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Cut through the AI noise with the 3 A’s
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CUT THROUGH THE AI NOISE WITH THE 3 A’S

Jim Lecinski / September 2024
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CUT THROUGH THE AI NOISE WITH THE 3 A’S

Jim Lecinski September 2024

 * Automate Automate
 * Augment Augment
 * Analyze Analyze
 * Key takeaways Key takeaways

This is the third in a series of articles by Guest Thinkers, marketing experts
we’ve invited to share their own independent perspectives on topics salient to
Think with Google readers. The views expressed are those of the authors and may
not necessarily reflect the views of Google.

Back again as Guest Thinker is Jim Lecinski, clinical professor of marketing at
Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and author of The AI
Marketing Canvas. He’s previously written for Think with Google about how to
give your annual marketing plan a makeover and how marketers can become more
agile. Here, Jim offers his advice on how marketers can cut through the AI hype
and get to the heart of implementation in a practical, tangible, and beneficial
way.



The marketing world is abuzz over the enormous potential of AI, and rightly so.
However, given the noise of AI hype, buzzwords, and jargon, marketing leaders
like you tell me how challenging it is to find the true signal — the marketing
uses of AI that can make a real difference right now for your business, your
team, and your customers.

Over the past few years, I’ve counseled dozens of marketing leaders on how to
harness the power of AI effectively. The advice I consistently give is to focus
on what I call the “3 A’s”: automate, augment, and analyze. This simple yet
powerful framework cuts through the noise and helps marketers zero in on the
practical applications of AI that will make a real impact for businesses right
now.

Let’s explore these 3 A’s and see how you can use them to improve your marketing
efforts with AI.




AUTOMATE



Let’s face it: Marketers spend countless hours on tedious, repetitive tasks. But
imagine a world where AI automation takes care of the mundane and frees up
marketers to focus on strategic, high-impact work.

Say, for instance, a fashion brand were to use AI for automation to enhance
efficiency. AI-powered chatbots on its website and mobile app could manage a
wide range of routine customer requests around the clock — from providing
personalized product recommendations to scheduling in-store appointments. This
approach would significantly reduce customer wait times and allow the brand’s
human customer service agents to concentrate on more complex and meaningful
interactions. Given all the hours spent on these tasks today, using AI to
automate them could have a substantial impact.

CMOs looking to unlock similar gains should start by identifying tasks that are
ripe for automation. What repetitive processes consume your team’s time? Which
customer interactions could be easily handled by AI? Marketers who apply AI
solutions in these areas — think chatbots for customer service, AI-powered email
marketing platforms, Google’s Performance Max for Search campaigns, or automated
social media scheduling — can reclaim valuable time, boost productivity, and,
ultimately, grow revenues.


AUGMENT



Forget the fearmongering headlines. AI isn’t here to replace marketers; it’s
here to empower and enhance what you do. AI augments human creativity and
unlocks a world of one-on-one customer interactions that humans alone can’t
manage. Think of AI tools as creative partners and personalization engines that
help you deliver new customized brand experiences and impact.

If, for example, a global fitness brand were to use AI, it could enhance —
rather than replace — the role of human marketers. Imagine a popular fitness app
that uses AI to turn a standard workout platform into a personalized brand
experience engine. The AI could tailor workouts, nutrition plans, and even
motivational content to each individual user, crafting a brand experience that
feels more personal and engaging than typical one-size-fits-all marketing
communications. This approach could help foster a stronger relationship between
the brand and its users, transforming passive consumers into active participants
in their own fitness journeys. In essence, AI would empower the brand’s
marketers to build deeper, more meaningful one-to-one connections with
customers.

Look for opportunities where AI can enhance your customer journey, from
pre-purchase to product usage. Could AI make personalized recommendations?
Enable virtual try-ons? Power custom training programs? Augment these
touchpoints with AI and you create more relevant and compelling experiences that
resonate deeply with your audience. The result? Higher engagement, more
satisfaction, and, ultimately, stronger brand loyalty and revenue growth.


ANALYZE



Marketers tell me they’re drowning in data. AI can help us all swim. It can
analyze vast amounts of information to uncover the hidden patterns and insights
that would take human analysts months (or years!) to find. This leads marketers
to smarter decisions, better strategies, and a deeper understanding of customers
than ever before.

Imagine if a music streaming brand were to harness the power of AI for insight
analysis. The brand’s AI algorithms could analyze billions of data points on
listening habits, preferences, and behaviors to curate highly personalized
playlists and recommendations. Features like customized weekly playlists or
daily mixes could use predictive analytics to suggest songs that users are
likely to enjoy. This data-driven strategy would keep users engaged, boost
retention, and potentially drive the brand’s growth to new heights.

The lesson for CMOs is clear: AI for analysis can unlock all the potential of
all your data. Your AI-powered tools can understand customer behavior, predict
future trends, and segment your audience with laser precision. This data-driven
approach is no longer optional; it’s the key to crafting highly effective
campaigns, optimizing your marketing spend, and staying ahead of the
competition.


COCA-COLA USES THE 3 A’S

Coca-Cola is well known as one of the brands that has added AI across its
marketing operations with great success. To understand how they’ve done it, I
talked with Samir Bhutada, global vice president, StudioX Digital Transformation
at The Coca-Cola Company. He noted that “The 3 A’s is exactly how we are
thinking about implementing AI here in marketing at Coca-Cola.” He further
explained:

“For automation, we focus on low-empathy tasks that should be automated to free
up human time, such as capacity planning and building automated systems for
tracking and recommending the best team members for projects. This leads to
better work, better career development, and higher performing teams.

“For augmentation, we believe high-empathy tasks benefit from the human touch,
so we augment humans in these tasks with AI-enabled interfaces, both improving
and speeding up creative generation. The Coca-Cola Masterpiece is a great
example. This enables speed, efficiencies, and effectiveness.” Read more about
how Coca-Cola is using AI for augmentation in partnership with WPP and Nvidia.

Coca-Cola’s “Masterpiece” ad brings to life world-famous works of art through
the collaborative “magic” of AI and human creativity.

“For analysis,” Bhutada continued, “we use AI to answer critical questions, like
identifying which 50% of our marketing communications are working. As we capture
trends and spot patterns with generative AI, we feed those learnings to inform
and improve our creative development.”

Bhutada also shared some important advice about scaling these three applications
of AI in marketing. “The biggest challenge we see is to go beyond pilots and
scale AI solutions to drive transformation. A big part of this challenge is
change management to enable new ways of working across different units of the
organization. Hence, it’s critical to design pilots in a way that they can be
easily scaled, supported by consistent communications that deliver proof points
of tangible benefits.”


KEY TAKEAWAYS: HOW TO IMPLEMENT THE 3 A’S

To make AI part of your marketing operations as effectively as Coca-Cola has
done, use the 3 A’s to assess your current marketing processes and pinpoint
areas where AI can add value. Look for repetitive tasks that can be automated,
creative processes that can be augmented, and data that can be better analyzed.

> The era of AI-driven marketing is upon us. Embrace it, cut through the noise,
> and lead the way.

Start small and scale up. Begin with pilot projects to test AI applications and
gather insights. Expand what works and integrate AI more broadly across your
marketing operations. Invest in training so your team can use AI tools
effectively. Encourage a culture of continuous learning and experimentation.


HERE ARE THE KEY ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE WHEN IMPLEMENTING THE 3A’S.

 * Start: Explore AI use cases, tools, and partners that can help automate
   routine tasks and augment your marketing efforts, freeing up time for
   strategic initiatives.
 * Stop: Don’t let the hype and jargon distract you from the practical
   applications that can transform your marketing efforts today.
 * Keep: Keep the focus on customer experience and personalization, adding AI to
   enhance these areas through automation and advanced analytics.

With the 3 A’s as your signal, look for opportunities to use AI to automate,
augment, and analyze your marketing activities. Put AI to work for you to drive
efficiency, creativity, and data-driven decision-making. The era of AI-driven
marketing is upon us. Embrace it, cut through the noise, and lead the way.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jim Lecinski is a clinical professor of marketing at Northwestern University’s
Kellogg School of Management, where he was named 2022 Professor of the Year. A
recognized marketing expert with over 30 years of experience, Jim teaches
popular MBA courses on marketing strategy, omnichannel marketing, and AI for
marketing. His seminal book, “Winning the Zero Moment of Truth” (ZMOT), has been
read by over 300,000 marketers worldwide. His latest book is “The AI Marketing
Canvas,” published by Stanford University Press. Follow him on LinkedIn and
watch for future articles from Jim here on Think with Google.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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