7.4 Marketing Careers in the 21st Century: It’s Not Marketing as Usual

The uses for marketing AI are numerous and evolving. John F. Kennedy said it best, “We stand on the edge of a New Frontier . . . of unknown opportunities . . . and uncharted areas.” There are many applications of marketing AI that have not been fully developed or even explored yet. Students preparing for today’s marketing jobs have an opportunity to embrace and harness the magic and power of AI for their specific career paths. Students should ask themselves, “What career paths in marketing am I interested in?” For example, are you interested in becoming a social marketer, digital coordinator, marketing analyst, public relations director, or product marketing manager? If so, pick an area and learn the AI tools. Companies still need creative employees who have the motivation, technical skills, and experiences to succeed in each of these marketing areas. Most importantly, marketers who have experience in tackling marketing problems with AI will be in high demand. All organizations can benefit by actively using marketing AI to solve complex marketing problems. Because of marketing AI, today’s marketing graduates have an opportunity to step directly into management jobs. Not to manage people, but to train, supervise, and elevate their AI colleagues, i.e., all the AI applications that the graduate can wield.

In an experiment testing 2,000 subjects, about 50% of the respondents could distinguish between AI and an experienced human copywriter when reading a 300 word explanation of how to clean a car. AI doesn’t do well when asked to relate to or emotionally connect with humans. Consequently, many people feel less engaged when reading content generated by AI because it lacks the human touch.1 AI is good at completing tasks that are parts of a bigger project, but not good and putting it all together into a cohesive action strategy. It is not good at big picture thinking because it can only complete tasks learned through input.2 AI is not creative, it will never have an original thought. It lives in a box and cannot think outside of it. AI has no soul, it has no notion of ethical and unethical beyond the data it is fed, and has the occasional “hallucination:” making up negative, damaging copy all on its own. AI platforms are trained by dredging through the internet for content—which can include buckets of false, malicious, and hurtful things humans have written online.3 AI is not a good decision maker. Good decision makers use intuition, gut feel, and the power of thinking without thinking—all of which are completely outside AI’s wheelhouse.4 To sum it up, marketing AI has limitations. But it is up to marketers to shine by becoming the very best at doing what AI can’t and tasking AI to do what it does well.

Marketing AI tools are numerous and growing. AI is in its infancy, and today’s marketers can be leaders in developing new and innovative ways to use it. AI applications are so numerous, it’s not possible for a single marketer to be an expert in every AI application. Therefore, students who specialize and gain experience with specific AI use cases (i.e., creating social media content, finding insights by mapping consumer experiences, or developing customer-driven products) will be of great value. Creative students who have the ability to explore and invent new applications of marketing AI will clearly standout and be highly sought after by marketing firms.

Below in Figure 7.4 is a chart that identifies a few alternative marketing AI platforms that have been found to be effective for various marketing activities. Some marketing AI platforms are better at analytics, while others are better for enhancing chatbots and customer service. Other AI platforms excel at creating marketing content or developing multimedia images, videos, and audio.

Mastering various AI platforms makes you a 21st century marketer. But it’s combining this expertise with impactful experiences to solve specific problems in your chosen marketing role that makes you a valuable asset to hire. It is worth emphasizing again that when you learn to drive AI to make your organization smarter, you will be a valuable asset to any marketing organization. Universities can advance the new frontier of marketing AI by training students to be AI innovators.