Will the Virtual Influencer ruin it all?

In the past 10 years, the rise of social media influencers has dramatically shifted how brands interact with new and younger demographics.  It has gotten to the point where one does not need to be a celebrity before then, they could be famous simply for having a lot of likes and a lot of opinions online. Although many of these influencer/brand deals may save some money from traditional advertising routes, many of these influencers have gone on to create challenges for these brands. As these influencers are human, scandals come to light or, they may simply go out of favor for their audiences. Depending on the agreements these brands have with influencers, this can cause extreme damage to the brand's reputation. 

Brands are now looking for alternative ways to connect to these younger audiences (gen z and younger millennials) who are not easily swayed by traditional marketing campaigns. An alternative to this is a virtual influencer/brand ambassador. We have seen them for years, Lil Miquela, Guggimon, and others but what if, the brand had their own dedicated influencer. Cancel proof, no travel, no crazy schedules, no usage fees, or extensive contracts. Some brands are starting to opt for it. Olmeca presented Maria Margarita and Samsung unveiled G-Nusmas last year. 

A lot of the downsides to "real" influencers are what may make a brand go for a virtual influencer. But, what are the pros of a virtual influencer that are not dependent on the "real" influencers? In many ways, we are just cycling back to traditional marketing under a new name. Although some brands have been very happy with their virtual influencers, when a character/person is so heavily associated with just one brand, the younger demographics may not see this as inauthentic. It is a bet these brands are willing to take and they will need to figure out what really sets these virtual influencers apart from the "real" ones. Otherwise, the "real" influencers will be here to stay for a very long time. 

sources:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2022/10/18/the-rise-of-virtual-influencers-and-what-it-means-for-brands/?sh=83bf17e6b56c

https://news.samsung.com/global/an-out-of-this-world-whimsical-employee-meet-samsungs-newest-virtual-avatar-gnusmas

https://whiskeyraiders.com/article/maria-margarita-virtual-influencer-olmeca-tequila/

Amazon Ads

https://www.vox.com/recode/2022/11/10/23450349/amazon-advertising-everywhere-prime-sponsored-products

In class, we discussed Amazon as a destination for digital advertising.  Reading this article, I found the size and scope of Amazon's ad unit to be quite astounding, especially the quote that says "Amazon's ad revenue surpassed the money it makes from Prime, Prime Video, and its other audio and e-book subscriptions combined."  

It is interesting how vast a portfolio of advertising placement Amazon has; in addition to ads on the site when shopping on Amazon, there are ads on digital prosperities such as Twitch, advertising in digital video content (including Thursday Night Football), and then on top of that, advertising placement on physical boxes sent out by Amazon.

Amazon is a company known for its leadership principles (https://www.amazon.jobs/content/en/our-workplace/leadership-principles) - and at the top of the list is that they are "customer centric."  The other business units - Prime, Prime video, audio, and e-book subscriptions are just that: customer centric.  These are all areas of the business meant to attract and retain customers.  Advertising, however, is historically not customer friendly, as most people don't like ads.  The article highlights this struggle as it described friction between the ad division and the customer experience division.  

However, given the huge profitability of the Ad Unit, it seems likely that this business will only continue to grow.  It will be interesting to see if "Customer Centric" continues to stay as the top Leadership Principle as this growth continues.  

(Additional link: https://advertising.amazon.com/solutions/industries/automotive-marketing - an interesting link that shows how Amazon positions it to advertisers in different industries, in this case the automotive industry)

Voice assistants’ effects on search

 

I am curious to see how Alexa and Google Home will change search.  Seeing as how Search makes its money on ads these days, will commerce in the future still use search as the interface between buyers and sellers or will voice assistants now take care of those transactions?  If yes, how will they monetize those transactions taking place through voice assistants?  Will advertising still be relevant, or a sustainable model?  Would voice assistants recommend ways/brands/companies to purchase a product?  If so, would those recommendations still be an auction model, with those who bid highest for those ads getting the featured spot? 

As voice assistants become more popular and more accurate, I’m curious what other features they will deliver that may change the ways of how big tech companies currently do business.  I’m also curious about what opportunities beyond BAU they present.  While currently they seem to fall in to the category of predictive analytics (answering a question given to them) in the future I’m sure they will fall into deep learning (presenting the questions and the answers without needing to be asked).  I wonder what that will look like and how consumers will treat or react to that type of service.

Niche Marketing via Influencers: How Real Estate is Adapting

The United States is a society that prides itself on the “brand” of the individual while Americans fall into the need for conformity. Luxury real estate developers are tapping into this ethos with the recent NYT pieces on niche influences that gain access to specific buildings and views in exchange for free advertising. Marketing is moving away from the general trendsetter into niche influence that reflects the “brand” of the individual who is rejecting mass conformity for the individual aesthetic. By tapping into niche influencers, luxury real estate is finally hyper-targeting a specific audience that often is difficult to engage. 

While this may seem like guerrilla marketing, this exclusivity for engagement benefits both the account posting and the product they are promoting. It is a sophisticated exchange of services for view ( in the case of the NYT article) that will no longer be available for the majority of the public once the apartment sells. In combination with the tone at the end of the piece about a South Bronx property fueling gentrification as the exchange of benefits is tried to justify the end by adapting themselves as a local member of the community via the niche influencer introductions.

 Source: 

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/24/business/real-estate-tiktok-social-media-influencers.html

Horizon Media Launches an AI Tool That Promises to Optimize Ad Spends

While many marketers have been thinking about how AI could potentially replace writers and designers, the folks at Horizon Media are thinking about how it could potentially replace ad buyers, too. After two and a half years of development, they’ve finally launched Neon, an AI tool that promises to help advertisers optimize their ad spend across major retail media networks like Amazon, WalMart and Albertsons. They’ll use artificial intelligence to predict critical KPIs like ROAS (Return on Ad Spend), analyze the results of competitors (which was previously impossible for advertisers) and leveraging data used in previous marketing mix models. 

As the popular argument goes, I still believe that tools like Neon should remain just that—tools. I don’t think that society will (or should ever) be in a place where AI can replace humans entirely. I believe that tools like Neon can make well-informed recommendations, but a human should always have to be the person who presses the “launch” button when a campaign is ready to go live. For example, if a major retailer is suddenly going through a scandal, an AI bot would miss those cultural cues and run the ad not knowing the PR ramifications associated with doing that. I am a firm believer that AI can enhance processes by improving the efficacy of an advertisers’ marketing dollars, but I would be surprised to see it replace the (human) workforce altogether.

Sources:

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/horizon-medias-night-market-launches-neon-an-ecommerce-predictive-ai-platform-to-plan-and-optimize-media-investments-to-revenue-outcomes-301723235.html

https://www.marketingbrew.com/stories/2023/01/20/horizon-created-an-ai-tool-that-it-says-can-help-optimize-retail-media-spend

Google being sued by the DOJ for monopolizing digital ad tech

 https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-google-monopolizing-digital-advertising-technologies

So this dropped and I wonder if it will have any teeth. Does Google have anything to fear and would we all really be much better off with other options? I guess competition is good for the consumer, but what does a solution really look like? I have more questions than commentary on what looks to be a real threat to Google's dominance. Is it a real threat though? They've beaten the rap before and they certainly have the technology, money, and power to fight the case. I wouldn't want to bet against Google even though I 100% believe that they have a somewhat monopolistic stronghold on the digital advertising business. Time will tell, but this case could change the game in digital advertising. 

AI and the future of creative work

In the past year, we have seen the release of various "creative" AI platforms such as DALL-E and ChatGPT. Although some brands have embraced the platforms and have even released campaigns heavily based on the outputs of AI, others are concerned about how this may affect the role of creatives in the advertising space. I believe that it is important for creatives and agencies as a whole to embrace these platforms and utilize them as tools to better sell their services. When my team is working on a pitch with very abstract creative, we may pull from these platforms to help illustrate the ideas to clients. 

Ultimately, these platforms are not able to do the “actual” work. They may be able to produce a reference image but a client may want to make adjustments/improvements. This will require creatives directors, copywriters, and artists. In order for projects to be completed in a timely and efficient manner, producers and account managers are needed. Although these tools will continue to get better and may start to mimic the duties of one’s job, it is a human that then needs to make the decision on what to do with the output of these platforms.

Source:

 https://adage.com/article/marketing-news-strategy/watch-mint-mobiles-ad-created-chatgpt/2462502

https://adage.com/creativity/work/hardees-campaign-proves-ai-has-its-limitations/2462851

To be Tracked or Forgotten: The Impact of Jan 1 with CPRA

To be Tracked or Forgotten: The Impact of Jan 1 with CPRA

This January saw the first steps in the most current US battle between digital advertisers and US privacy advocates when it comes to cross-site tracking (known as behavioral advertising). This activity occurs when a consumer watches a knitting video on youtube and then is fed a “wobbles” knitting sponsored post on Instagram. This differs from contextual advertising which learns from a consumer's past actions on a single platform. IE when you watch knitting reels and then are fed sponsored posts for yarn releases or knitting patterns on Instagram. 

January 1, 2023 saw the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) implementation. This new privacy act allows consumers to opt out of cross-contextual behavioral advertising.  Privacy experts are applauding this step forward for US data protection as a “catch-up” to EU regulation. However, some critics believe that the consumer requirement to opt-out for each website will create user fatigue similar to EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) IE how an individual just starts accepting most cookies in order to gain access to the website regardless of what information these cookies are gathering. Some US critics believe the policy should be an Opt-In to better facilitate protection for the consumer. However, this critique is opposed by the digital advertisers that utilize this data as the consumer’s data is what is used to pay for the “free and open” internet. 2023 will be an interesting year as digital marketing adapts to these infantile privacy laws as the true impact will not be known for a few more months.

Netflix at the Upfronts

https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/netflix-tv-upfront-advertising-1235488128/

Netflix replacing Paramount at this year’s Upfronts is cementing a paradigm shift in advertising.  Upfront Week has historically been grounded in the traditional linear television ad space.  The New Fronts emerged as a companion to Upfront Week, but for digital advertising platforms.  However, Disney started to blur the lines between linear and digital last year when they removed Hulu from the New Fronts and instead did a company presentation across all platforms.  (https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/disney-pulls-hulu-from-newfronts-plans-company-wide-advertiser-showcase-1234904956/).

It is interesting that Paramount decided to vacate their Upfront Week presentation entirely, thereby leaving an opening for Netflix.  Paramount has a strong portfolio of linear platforms (and television’s current number 1 rated series Yellowstone), as well as their own digital platform in Paramount+ so one would certainly expect to see them at the Upfronts.    

Lines between linear and digital advertising continue to blur and it will be interesting to see the evolution of both Upfronts and New Fronts.  Some thoughts on trends to keep track of include:

1)      Will traditional media companies like Paramount stay away from Upfronts moving forward, or will they return?  These are expensive events to run and Paramount’s exit this year could be tied to the economic downturn

2)      Long term will there be “Upfronts” and “New Fronts” or eventually do these two sets of advertiser events merge into one (in the way that Disney has done for their portfolio of linear and digital)

 

Identifying the right metrics

 

I think that identifying the most important metric to track in digital marketing is a particularly interesting topic.  For example, impressions, interactions, time spent, conversions, etc. all serve different elements of the marketing funnel and can be traced back as a metric depending on the strategy of a particular digital marketing initiative. 

Metrics can even be less finite such as: collecting a new customer, re-engaging a retained customer, or even being able to articulate paying the lowest cost per metric, are other ways to identify success within a digital marketing campaign.

I feel that identifying and agreeing on what these metrics are upfront is a great way to ensure that the framework of a digital strategy is being met.  For example, once the framework of goal, strategy, tactics, and metrics is laid out, one can have a better understanding of (1.) what digital channels to use to serve the goal, and (2.) what metrics should be used to evaluate success of meeting that goal.

I’m also interested to learn more about how multi touch attribution plays into metrics even once such a framework is put together.  With many different touchpoints, often the last touch channel gets the credit for delivering on a metric when in fact it may be a variety of touchpoints that led to that metric delivery.

From Zero to ChatGPT Hero: How to Harness AI in Marketing

 From Zero to ChatGPT Hero: How to Harness AI in Marketing

I recently watched my co-worker use ChatGPT to help her write an investment memo and I was really impressed by its capabilities to provide content quickly with little direction. It feels a little like cheating and a little like harnessing the next greatest technology ever. I am curious as to where the line between plagiarism and useful tool lies with ChatGPT. It's nice to have options when it comes to marketing ideas and ChatGPT might be a great way to unblock a stuck content creator that needs the next blog or social media post. Is this the beginning of the end where the machines take over and learn how to market to humans better than we can to each other? It's not there yet, but it stands to reason that AI and ChatGPT will have a place in the digital marketers toolbox going forward.       

TikTok Is Being Banned on an Increasing Number of College Campuses

The University of Texas at Austin is the latest school to ban TikTok from its WiFi and other wired networks. They’re following the lead of other state schools like The University of Georgia system, Auburn University and many others.I am very intrigued by the impact that this forbiddance could have on brands who heavily rely on the social media app for its advertising spend—specifically brands who target college students. According to one TikTok Research Study, ads created specifically for the app in partnership with a creator result in 83% higher engagement rates than those without. In other words, this policy could have serious ramifications for brands relying on influencer marketing. It isn’t just the audience that’s valuable, either—it’s how the audience is accessing their content. According to neuromarketing and neuroanalytics firm Neuro-Insight, in-feed ads have a 23% higher detail memory than television ads.

While students may find clever workarounds for accessing the app, I imagine that this will still have a significant impact on a brand’s social media KPIs like views, impressions and reach, which could in turn have negative consequences for ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) and CAC (Cost to Acquire Customer). I could also see this having implications for the NCAA’s NIL rule and therefore athletic recruitment. For example, if a top athlete has a choice between a school that allows TikTok versus one that does not, will he/she opt for the school that allows TikTok so that they can earn money by partnering with brands on the popular social media platform? Brands will also suffer because if the athlete’s audience who they are targeting are concentrated in a certain region (e.g. the school the athlete attends), then brand’s might miss out on the huge returns that TikTok promises its advertisers.

Sources: https://www.morningbrew.com/daily/stories/university-of-texas-austinban-tiktok, https://www.tiktok.com/business/en-US/blog/tiktok-drives-greater-audience-engagement

https://www.tiktok.com/business/en/blog/brand-collaborations-tiktok-creators-drive-big-results

Moz Blog

Moz is a company that provides a range of tools and services for search engine optimization (SEO). The Moz blog is a blog on their website that provides news, tips, and insights on SEO, digital marketing, and online branding. The blog features articles written by Moz's in-house team of experts, as well as contributions from industry leaders and other experts. The content on the Moz blog covers a wide range of topics, including keyword research, link building, content marketing, and technical SEO. It is a valuable resource for individuals and businesses looking to improve their online visibility and performance.

 

 The industry's top wizards, doctors, and other experts offer their best advice, research, how-tos, and insights—all in the name of helping you level-up your SEO and online marketing skills.

 

The Moz Keyword eplorer tool is here to save the day. Moz is probably the most respected thought leader in the world of SEO, so when they designed a tool to make keyword research as easy as possible, it’s no surprise that they thought of everything. The keyword explorer lets you analyze any keyword you are interested in ranking for, using specific metrics that were chosen for their usefulness.

If you have a free Moz account (which is easy-peasy to set up if you don’t already have one), you are limited to 20 queries per month, so keep this in mind before you begin exploring. We’ll give you a few tips for making the most of these free searches later in this blog post.

 

Will Social-based E-commerce Model Work In Future?

While Amazon demonstrated a successful business model for e-commerce, Pinduoduo, the second largest e-commerce platform in China, has developed a team-based/social-based buying model. 

Pinduoduo's social, team-based buying model (platform layout shown above) has built success upon creating an unconventional, feed-based shopping experience, rather than a search based experience typical of traditional retail and e-tail. It runs under a "'you don’t know what you want but happy to discover'" mantra, in essence, building a feed catered to each individual user in a personalized, virtual bazaar format. This model has drawn millions to the app and has allowed Pinduoduo to grow its user base and revenues at a dazzling pace.

While this model significantly contributed to its user growth and GMV, the negative side cannot be ignored. Its social interaction is mainly sharing a link with existing connections and asking them to do a favor by registering and clicking the link. This is disturbing especially if sent to people that are not in close connection. Current social-based e-commerce was regarded as annoying and unhelpful to get desired discounts.

Therefore, when Pinduoduo enter the U.S. market, it has launched a new brand called Temu. Temu is similar to Amazon where products are displayed to show its quality, which is completely different from Pinduoduo itself. Its business success still remains to be verified, but seems social-based e-commerce would not be a prioritized strategy for Pinduoduo.

Wechat's recent focus on mini program - embedded apps in wechat

Wechat, the largest social media app in China, has demonstrated its leading position in social media, payment, etc. One noticeable trend is its emphasis on the "Mini-program" - simple apps that are embedded in the app. 

While keeping its position as the dominant social app and payment app in China, WeChat is also trying to replace App Store/Android Store by launching “Mini-programs”. WeChat initiated “mini-programs” in 2019 and now has 7Mn+ mini-programs on its platform. Mini programs are frequently used in ordering online and accumulating points. Also, the “Health code” that permits entering buildings and restaurants is frequently used. Other mini programs include games and videos.

From user's perspective, mini program is extremely easy to use. I don’t need to download multiple apps for ordering. I just simply open WeChat, and the apps are integrated within WeChat. Over the past year I used 500+ mini programs, and it saved the time and energy to download their apps individually. From the developer’s perspective, mini program is much easier to develop and is highly effective for gathering consumers’ information and building connections with them.

Considering monetization, Wechat is free to developers and users. There are display ads for specific free apps, such as Weibo (Chinese twitter), and the developer can pay a membership fee so that users can use it for free.

The Dark Side of Data

This week's discussion regarding the "Social Dilemma" highlighted a number of intriguing -- yet at times, concerning -- trends and issues related to digital marketing. One of those in particular that keep surfacing in my mind was the use and power of big data. As this class has taught us, a skilled marketer can use such information to influence the actions and beliefs of very specific audiences. That power can (and has been) be used for nefarious purposes and has the potential to create further social inequalities. 

Its not a new debate by any stretch; we live in the Information Age. But I think that there is a growing divide between the have's and the have-not's. In other words, the people, groups, and interests that are able to harness the power of data and use it to influence outcomes in their favor are gaining ground on those that cannot. 

We have seen instances like that of Cambridge Analytica weaponize big data in their digital marketing war against Democrats to influence the outcome of the 2016 U.S. election. This is problematic in of itself, however even further, the people, groups and interests that are lower end of the data literacy spectrum are disproportionately people of color. 

If we don't take steps to empower certain people with the skills, knowledge and access to the world of big data, it has the potential to emerge as its own form of inequality. With all that said, I am still optimistic about where society is heading and the potential for big data to level the playing field against inequality. Its incumbent on leaders such as us in this class to lead business and society in the right direction - which is a responsibility I take seriously. 

Subscription model back in trends

Several years back, subscription-based business was the hot commodity on the market, such as Birchbox and Smashbox etc. In recent periods, this type of business model died down and the “surprise” factor wore off. 

However, we saw another wave of rising subscription model in E Commerce – subscribing to a particular product and receive automatic replenishment. Amazon probably is the first major player adopting this model, and now we see other platforms such as Sephora and many DTC brands started the same offering. To provide incentives to consumers, the brand typically offers a discount if customers signing up for subscription. The value proposition is no longer the surprise factor, but the promotional discount and the convenience of not having to reorder the product. This model also increases customer loyalty and repeat purchase. As a result, customer life value increases and the payback period on marketing costs becomes longer. The ROI of marketing jumps and brands could potentially save more marketing costs.  

The auto replenishment subscription model is still mainly used as a tool to retain customer when they are already on the webpage and making purchase decisions. We haven’t seen many brands using the discount as a main marketing point in terms of customer acquisition. 

Beasting the Content

 

Youtuber, Jimmy Donaldson, was recently pictured on the cover of Forbes. Jimmy, goes by MrBeast, and has spent his young adulthood creating fun youtube videos to gain a following and build an empire. MrBeast's first video was posted in February of 2012, and since then, he's been able to accumulate over 19 billion Youtube views. So how did he get there, and what can aspiring content creators take away from MrBeast's creator journey? 

The first step to become a successful content creator is to have a good understanding of your main audience.

• Identify what you're good at and lean into it. Analyze your audience by looking into your platform's metrics. This could be Youtube, TikTok, IG, or Pinterest. Once you have a better understanding of your core audience, produce content that is relevant to your audience and unique to your own personal brand. 

 

The next step would is to plan a content strategy and have an overall goal in mind. What goal would you like to achieve and what small steps can you take to get there?

• For example: Writing out your plan, producing, and allocating efficient time to edit your content before it is published. 
• Find software that is easy-to-use and helps you cut down your editing time, so that you can invest more time on producing content to keep your audience engaged.  

 

The final step consists of putting it all together.

• Continue to analyze your metrics and data to figure out the effectiveness of what you're producing. You can continue to produce content that keeps these metrics and overall KPIs growing steadily. 
• Piggyback off current events. Make teasers, gain subscribers, and publish.
• Have a set calendar with clearly outlined content and publish target dates. 

Publish and share with the world! Maybe one day you'll be on Forbes like MrBeast.

P.S. Just for fun. 

 

AI makes digital marketing more effective and less costly

 

Artificial Intelligence can reduce the cost of digital marketing and increase its effectiveness in growing the sales and profitability. Also, AI can seamlessly stich marketing to sales for customer experience and reduce cost. 

With the help of machine learning, Netflix managed to save USD 1 billion in 2017. When a company is using AI, 34% of customers spend more money on their products and services. Apart from this, 49% are thinking about buying something from the company more often in case it uses AI.

Here is detailed description of how AI makes digital marketing more effective and reduces the cost. The text below is copied from Global Tech Council website.  

Table of Contents 

• What is AI Marketing, and Why is AI Important to Business?
• Ways in Which AI can Help in Lowering the Marketing Cost
• Concluding Lines

What is AI Marketing, and Why is AI Important to Business?

AI marketing is an innovative mechanism to leverage intelligence technologies in order to collect data, customer insights, predict customers’ subsequent moves, and make automated decisions. AI marketing offers one of the best ways to revolutionize the business world. AI is important to businesses as this technology benefits both large and small companies by assisting them in rising, ensuring efficient decision-making, and revolutionizing management. IDC predicts that by 2024, the AI market is expected to break the $500 billion and total revenues reaching around $554.3 billion. Moreover, Allied Market Research predicts that the global AI market size is expected to touch $169,411.8 million in the year 2025. 

With the help of machine learning, Netflix managed to save USD 1 billion in 2017. When a company is using AI, 34% of customers spend more money on their products and services. Apart from this, 49% are thinking about buying something from the company more often in case it uses AI.

The AI space is booming. If this domain interests you, you can get enrolled in Global Tech Council and become a Certified AI Expert.

Ways in Which AI can Help in Lowering the Marketing Cost

Let’s explore some of the ways by which AI can prove to be useful in lowering marketing costs. 

• Automation of Successful Processes

Various automation technologies have been developed over the last few decades to meet business needs. The aim is to make the business process more agile. Startups and businesses are taking advantage of the growth of AI in automation in this new period.

A smart AI algorithm is assisting leaders in foreseeing extraordinary outcomes. Retail, hospitality, and other service industries

• Automated Customer Interactions 

Despite the fact that many organizations and businesses have begun to use AI and machine learning to simplify their business practices, some firms continue to use manual procedures for tasks that could be handled more reliably and cost-effectively by automation. 

Thus by automating customer support tasks, for instance, handling thousands of queries in a day by leveraging AI technology such as chatbots, organizations can not only save their resources but can also expect enhanced quality levels. 

• Cuts Sales Costs and Not Revenues 

Whether it is a big organization or a small enterprise, the sales process requires a lot of money as the company has to invest in sales strategies in order to keep up with its competitors. Nowadays, due to technological advancements, salespeople are using AI to learn more about their clients. 

Thus, AI not only cuts the need of salespersons but also brings more revenues by offering personalized solutions and maximizing conversions. 

Does that mean a chatbot is a better salesperson than a human?

• Automated Marketing Testing 

By finding what a given customer is willing to pay or optimizing price across their customer and product mix, AI and ML may assist managers in capturing more sales and earnings. Automated marketing testing not only brings more revenue to the table but also frees up marketers in spending more time, leading to reduced marketing costs. As technology is evolving each passing day, AI-based models are capable of performing tasks with complete efficiency and accuracy. 

•  Free up Organization Employees

Apart from lowering costs, AI can free up organization employees from performing repetitive and ordinary jobs. In addition, it shortens the time that those tasks are originally done by your staff while reducing the errors to zero. 

Moreover, it can also reduce the cost of hiring employees while taking advantage of available talents to focus more on critical tasks, increasing overall efficiency.

Concluding Lines: Will AI Replace Humans

From the above discussion, it is clear that undoubtedly AI is a futuristic technology that can transform every business, every company, and every industry. But there is a myth surrounding this futuristic tech, and that is will AI replace humans? Here it is important to note that AI does not replace people in most cases. Instead, it enhances human capabilities and transforms how businesses operate and function. 

Cyber5, Economic Uncertainty, and What it Means for Marketers

 It has maybe never been a more confusing time to be a digital marketer. Between dealing with the ongoing ramifications of COVID, conflicting signals on customers' buying behaviors, and the looming potential of an economic recession - the kinetic nature of the consumer landscape has never felt more fraught. 

The most typical response to uncertainty like this, especially economic, by marketers is to cut back on their spend. I think what recessions past and even the recent market shock event at the start of the pandemic in 2020 have shown is that this is a mistake. And this is supported by research by Analytic Partners in their note from August 2020: "Marketers who cut spend risk losing 15% of their revenue during a recession". Research like this illustrates that when marketers cut back, they risk losing significant and outsized share of their business to competitors in their industry who choose to actually lean in. 

I think the dynamics that are created during times like this that create opportunity for marketers are the following: 

1) Reduced ad costs as overall advertiser demand decreases - creating an incredibly favorable ads ecosystem and market for those businesses choosing to continue to engage their prospective customers through marketing activities. 

2) A unique opportunity to go back to the basics of brand messaging to communicate clearly what brands stand for. I believe what we saw since 2020 was a clear shift, more obvious than during any other recent year, to marketers winning on consistent and clear brand values that resonate with their customers. Those that did not do this or stood by values that were not in line with customer expectations - were the big losers during this time. 

https://analyticpartners.com/news-blog/2022/08/report-cutting-spend-in-recession-risks-loss/