How AI is enabling businesses to harness the power of marketing
There’s a lot of talk about AI right now. There are many fears about the regulation of this technology and it potentially leading to job losses. Many marketing agencies like ours are worried it will stop people needing us at all! But, it’s an amazing tool for businesses of all kinds, and if embraced and used correctly it can enhance the ability of all companies to market themselves effectively, and we think that’s a good thing.
Let’s dig a little deeper into AI.
What is AI?
Artificial intelligence also known as AI is a form of technology that enable computers to perform a variety of advanced functions, it can create text, an image or even read text aloud.
This is revolutionary technology. If someone told you, just a few years ago, that a robot could write an entire article on the basis of being given a simple instruction, you wouldn’t believe it. But now it’s here, and accessible to be used by everyone.
The applications of this technology and AI itself are evolving fast, and there are more and more AI systems coming out with different functions, which can help a wide range of businesses and individuals.
AI is great for the SME and Solopreneur
We think that small businesses will find AI particularly beneficial.
These individuals and small businesses don’t have the budget to use marketing agencies, or sub out roles like data analysis or data entry to other professionals. They have to try to take on everything and become skilled in all aspects of business, without having the time or (often) the inclination.
For these busy and stretched people, using AI to automate processes, and speed up the production of everything from emails and graphics to presentations and reports is an absolute God Send.
Why Use AI as part of your marketing function?
AI makes marketing easier, smarter and can save a lot of time. It helps you understand what your audience likes and creates content that connects with them. With AI, you can predict trends and target customers better, leading to more engagement and sales.
Trialling AI
While marketing agencies are worried about AI removing a large percentage of our work, it can be a tool for us too. It’s important to understand what it can do and its limitations and where a person is still needed in the campaign. To figure that out, we’ve been experimenting with AI to see what it can do for us and our customers.
Read on to see the steps, frustrations and results from our intern Sebastian and our Director Andy Turnbull when it comes to AI Generated Images.
Sebastian
Our intern Sebastian really dived into the world of AI to write text, create logos and images like the ones below. He liked the technology and how much it sped things up, but didn’t feel it was a complete solution just yet. Over to you Sebastian –
“There are different types of AI that specialise in creating different things. To create the images above I used the AI system ChatGPT, the most well-known one and the first one to come out.
It is very easy to use, basically there is a Chatbox prompt where you tell the AI what you want it to do in plain English. For example: “Create me an image for an Instagram post about the importance of marketing for businesses”.
Here’s the result:
You can see here that the image quality is not so good, the text makes no sense, there’s spelling errors and it looks childish. I have also used Leonardo.ai and Gemini, they are both more focused on creating images and other graphic functions. Whichever one you use, you’ll generally follow these steps –
- Give the AI a prompt, describing exactly how you want your text or images to appear.
- It will give you a first design or article, which is likely to not be good.
- You will then tell the AI the changes you want to make and keep refining it until you like it.
AI is still limited when it comes to image production, because it isn’t creative. When you ask AI to make you a design it will pick parts of an already created library of images and it will just mix them up with help of the commands you wrote. The results are often not what you asked for.”
Andy
As our digital marketing and IT specialist, Andy has been keeping up with the AI developments and trying it out in different ways. Here’s what he’s been learning.
“I use AI to create logos and collate information for inclusion in articles. To understand it, think of AI like an automated Google search that scrapes the whole internet looking for relevant data and then compiling it into an article in the style you choose.
Obviously, there are limitations to this system. Namely; it can only scrape for information that already exists up until the year that has been indexed by the bot, and it doesn’t know if that data is right or wrong. Be warned that a lot of information can come from Wikipedia. This is unverified data, uploaded by humans and can often be changed to incorrectly reflect something the editor wants you to think. This means fact checking is crucial!
Image generation by AI is clearly in its infancy and although it does a reasonable job of creating a logo for use by your company, it is extremely frustrating to use and mainly ignores all further prompts to adjust the image to your liking.
We recently needed to quickly create a logo for a motorcycle rider we are helping to fundraise for, as part of our social media management. As we’re not charging for our services, we tried out AI to see what it could do.
First, we tried ChatGPT, with the prompt; “generate a funky logo for a junior gp motorbike rider called Josh Wood, his number is 36. It should only feature his name and number and the primary colours are pink and purple”
The response was:
Here’s a funky logo for Josh Wood, featuring his name, number 36, and the primary colors pink and purple. Let me generate that for you now. 🎨🏍️
I wasn’t able to generate the logo because the request didn’t follow content policy. However, I can still design a concept for you or provide guidance on creating one.
Rather than the design, they gave these suggestions.
Design Elements:
- Typography:
- A bold, futuristic racing font for “Josh Wood” to convey speed and energy.
- The number 36 should be large and dynamic, possibly slanted to suggest motion.
- Color Scheme:
- Primary colors: Pink & Purple (Bright neon shades for a vibrant, modern look).
- Accent colors: White or black for contrast and sharpness.
- Style & Effects:
- A graffiti or glitch effect to add a funky, youthful vibe.
- A speed trail or motion blur around the number 36 to give a high-speed racing feel.
- A lightning bolt or flame accent to add intensity and power.
- Shape & Layout:
- A compact, aggressive layout with layered text.
- Potential for a helmet silhouette or bike-inspired elements subtly integrated.
This was not what we were looking for. So, I then tried the same prompt in Gemini (which is much better with images). The first attempt was completely wrong:
We then asked it “only feature his name and number” to which it produced:
So we asked again “Only his name and number, no other text” to which it produced:
At this point I gave up and used the design concept produced from ChatGPT as the first prompt in Gemini, utilising both AI bots! It created this nonsense:
Another attempt at asking it to “only use his name and number” resulted in this:
And finally, just about at the point to throw the whole lot in the bin and pay a Graphic Designer, we achieved this with the prompt “Remove all other text except Josh Wood and 36”.
It certainly will not win any design awards but after an hour of hair pulling and frustrations, we had something we could use!
Will AI Mean the End of Marketing Agencies?
Andy doesn’t think so, “Do I think we should be worried? Definitely not yet.
It’s a useful tool that makes quick work of collating data which can then be included in articles, and with a bit of patience it will create you a usable image. However, articles for blogs and press releases need a more human touch and it is normally very obvious when an article has been written entirely with AI (lots of bullet lists are a clear giveaway normally).”
Predictions are that AI will help businesses, including marketing agencies, if used in a smart and strategic way. Agencies can also guide their clients on where it can be used most effectively and where a human with a creative brain is used.
Clearly this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to AI, but it’s not causing us sleepless nights just yet.