Adobe Enlists NBA Legend Shaq to Promote AI Marketing Tools

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Shaq ribs fellow NBA hoops legend Charles Barkley on being a “dummy” about AI, one innovative marketing firm doubles down on the tech, and a new study shows that half of consumers—especially the young ones—can tell when they’re reading GenAI content…

TODAY’S AI-POWERED MARKETING UPDATE:

• Top Story: Adobe Enlists NBA Legend Shaq to Promote AI Marketing Tools

• Big Move: Brandtech Raises $115 Million to Advance GenAI Strategy

• Market Insight: Half of Consumers Can Detect AI-Generated Content

• Key Trend: Survey: 86% of Startups Say AI Positively Affecting Growth

• Future Vision: Nina Schick: AI Levels Playing Field in Marketing

• Quote of Day: Pratik Thakar, Snr. Director of GenAI at Coca-Cola

TOP STORY

Adobe Enlists NBA Legend Shaq to Promote AI Marketing Tools

Basketball legend Shaquille “Shaq” O’Neal served as the celebrity guest for Adobe at its annual conference last week, where the company introduced a new suite of AI tools designed for marketers to create content and manage campaigns.

"What I like about the technology is that it's very easy to use for dummies like Charles Barkley,” Shaq joked with attendees at the event.

According to a report from Inc., the suite of six new Adobe tools include:

• Automated campaign planning

• Hyper-personalized messaging

• Workflow automation

• Band messaging consistency

• Influencer marketing content production

• Infographic creation

“Generative AI enables a fundamental shift in the relationship between brands and their customers, creating a transformative moment for business leaders to drive organizational productivity while delivering new digital experiences,” said Anil Chakravarthy, president of Adobe’s Digital Experience Business.

BIG MOVE

Brandtech Raises $115 Million to Advance GenAI Strategy

The Brandtech Group, a digital-only marketing agency, announced that it has raised $115 million to support a strategy of advancing what it claims to be its current “lead” position in the GenAI space.

Since its founding in 2015, Brandtech has invested in AI chatbots, AI media planning, AI data, and AI “mind twins,” including an AI version of Deepak Chopra called “Digital Deepak,” launched in 2021.

Brandtech acquired the company Pencil in 2018, which a generative AI marketing company it says has created over 1 million GenAI-produced ads, powered by $1 billion in media spend across 5,000 brands.

In connection with the new investment funds, Brandtech announced that Matthieu Bucaille, former CEO of Lazard International, has joined the company as its global CFO.

Brandtech recently was named by Fast Company as one of the “World’s Most Innovative Companies.”

MARKET INSIGHT

Half of Consumers Can Detect AI-Generated Content

Fifty percent of consumers are able to detect copy that was generated by AI, with millennials (aged 25-34) found to be the best at spotting it, according to a survey of 2,000 participants in the US and UK, conducted by Bynder.

The survey also found that a majority of consumers think news articles—as opposed to marketing content—should be written by a person, with 51% of respondents preferring the “human touch” over AI-generated news content.

The study also found that when participants are aware they’re reading AI-generated content, “52% feel less engaged.”

Participants aged 16-24 were the only group that considered content created by humans more engaging than AI-generated material. Of those in this age bracket who had a preference, 55% voted for the human-written article as being the most engaging.

Americans in the test were more likely (55%) able to detect AI-produced content than UK consumers (45%).

Bynder’s complete report is available here.

KEY TREND

Survey: 86% of Startups Say AI Positively Affecting Growth

The newly released results from a survey of over 1,000 startup founders conducted by HubSpot reveals that 86% think the use of AI has had a positive impact on their company’s go-to-market strategy.

“Not only that, but the highest-growth startups and those with the most funding were the most likely to have a designated AI team and attribute their growth to AI,” according to the survey.

Founders that have invested in an AI strategy are finding success and making “big investments” in AI tools and employees with AI skills. Of those surveyed, 71% said they have a designated individual or team specializing in acquisition or use of AI in their go-to-market strategy.

Among the chief concerns of respondents were the cost of external hiring for those with AI experience (47%), integration issues between AI and existing systems (46%), lack of existing employees’ AI expertise (44%) and overall cost of AI tools (39%).

FUTURE VISION

Nina Schick: AI Levels Playing Field in Marketing

On a more optimistic note about the promise of AI to “democratize” and level the playing field for smaller players in the marketing world, author and geopolitical expert Nina Schick writes in a new column on Think with Google that “AI has revolutionized how content is built and scaled.”

Schick has helped shape policy and decision-making on artificial intelligence (AI) at a governmental level, by advising global leaders, including Joe Biden and Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the former Secretary General of NATO.

“The most exciting potential lies in the limitless possibilities AI unlocks,” she writes.

“We're still in the early stages of AI development, but the ability to put AI to work for you to create entire marketing campaigns, including video content, copywriting, and multilingual translations on a single platform, is already on the horizon.

“In the future, AI could completely level the playing field, making the most important factor your ideas and storytelling capabilities. This is not just exciting for marketing, but for society as a whole,” according to Schick.

TODAY’S MARKETING MASTER TIP:

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THAT’S ALL FOR TODAY, FOLKS!