The only constant in marketing is that the industry is ever-evolving, and nowhere is that more evident than when we consider the tremendous growth of AI. The question we ask ourselves isn’t whether or not to use AI, but how to use AI in a way that makes us better at our jobs, amplifying what makes us good at them in the first place.
AI is a powerful tool for enhancing efficiency, personalization, and data-driven decision-making, but it can’t do that alone. The human element remains vital to success—the insights and the creativity, the relationship building and the strategic insight, the collaboration and the legacy knowledge that machine learning cannot replicate or replace.
“Generative AI isn’t a replacement for human ingenuity; it’s a powerful collaborator.”1
—Barry Jennings, Market Research Director at Microsoft
Like many agencies, The Simon Group is excited to integrate AI as a valuable tool in our marketing toolbox. We recognize its powerful potential to expand capabilities and enhance productivity, allowing us to devote more time and energy to the more creative and strategic aspects of our jobs.
But obtaining quality outputs requires specific, detailed inputs. This isn’t a “set it and forget it” situation. An effective marketing strategy needs to balance AI’s capabilities to automate and drive specific time-intensive, data-driven tasks with human expertise. The AI output is just the beginning of a framework—the human sense of creativity, compliance, refinement, quality assurance, and expertise are essential to make a high-quality product assisted by AI—not driven by AI.
what are the best marketing use cases for generative AI?
Efficiencies from AI optimization allow agencies to redirect time away from repetitive, data-driven tasks to more strategic and creative work. Some of the obvious examples of tasks that lend themselves well to AI optimization include:
- Meeting notes and action summaries
- Efficient data analysis
- Enhanced customer segmentation
- SEO and keyword optimization
- Meeting notes and action summaries
- Efficient data analysis
- Enhanced customer segmentation
- SEO and keyword optimization
marketing skills that AI is less likely to replace
Below are examples of services where we believe human creativity and strategic thinking trump AI and deliver more meaningful marketing experiences:
- Creative strategy and branding
- Complex problem solving that may involve intuition
- Credible content creation
- Understanding cultural nuances
- Creative strategy and branding
- Complex problem solving that may involve intuition
- Credible content creation
- Understanding cultural nuances
at the crossroads of AI and ethics
AI undeniably has the potential for misuse and bias generated from data inputs and outputs. The concerns are many and top of mind: cultural nuances, dissemination of fake and/or harmful content, copyright infringement, data privacy, and magnifying existing biases.
That’s why human oversight with AI is key. Humans are essential to navigate ethical concerns, maintain big-picture brand identity, and make judgment calls on sensitive issues. The prompts, the data, and the outputs from AI need to be funneled through human-managed guardrails to ensure usage is legal, ethical, and upholds brand standards and integrity.
change agents: an AI council to guide AI experimentation and expand our capabilities
To help our team use generative AI to fuel creativity, refine data analysis, and allocate our resources more effectively, we have an employee-led AI Council that ensures all aspects of new and existing AI are thought about critically and strategically and implemented in an organized and productive manner.
“We believe in the positive role AI has for fueling creativity. With representation from all departments, our employee council spearheads researching new AI applications, piloting projects, process implementation, hosting educational and training sessions, and more. We’re excited about identifying opportunities where AI can help us expand our capabilities and offerings for our clients.”
—David D’Apice, Founder/CEO
leading with transparency: our human-centric AI philosophy
Ensuring transparent AI usage is critical to maintaining trust and inspiring confidence in employees and customers alike. At The Simon Group, making sure our clients are aware of our AI policy and its application is central to our principals and processes. We are committed to integrating ethical, human-centric AI that supports and enhances our capabilities, allowing us to continue to deliver the most value to our clients.
The dynamic duo of artificial intelligence and human intelligence
AI has clear strengths—and weaknesses. When guided by human intelligence, AI-driven tasks can be done quickly, and employees can refocus their efforts on more strategic activities to improve the quality of work across the board.
No agency has all the answers when it comes to AI. As it evolves, pairing its efficiency with human creativity and logic will offer the most powerful strategy—one that can help avoid misuse, foster trust, improve efficiency, and deliver marketing solutions that perform. The best agencies can help guide clients through the possibilities and evaluate where the potential lies.
If you’re ready to partner with a marketing agency that is embracing the optimization, personalization, and speed of AI with unmatched human creativity and strategic thinking, let’s talk.
