How Brands Are Leveraging AI in Marketing Today
Artificial intelligence (AI) is not just one of the hot topics of the moment. It is instead a factor capable of influencing our daily life and our consumption choices.
AI in recent years has been instrumental in driving innovations in sectors such as medicine, research, language, cars and of course, advertising. However, we might wonder, how is it used in marketing and what kind of companies are implementing the use of this technology?
Surprisingly, it’s not just technology or cloud computing companies: artificial intelligence now goes through all the marketing stages, from product concept to shopping experience.
Among the best-known companies to employ AI, we clearly find giants such as Spotify, Google, Amazon, Tesla and IBM, all popular for dealing with big data.
It is important to keep in mind that we are not talking about science fiction: AI is already constantly present and influential in our everyday life.
A practical case is that of Spotify. Not all applications of AI occur in a striking way: some developments and functionalities could be taken for granted, but they are the result of complex technologies and innovation.
In fact, Spotify has made investments, in the past, in the implementation of AI to produce the feed of the suggested songs. Basically, depending on the music a user listens to, the software creates a list of songs or artists that might interest him. Playlists like “Your Daily Podcast” or “Discover Weekly” are nothing more than the result of an algorithm using artificial intelligence to build a tailor-made product.
And the same mechanism makes Netflix’s “Recommended for You” possible.
Similarly, this is how digital voice assistants like Siri (by Apple) or Alexa (by Amazon) work.
All this is possible thanks to Machine learning — an application of AI that provides systems with the ability to automatically learn and improve from experience.
Essentially, Machine Learning algorithms use mathematical-computational methods to learn information directly from data, without models and predetermined equations. These algorithms improve their performance in an “adaptive” way, from the previous examples they have, enabling, for examples, augmented reality experiences and personalized advertising.
What are the main benefits of using AI for both companies and consumers?
- Personalization of the customer journey, through an analysis of the channels and devices used by the consumer.
- Capture organic and paid traffic more efficiently and cost-effectively. Data collection allows us to develop some models based on user behaviour and to optimize advertising.
- Artificial intelligence (AI) technology is capable of merging and processing data from different types of platforms to draw conclusions and apply a data-driven decision-making approach.
Although the subject seems very complex, many brands in the retail and consumer goods industry already use AI applications to improve the consumer experience, including:
- Under Armour. This brand has created an app which behaves as a fitness watch. Using some information given, the app can suggest certain healthy habits and workouts, based on the consumers' lifestyle.
- Starbucks. It creates a brand experience using the consumers' data granted through the rewards program. In this way, a tailor-made experience is possible for each customer (for example, a free coffee for one’s birthday). The brand has also created a virtual assistance function (My Starbucks barista).
- Tommy Hilfiger. The company used AI to collect data and characteristics of past collections: in this way, brand new trends were created, and a unique product was offered to the consumer.
- H&M. Through an analysis of receipts returns, and loyalty card data, the Swedish brand is able to adapt products and collections according to each different store. Moreover, with Google, they have also created Coded Couture, a technology that allows people to create one of a kind designs based on their lifestyle.
- Asos. Another retailer which integrated AI into its system, where they introduced a new tool to improve the shopping experience, called “Fit Assistant”.
- L’Oréal. A cosmetic brand that has been talked about a lot recently for having used cutting-edge technologies to create smart beauty products and services that match the needs of consumers, offering them almost unlimited customization and precision. Indeed, a product called “Perso” allows you to purchase customized skincare products, along with an in-store augmented reality tester.
AI and Machine learning are in constant evolution and experimentation. That’s why brands use them in unique ways.
Furthermore, let’s not forget that a set of data without a context has no value: hence, it’s still the union of technology and human intellect that makes this instrument brilliant, able to improve consumers life quality, and not only.
To conclude, we recommend some videos to learn more about the topic of AI. If you liked the content, please share it with your friends.
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Written by: Elettra Riccardi
