish yourself is to embrace these technologies.
What are some examples of brands that use Human-Computer Interaction the best to reach audiences?
There are tons of new ways of reaching audiences in the new world of tech. One way is through the metaverse. A number of forward-thinking South African brands have embraced Africarare, an African metaverse, and own land and do great activations in this world.
Another great example is Proto Hologram. These are high-tech methods. Audience building via podcasts, online posts and quirky thinking can set you apart.
How can marketers use machine learning to streamline the customer interaction process?
There are various options in this — from attracting (advertising) to onboarding to servicing to new product creation — and tools exist to streamline and enhance performance in each of these.
Whether it's building a custom chatbot, or generating marketing content such as videos or images via AI, these tools are becoming democratised, accessible and more and more powerful. It's wild to see!
Then, there is the data science side of things, where we can find unique connections and insights in our customer data, making us better at marketing. Across the board of these technologies, there are powerful gems to seek.
How can the next generation of media professionals be prepared for a media industry that combines machines and human work?
To me, it's about adapting to what's changing in the world. In a stoic way, we are unlikely to be able to change the charge entirely, but we can absolutely build in the stream.
So, intense immersion in this is totally warranted — spend time learning, exploring and playing! You're unlikely to break anything, after all.
What advice do you have for students who are studying in directions that will require knowledge of machine learning technologies in the future, but whose studies are not yet covering this type of implementation?
Ah! I think there are so many ways to bring a unique vantage point to this world of tech: everyone is welcome to participate. The barriers to entry drop with every day that arrives.
Your unique skills can be applied to, and enhanced by, the use of accessible tools. And the best part is they're democratised! Every day, more and more tools become more affordable and accessible.
So, just explore from your unique vantage point — you will be able to create amazing things, even if you're not formally learning about the discipline. I encourage that type of exploration, as nobody has been exposed to the very same "light" that you have.
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*Image courtesy of Canva