AI: Advocating for AI in Marketing
Recently I came across an interesting piece on LinkedIn, a dear friend, Adebola Olomo was nominated and eventually recognized as the Women in AI’s Ambassador For Ireland!. The backstory is that she is an immigrant from Nigeria and moved to Ireland barely 5 years ago.
She worked with HubSpot where she had a first-hand experience of the possibilities of AI-driven marketing platforms unlocking tremendous business growth. Naturally, I was excited and immediately I congratulated her and expressed my happiness for her.
When we got chatting, I mentioned I’d always known she was passionate about Martech, but then couldn’t help but notice how she embraced AI in marketing and has since been an advocate. Her journey with AI started at Hubspot Ireland, where she was inspired and encouraged to build a deeper interest in AI-driven marketing. Her response: “AI is something I’m deeply passionate about because it has the power to bring representation to the forefront. It creates opportunities for every voice to be heard and every story to be seen. My journey with AI began after a conversation with Dharmesh Shah, where he mentioned it was the next big thing... That moment ignited something in me, and I haven’t looked back since."
I have personally wondered around the potential impact of AI on marketing and how it will transform the playing field. Already we have seen AI writing copy, transcribing videos, editing, building presentations, analyzing customer data, and giving insights - in seconds! I remember attending an industry event last year - SocialEast 2023-, one of the big debates was around the fears and gains of AI in the marketing industry.
One of the speakers emphatically stated that we need to see AI as an assistant and a tool against competition, we may not optimize its potential. I asked my friend Adebola about her opinion regarding the negative perceptions of AI taking over jobs, and she also shared similar thoughts "AI isn’t a replacement for creativity or strategy—it’s an enabler. The best marketing campaigns still begin with a human idea, rooted in purpose and creativity. AI simply gives those ideas the wings to scale, adapt, and reach audiences faster than ever." I couldn't agree more.
The future of AI is bright with opportunities, innovations, and robust bottom lines for businesses that quickly embrace and integrate it into their processes. Businesses, large or cottage-sized, should start to learn as much as possible how to use AI to build marketing strategies and execute campaigns. Marketing agencies must find ways to bring AI-driven tools into the conversation when meeting with their clients. They should get to a place of comfort and flexibility where it becomes an enabler of ideas, strategies, and measuring campaign results. We shouldn't forget that it wasn't too long ago that we started using computers for advertising - ask Don Draper in Madmen how he managed to design ads without Photoshop and Microsoft Word.
Adebola is currently the Chief Operating Officer of Deefrent Media Agency, where they leverage marketing technology to solve their client’s marketing and communication challenges. I would encourage marketing agencies to get comfortable with the changing technology landscape before they find themselves at the back of the queue. Every day new innovations are entering the game, just as Google and Meta entered the advertising game and made the old guards - WPP and others - obsolete.
Source (https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7252241882393505792/)