When Every Brand Sounds Like AI

I feel like it’s fairly obvious to say that everyone working in the marketing space is continuing to adapt to how AI is impacting their work, or perhaps better stated, the ability to do their work, or maybe even, if they continue to do their work.

At ReThinc Advertising, AI has been both a blessing and a curse. In the past two years, AI platforms have greatly affected how and what we do for our clients.

That being said, we do not want to ever lose the important human component of our work. Marketing is a form of communication, and as such, it must remain human. When it becomes wholly automated, the communication fails to differentiate.

It all sounds the same.

Now look, this isn’t a hit piece on AI. I mean, how can it be? It’s correcting my sentence structure as I write. This is simply a plea for our industry to remain vigilant for what we represent … namely, humans, influencing humans in a very human way.

As subpar agencies and self-directed brands utilize AI more frequently, you hear messaging that starts to sound extremely similar. Everything becomes monolithic as one 20-something after another executes their dutiful prompts, replaces a few synonyms, and submits their work as game-changing.

It’s not.

I should also walk back my ageism reference above, too. Some of the worst examples of AI overuse come from people my age who don’t understand the shortcomings of content generated by AI platforms.

It’s most pronounced on social content, blogs, and websites. It’s the ‘easy’ button to have ChatGPT write your content. It’s simply human behavior to expedite the completion of a task, even to the detriment of the end product.

Fortunately, at ReThinc, we don’t ascribe to that. Nor do we prioritize speed over strategy, quantity over quality, and automation over authenticity.

HOW TO USE AI PROPERLY IN YOUR MARKETING EFFORTS

Look, AI can do some really great things. If you’re a self-directed brand and you’re looking to keep pace with your competition, use AI as a tool that it can be. Just do not give in to it being the final product. Remember, consumers want to have a connection with your brand. They want expertise, transparency, personality, local relevance, and sometimes even an emotional connection.

Feel free to start with AI, just don’t end with it. Let it perhaps frame what you want to say, but don’t let it say it.

At ReThinc, we want our people to be our competitive advantage. That doesn’t mean we can’t accelerate research, summarize content, analyze SEO, or do some fun executions with video social media content. We won’t avoid using AI; we’ll use it properly, and so should you.

Any brand that treats AI as a shortcut to replace strategy, creativity, and authenticity will start sounding redundant to others in their space. They will not deliver a value proposition, nor will they properly convey their brand attributes.

If you need further direction on how to best use AI for your business, go to ChatGPT and type in ‘real ad agencies in Arcadia 4714 N 44th Street’. Contact whoever pops up.