AI Personified: 6 Major Roles AI Plays in Experiential Marketing
As marketers, we all seem to have the basics of artificial intelligence (AI) down at this point— enhancing personalization, predicting customer behavior, and adding a bit of magic to user experiences. But what if I told you that there's a whole new level to unlock that goes beyond the generative AI essential toolkit we are all too familiar with? Picture AI not just as a helpful sidekick, but as the conductor of a grand symphony, weaving together different personas to create a harmonious, unforgettable melody for your audience.
In the State of the Connected Consumer published by Salesforce, 69% of people reported they were willing to use AI if it meant that it would improve their experience. Although there’s still skepticism and awareness surrounding the pitfalls of AI, this marks a huge opportunity for marketers to paint it in a good light.
Forget about AI as a mere tool – envision it as an orchestra conductor, a concierge, a professor, a magician, a time traveler, and an analyst all rolled into one. Without further adieu, let’s meet the team!
Orchestra Conductor
Wrangling a multitude of event touchpoints seamlessly without the wizardry of AI is both time-consuming and mind-bending. How about crafting a backend system that smoothly choreographs an array of elements at an event, responding to intricate cues like a guest's perceived mood through facial recognition and body language? Without AI—forget about it.
AI steps up as the 'orchestra conductor,' not only deciphering input data but also elegantly reacting to the corresponding actions, turning what was once a logistical nightmare into a well-tuned masterpiece that the user controls.
Lately, immersive art museums have been on the rise, one such example is d’strict’s ARTE MUSEUM, structured around nature-oriented themes. Real-time weather information is used so that when it snows, the flowers get a snowy makeover; when it’s windy, they sway with the breeze.
Last year, the museum teamed up with crypto artist duo Hackatao for an NFT project called [SPIRIT FOREST] Incanto. The interactive artwork featured deer which changed their color, turned their heads, or bloomed with exquisite flowers based on how visitors touched or interacted with them.
It's not just art; it's an interactive experience that responds to you.
Concierge
Assuming you have been to a fancy restaurant or a top-notch hotel before, you can probably recall feeling like everything was curated just for you. You were the main character and everyone was catering to your every desire.
Similarly, the Concierge AI persona makes you feel like royalty as it dives into the archives of your past interactions, combined with the latest trends and factors happening in the environment. The result? Spot-on recommendations, mouth-watering recipes, seamless itineraries, and whatever else you can dream up. It’s like having a genie that knows your every wish before you even make it.
This doesn’t just benefit the consumer though, it helps brands increase their revenue. Amazon Web Services worked with Hyatt to help the hotel make hyper-personalized recommendations for their guests. It suggested specific hotels and sold add-ons based on their interests which ultimately led to a $40 million increase in profit.
Magician
During Google I/O, The Flaming Lips sprinkled a bit of that magic into their performance by creating an AI-powered musical instrument that combined Google Magenta’s Piano Genie model with a physical interface of fruit. The final result was called Fruit Genie and The Lips used it to compose a new song specifically for the event.
But what fun would that be without a little help from the audience? To get them involved, giant fruit inflatables were filled with sensors that signaled when the software was touched. Every touch meant that a note was added to the song creating a one-of-a-kind tune never to be replicated in the same way again.
Professor
Imagine tapping into decades of expert-level knowledge from the likes of Martin Scorsese, Laird Hamilton, or Rick Rubin right at your fingertips. Most of us don’t have that kind of rolodex we can tap into. However, with AI as your trusted professor, you can imitate having these legends right next to you as they guide you down the path to reaching mastery in your craft.
Your once limited ambitions due to obstacles can now turn into a reality. It’s like MasterClass on steroids. Gordon Ramsay is now belittling you in your own kitchen about how bloody raw your fish is until you get it just right.
That future might not be so distant. Reports by Global Market Insights Inc. show that artificial intelligence in the education market is projected to surpass $80 billion by 2030. Traditional lecture-style learning only works for 10% of people, with experiential learning paving the way with an average retention rate of 65%. What does this mean for the future of brand activations? Interactive hands-on setups driven by AI might just be your best bet when it comes to capturing your audience during your next product launch.
Time Traveler
Let’s face it—very few of us are living in the present moment. We are either stuck in the past or looking to the future. You have probably seen people post AI-generated photos of what they would have looked like if they were born in a different era. Yet, there’s a deeper purpose beyond aesthetics.
Brands can now create a front-row seat to historical events their audience might have missed otherwise. It can be nostalgic or educational. It’s all about gaining a unique perspective on what went down, or giving a glimpse into moments they might not live to see.
Popular travel brand Away partnered with Superfly to transport guests to an AI-generated wonderland blending reality with fantasy, inspired by real and fantastical places. To make it personal, Superfly crafted a sensory journey with prompts about food, scents, sounds, landscapes, and destinations. Guests spilled their answers, and boom – guests snagged a postcard image of their unique place designed by digital artist Ulises.
Analyst
When AI puts on its Analyst hat, it's like unleashing a powerhouse armed with analytics and futuristic algorithms. It’s your secret weapon to unveil trends, preferences, and sentiments hidden in the vast data ocean. Armed with these golden nuggets, marketers can craft strategies that hit the bullseye every time. It's not only about accuracy; it's about unexpected cost savings.
Diageo is diving deeper into AI waters after CreativeX slashed the cost of 1,000 ad impressions by a whopping 50%. They realized that in the digital marketing game, you can’t just have a killer ad; you also have to make sure it fits the platform. So, they teamed up with CreativeX to give their digital content a pre-delivery check. This then generated a Creative Quality Score, ensuring each image or video is a perfect match for its intended platform.
It not only identified weak spots, but also set the stage for smarter media investments, making sure every ad hits the right notes before a dime is spent on media.