Is this AI tool the future of marketing research?

Hey there! It’s no secret: AI is the future of marketing. But last week, we learned that it also may be the future of influencing: Spanish modeling agency The Clueless created their very own AI influencer, Aitana López. As a marketer, this means that your future brand collaborators might not exactly be…real. But they certainly will stick to the creative brief. 🙃 

Let’s get into the rest of this week’s top AI marketing news.

Coca-Cola Continues AI Efforts for Holiday Marketing

When Coca-Cola appointed a Senior Director of Generative AI to its marketing team this summer, the brand made one thing clear: It’s taking AI seriously. This holiday season, the company continues to demonstrate its dedication to AI marketing with its Create Real Magic platform:

• The Create Real Magic platform—built for the company by OpenAI and Bain & Company—pulls assets from Coca-Cola’s historic archive to create iconic artwork with DALL-E and ChatGPT.

• To get into the holiday spirit, the platform will now allow users to create customized holiday greeting cards. Users can simply input a prompt, select various iconic Coca-Cola assets, and output a custom card available for download or sharing across social platforms and WhatsApp.

• To incentivize users to spend time on the platform, the company will be creating 20 billboards in multiple countries with user-generated artwork.

• Coca-Cola will be measuring campaign success by tracking the number of images created and shared, number of greeting cards generated, and time spent on the platform.

Read more →

Are AI-Generated Customers the Future of Marketing Research?

Marketing research is often one of the biggest lifts for any campaign. But now, advertisers are getting savvy with AI tools…even holding focus groups with AI-generated consumers. And full-service advertising agency Pereira O’Dell is openly leading the charge:

• Pereira O’Dell’s new Insights Machine is an AI-powered platform that builds fake personas. The personas are not perfect “digital twins” of real consumers—but they can be customized with real data, including anonymous site surfing data, Adobe Analytics, and anonymized Salesforce data.

• The Insights Machine was specifically built for simulating conversations with consumers—even multiple conversations at once to mimic a focus group.

• To use the Insights Machine, marketers simply prompt the bot with a single question and instantly receive answers from each of the queried bots.

Read more →

Microsoft Advertising Offers New AI-Powered Ad Personalization

Microsoft Advertising (the pay-per-click platform for Microsoft’s search network) is partnering with generative AI giant Baidu Global to boost advertising reach and efficiency.

• Microsoft’s Chat Ads API is integrating with Baidu Global Keyboard—a mobile chat app—to deliver personalized sponsored content to chat users based on user context.

• Baidu Global Keyboard is popular among Gen Z, offering a unique opportunity for Microsoft advertisers to reach this demographic.

• Because Baidu Keyboards are used across digital environments (web browsing, social media, shopping apps), this integration allows advertisers to reach users across platforms.

• To optimize your own Microsoft Advertising campaigns with this integration, make sure to choose “The entire Microsoft Advertising Network” for all ad group settings in the platform.

Read more →

Ad Tech Startup Creates First Text-to-Ad Tool

What happens when former Big Tech advertisers found a startup? They build the tool they wish they had. Enter: Plai, the first text-to-ad creation software:

• When users feed Plai their company website, name, and idea, the tool instantly generates hundreds of ad combinations with suggested targeting.

• Users can edit copy, create lead forms, and adjust their budget for every ad output. The tool then launches the final ad and tracks the results in real-time.

• Plai has three subscription models: One for brands and startups, one for agencies, and one for enterprises with specific needs. Each model offers a multi-channel, fully automated approach to ad creation, using AI to run ads and improve performance over time.

Read more →

Around the Web

• Unwrapping Holiday Marketing 🎁🎄- From the surge in early holiday content to building heartwarming campaigns, arm yourself with essential tips for a successful, merry marketing season.*

• Walmart has officially stopped advertising on X—here’s why.

• Fake celebrity endorsements are all the rage…and AI is the culprit.

• Check out these three powerful examples of retailers using AI this year.

*This is sponsored advertising content.

Thanks for joining us, and we’ll see you next Wednesday!