Did you know that one in three UK marketers already uses AI in their work? That number is increasing, and fast. Over the past few years, AI has moved from being just another buzzword to an essential asset in any organisation’s toolkit.
This shift has sparked a fundamental change in how we think about AI at every level— especially in the C-suite. Instead of asking whether AI should play a role in our business strategies, the question has become: “How quickly will I get a return on my investment?”
But—pardon the pun—what’s all the buzz about? Well, AI has gone from being a small part of business strategy to reshaping global business operations, including marketing practices. It’s not just simply about innovation anymore. It’s about streamlining processes and maximising the impact of marketing initiatives through AI creative testing.
Thanks to this pre-flight and in-flight testing, brands can connect with larger audiences, make data-driven changes to their marketing content based on predictive visual analytics, and add a more personal touch to their campaigns. Ultimately hitting that sweet spot for both global marketing and gaining individual consumers’ attention.
But here’s the kicker – many brands find themselves in this tricky balancing act, trying to use AI as part of their broader marketing strategy and demonstrate ROI for their marketing efforts while dealing with the pressure from the wider creative community to actively promote human creativity.
My advice to them would be this: The journey to creative effectiveness is just as valuable as the destination itself. Think of AI as a powerful tool that accelerates, enhances and optimises this creative process. The key to success lies in using AI to understand and predict the effects of your marketing efforts on your consumers.
The Mathematics Behind Neuroscience and AI in Marketing
According to Nobel Laureate Francis Crick’s “astonishing hypothesis,” everything we think, feel, and do stems from our brain activity. It sounds simple, but it’s fascinating when you think about it. What Crick was actually suggesting was that our nerve cells hold the keys to understanding consciousness, free will, and who we are as individuals.
By taking a closer look at how these nerve cells communicate, we can unlock some insights about our behaviour, facial expression, and reactions to stimuli—and, in turn, ourselves. Why is this important or even relevant to marketers? Well, imagine being able to understand how your target audience feels, thinks, and does in response to your marketing efforts and content. That’s gold dust to every marketing team.
From this, the concept of neuromarketing was born, and it’s been reshaping our perceptions and understanding of consumer behaviour ever since. Tapping into this type of neuroscience allows marketers to get a clearer picture of what influences their consumers’ purchasing decisions and the influence marketing content has on overall brand perception. It’s the perfect blend of science and selling. This is the start of a powerful business equation that can totally change how brands connect with consumers.
Now, let’s add big data and multiply that by AI.
The ultimate equation is creating new ways for brands to engage with their audience, bringing them one step closer to understanding the emotional triggers that drive consumer actions, reactions, and attention, also known as shopper marketing insights. It’s like having a heat map showing brands exactly which parts of their marketing content resonate deeply with people—whether through visuals, sensations, or emotions. This kind of insight can make a world of difference, as instead of shooting in the dark, brands can now really understand what will actually catch the attention of their audience.
Make It Even More Personal with Psychographics
Personalised marketing. Consumers expect it, and brands can now provide it – all thanks to psychographics. In fact, 90 % of consumers find personalised marketing appealing, with 70% repurchasing from brands that do it effectively.
Psychographics focus on individuals’ psychological attributes, such as their values, interests, lifestyles, and motivations. It is essentially an in-depth analysis of consumer behaviour that goes beyond simple demographics. This deeper understanding is crucial for marketers as it enables them to craft more personalised and relatable campaigns and content that genuinely resonate with specific audience segments.
When you combine this with AI, marketers can swiftly analyse vast amounts of data to uncover psychographic insights from social media interactions, online behaviours, and purchase history to identify patterns and trends that reveal what matters to consumers. In turn, this type of data processing allows brands to segment their audience not just by who they are but by why they behave the way they do. As a result, marketers can tailor text and visuals to address different consumer groups’ unique desires and pain points, ultimately enhancing engagement and conversion rates.
What’s really exciting is that AI can learn alongside you. This is because it can learn continuously from consumer interactions, refining psychographic profiles over time. This ensures that marketing strategies can evolve alongside shifting consumer preferences, keeping brands relevant and connected to their audience at all times.
The demand for impactful, data-driven creative assets is more critical than ever. AI is no longer a buzzword; it is an essential tool helping brands cut through the noise, engage their audiences and achieve continuous creative effectiveness at scale.
- Steve King, CEO and Co-founder of Dragonfly AI