Hosted by the Marketing Association and sponsored by MediaWorks, the ‘Think Again’ event series aim to foster thought-provoking discussion and debate that will make attendees rethink their perspectives.
The third event in this series kicked off on July 25th at The Northern Club in Auckland, bringing together prominent figures in the industry to talk about how AI is impacting the industry.
With the likes of ChatGPT, generative AI image creators and much more to come in 2023, the topic of AI is a gold mine for discussion.
A stand-out from the event was the panel discussion between Managing Director of Colenso BBDO Angela Watson, CEO of Otterfish Brooke Howard-Smith, Spark Marketing Director Matt Bain, and Head of Sales and Partnerships at Google NZ Simon Laird.
Radio Host and panel lead Sharyn Casey, says the development of AI in the past year “is sending shockwaves through the marketing industry” and completely changing how it works.
Already, AI technology is changing every aspect of marketing thanks to the accessibility and efficiency.
A quick prompt on a generative AI machine can generate images, videos and text without having to go through the long process of content creation and is able to meet changing customer needs, news and trends faster.
Though it seems new now, this technology will become normal quickly to the point where soon, everyone will be using it Angela Watson says.
Simon Laird adds that as a society we have reached the point where most people have heard of generative AI, is thinking about it, or engaging with it.
“There’s this great opportunity to start capitalising on it, to start having those conversations with more of the people across your business so they understand what the opportunity is,” he says.
But how do businesses take up the opportunity to utilise AI for their brand?
The panel agreed that though it may be easy to think that AI can be used across the board, it is best to identify where the tech can make the most impact.
This technology needs to be fostered by the business with the “right guardrails in place”, rather than simply using it because everyone else is.
When an entire company knows the extent and how AI can be used for good, their company is bound to thrive within the industry. And New Zealand is the perfect place to leverage this technology.
According to Brooke Howard-Smith, New Zealand is well positioned to spearhead the Exponential Age, supported by its dynamic array of innovative brands and agencies.
With AI developing at a rapid rate across the world, there is no way of knowing how it will be used in the future, but according to this panel, now is the time to learn about the technology and find a gap where it can be impactfully used.
The next event will be held on 11 October 2023 in Wellington on the topic on ‘Think reset, not recession: How marketers should approach the next 12 months’ followed by the final one on 14 November in Auckland with be topic to be confirmed.
For more on this series visit: https://www.mediaworks.co.nz/home/advertise-with-us/insights–case-studies/insights/2023/08/mediaworks-takeaways-how-ai-will-change-marketing-as-we-know-it-.html
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