3 Ways to Better Integrate AI into Your Business Strategy

As a brand manager, incorporating AI into your business plans is important for brand recognition and growth. Using AI is essential for brand recognition growth and fast return on investments. As a graduate student at Northwestern University looking out for current developments in IMC, I have found two remarkable articles on how AI will affect future of marketing that you will find useful for your business decisions.  

Artificial intelligence (AI) And The Future Of Marketing: 6 Observations From Inbound 2016 by Gil Press is very fascinating and informative article that provides detailed overview of Inbound 2016 convention. It is one of most important conventions that brings together best sales and marketing professionals from around the globe. This convention reminds brand managers that AI will substitute all mechanical work in marketing, but will not bother creative and strategic processes. In 2017 the era of bots has begun, really soon AI will take over online customer support chats and bots will seamlessly communicate with consumers without them noticing that this is not a human being. Speakers reassured marketers concerns and confirmed the good part of the trend by saying “Marketers will not be replaced by AI and will be able to skip the boring stuff.”

Another article about AI written by Lisa Manthei - 5 ways AI marketing boosts campaign performance & ROI is describing 5 key ways how to boost marketing campaigns using AI. Lisa describes in detail how companies must understand the concepts of machine learning and big data. She talks about endless amount of data to analyze, and reminds marketers that AI is here and developing fast. Also she mentions that in today’s AI environment, brand managers need to react fast and start using the most powerful AI marketing tools now, as is the next big thing and competition is already taking action. This article is just confirming that marketers will not lose their jobs, just automation of mechanical processes will untie marketers hands to work on good strategies, content, and creative ideas.

Taking into consideration these two articles, my work experience and knowledge gained at Northwestern University, below three actions are required:

• First Movers = Most Profits - If you want to get into AI market, you need to be aggressive to your competition and take actions now
• AI is Here & Growing - You need to believe that this is the next big thing
• Think Big Data - Big data actually helps in developing AI and remodeling marketing solutions all over the world

Victor Yakovlev

Northwestern University, Medill Integrated Marketing Communications MS full-time student and customer-focused strategic marketer with 10 years of international experience. Worked as a branch manager for Unicore Overseas in Moscow from 2012  2015 and positioned European company on fast paced Russian market. 

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Digital Managers: 3 Tips on Adding a New Dimension to Mobile Ads

               Digital marketers are constantly trying to find the new big thing to attract customers' attention. As a graduate student in the Northwestern Medill Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) program with an interest in digital and social marketing, I have found two articles on 3D mobile ads that are pushing the boundaries of mobile marketing. 3D mobile ads are a developing trend that allows brands to immerse consumers in a fully interactive experience with their products.

               A recent Adweek article from Lauren Johnson details the 3D mobile ad trend as it goes through an early development phase. There are multiple examples of some recent ads utilizing this technology. There are a couple different styles of ads shown. One is a somewhat basic Jameson ad that makes it seem like a shot of whiskey is being sent down the bar right to the user’s fingertips. Another example is more involved, where users can actually interact and engage with a Ford Mustang to look through 360 degree views of the car.  But as the article mentions, the trend is still young and not everyone has bought in. Moreover, it mentions an Interactive Advertising Bureau statistic that “only 27 percent of mobile marketers have bought programmatic ads.” So while technology companies and brands are testing out the 3D mobile ads, there is still much uncertainty about the viability of the trend.

(source: Mobile Marketer)

               Another article by Michael Barris on Mobile Marketer detailed one of the early attempts at the 3D format from Mazda. It was one of the first experiments with the technology, so as expected the ad was rather simplistic. The article details some of the technology of how the 3D optical illusion is created and lays a great foundation in understanding the process.

              After reading these articles and based on my learning in Northwestern Medill's IMC program, I've created 3 recommendations to help you stay ahead of the game:

Dive into the technology - Companies mentioned like Cxense are the technology experts to help you see if your brand can use this technology to add a new dimension to your mobile marketing.

Try it yourself - Check out Amobee’s website to try it out for yourself! They were responsible for Ford’s Mustang ad, and they have video demos on their website.

Follow 3D - Getting a head start on other companies can help you take full advantage of this new marketing form.   

3D mobile marketing is still a nascent movement, but it is something that can really help your brand stand out amid the marketing clutter!

Alan Wu is a graduate student at Northwestern University’s Medill Integrated Marketing Communications program, with an interest in digital and social media marketing. I received my Bachelor’s degree from Medill in journalism. I spent 3 years in Japan learning a new language and view of life before deciding to come back to Medill to continue my education.

Twitter: @alan2015nu
LinkedIn: Alan Wu

Start-ups: 3 Tips on How to Increase Online Visibility to Grow your Business

As a Start-up, you know it is important to engage with your high value consumers wherever they are online. As a graduate student in the Northwestern Medill Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) program with an interest in content marketing and online visibility I have found two articles to share with you that you will find interesting and helpful.

Ever wonder where your customers hang out online and how to reach them? I summarized two articles I found below and included 3 tips on how your Start-up can gain leverage online and reach your target markets to grow your business.

Nathan Yerian from Adhere Creative, a marketing and brand development agency, wrote an article titled: 5 ways to reach your target market online. In this article, Nathan emphasizes that audience engagement is crucial to reach your target market. He also discusses strategies to gain a competitive advantage in the online marketplace such as building a persona of your target market which is the first key step.

In a Biz Journal Publication titled: 5 steps you must take to reach your target customer, author Spider Graham  goes deeper in how exactly to identify who your ideal target market is. Spider says that it is important for companies to know that “everyone” is never your audience and that getting specific is what will help you grow your visibility in the long run. He suggests to start with identifying demographic points and slowly move towards what beliefs, opinions, and attitudes your target audience has. Identifying your target audience will make it easier to find the right channels to communicate with your target audience once you identify them.

After reading these two articles and from my graduate studies in the Northwestern Medill IMC program I have three action items you should consider in the next couple months to grow your online visibility and business.

3 action steps to grow your online visibility and business

1.     Do Interviews: Find out your customer’s interests through conducting a minimum of 3 live interviews with your ideal customer.

2.     Write articles: Blog about your customer’s interests through creating powerful content and post them in places where your customer hangs out.

3.     Get testimonials: Create real life testimonial videos or stories to display on your site from past clients or people you have helped with your expertise.

Before taking the 3 action steps I listed above be sure to identify your target audience first as Spider Graham mentioned in the article discussed above. After that jump straight into the 3 steps and you will be well on your way to greater online visibility!  

Author Bio 

Aditi Ramchandani is a marketing and branding specialist for entrepreneurs looking to build online visibility to grow their business. She helps businesses amplify their brands so they can amplify their lives and businesses! She is currently a Masters student in Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University and graduates in December 2015. Website: amplifywithaditi.com Twitter: @amplifywithadit Linked In: www.linkedin.com/in/aditiramchandani