Let’s Talk about AI: Marketing Leaders Share Their Predictions

Since the birth of AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Bard, all anyone seems to talk about is how Artificial Intelligence, automation, and advancements in technology will impact our jobs. Eager to hear what industry leaders think, I reached out to several marketing leaders to find out what they predict. Some of the experts I had the pleasure of hearing from include:

• Duarte Garrido, Global Head of Social and Omnichannel at Standard Chartered Bank
• Marina Snegirjova, Managing Director at Zendesk
• David Raab, Founder and CEP of the Customer Data Platform Institute
• Robert Rose, Founder of The Content Advisory and Chief Strategy Advisor of The Content Marketing Institute
• Jennifer Shanks, Head of Marketing and Communications for the East Hemisphere at EthosEnergy
• Francesco Federico, Executive Director of Global Marketing at JLL

SHOULD WE FEAR AI?

In an interview with Duarte Garrido, Global Head of Social and Omnichannel at Standard Chartered Bank, I asked a simple question: “Should leaders fear AI?”

“Fearing it might be the last thing you’ll ever do,” Duarte responded.

According to him, investors are quietly watching how companies are responding to the rise of AI. Furthermore, he predicts that those who choose to learn and adapt will undoubtedly see their stock go up, whereas those who show vulnerability and fear will see it plummet.

“Don’t get me wrong, we should be cautious. As cautious as we should be with any new tech – particularly one with the potential to change the course of human history. Scrap that. Not ‘potential’. It has changed and will change even more. I’m not one for trends or fads or seasonal marketing red herrings (farewell, Metaverse), but AI is the most important and powerful tech humanity has ever created. This is it. So yes, cautiousness. Responsibility. Regulation. But not fear. Never fear. You can’t fear innovation,” Duarte said.

HARNESS ITS POWER TO BECOME MORE EFFICIENT

If we shouldn’t fear it, then what should we do?

Many leaders know they should try to welcome AI with open arms, embracing it and adopting it. However, they are unsure of how they can do so. Marina Snegirjova, Managing Director at Zendesk, explained how we can use AI to our advantage, sharing:

“With no surprise, generative AI is all the buzz these days – but I do truly believe that marketers can harness the power of AI to scale and automate more mundane tasks, freeing up more time to focus on creative and complex tasks.”

David Raab, Founder and CEP of the Customer Data Platform Institute echoed Marina’s views in an interview a few months ago:

“In the near term, AI should be used primarily to help marketers do their work more quickly and effectively, through content creation, analysis, and data management. In the long term, I expect AI will replace many marketing jobs because a few workers will be able to do what now takes many people. AI should ultimately enable marketing organisations to collapse their process flows by combining tasks that now require different human specialists.”

PAVING THE WAY FOR MORE PERSONALISED EXPERIENCES 

Personalisation has been a hot topic in recent times, with organisations knowing that it can set them apart from the competition. 

According to Robert Rose, Founder of The Content Advisory and Chief Strategy Advisor of the Content Marketing Institute, one of the main challenges marketers are facing in 2023 is the return of push content. Expanding on this, Robert shared:

“There is increasing pressure (the evolution of search, generative AI, and automation) to create digital experiences that are personalised and targeted. Our new “goal line” is to be able to deliver content that is contextually perfect to customers in the moment. Businesses really are trying to recognise the age-old marketing trope of “deliver the right message to the right person at the right time”. But now, it’s “deliver the perfect message, to the exact person, in real-time”. This is, of course, where AI starts to make its entrance and where we start to see the thirst and demand for more and more content as we try and build out enough content so it can be personalised and targeted.”

The importance of this was further highlighted by Jennifer Shanks, Head of Marketing and Communications for the East Hemisphere at EthosEnergy. Speaking about the key trends shaping the industry’s future, Jennifer pointed to AI and personalisation: “I see an increasing shift towards personalisation and localisation in the B2B space, which is following where B2C has been for some time.”

AI WILL IMPACT EVERY MARKETING FUNCTION

While we can only speculate how AI will transform the industry, one thing is certain: it will change the way we work. Francesco Federico, Executive Director of Global Marketing at JLL, shared how he believes advancements in technology will impact the future of marketing, noting:

“I am sure we will witness technology and automation penetrating every aspect of the marketing function. I think this will happen mostly because of two factors.

Firstly, global financial and geopolitical pressures are squeezing marketing spend, yet marketers are asked to deliver more growth. Technology, for the speed and scale it delivers, will be the obvious answer.

Secondly, we are reaching an inflexion point in quantum computing. If AI has so far been a sophisticated implementation of linear regressions and standard deviations, quantum computing AI will make a generational leap which will unlock revolutionary marketing applications. Sure, we are a few years from that becoming a widespread reality, but modern marketing leaders will start preparing now by upskilling teams, focusing on long-term talent retention and looking and evolving their organisation design alongside their technology procurement.”

What do you think? Share your thoughts by emailing editor@ebm.uk.

To learn more, read all interviews here.