Why A.I. Can Use An Emotional Branding Dimension

Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) is coming with a vengeance.  Most pundits predict A.I. will dominate business, the arts, education and most communications in the future.  But as David Brooks of the NY Times pointed out in his February column “In the Age of A.I., Major in Being Human”, the effectiveness of A.I. is often limited by a lack of emotion, passion, and imagination – the critical human values for fully engaging its audience.   As Brooks describes it, “it feels kind of lifeless”.

Business can improve the use of A.I. if it adopted the core principles of branding, which is the heart of marketing and communications. Marketing is ultimately about changing human behavior, specifically a customer’s decision (e.g.  a purchase, vote, etc.).  The brand positioning should shape the message to embrace an audience and cultivate an emotional relationship with them.

David Brooks suggests in his article some critical skills a student should develop to add a human touch to A.I. and make it more effective.  Similarly understanding these skills through a branding lens can help marketers make A.I. communications more powerful.

David Brooks’ Advice

• “A Distinct Personal Voice” –instead of typical corporate or academic journal prose, craft your own voice and style. This relates to the first step for positioning a brand:  to identify and diagnose the most relevant, emotional issues of your target customer.  Focusing on new insights from research (e.g. including particular feelings and how they describe them) is critical for creating the actual message and words (ideally with personal storytelling) to cultivate that trustful bond with the customer.
• “Presentation Skills” – Brooks suggests showing you are different and even better with a personalized speech that connects with the audience in” a fun and dynamic way.” , skills that A.I. cannot replicate. In marketing, it is essential to “speak the language” of your target customer in communications.  This includes how a brand benefit is meaningful, better and distinct, plus credible evidence supporting a promise.
• “A Childlike Talent for Creativity” – students should be encouraged to “take classes that unleash your creativity, that give you a chance to exercise and hone your imaginative powers”. Creativity will be the most important skill for successfully utilizing A.I. in the future.  Parents and teachers should start developing this critical skill set by providing an unstructured, independent thinking environment as early as pre-kindergarten.   In marketing, an open mind and endless imagination are critical for diving beneath the surface to discover new customer insights and then to craft a brand promise that is both relevant and compelling.  An authentic, passionate brand message that inspires action is a dimension that won’t normally be found in A.I. communications.
• “Empathy” – While marketing by nature must address broad audiences, one must first pinpoint those intense “hot button” feelings of individuals, ideally common to others. Brooks recommends that students take humanities classes (e.g. literature, biography, history, etc.) to understand another person’s perspective.  This will help ensure a “more valuable skill than the skill possessed by some machine vacuuming up vast masses of data about no one in particular”,  Neuroscientists have proven it is the emotional part of the brain that generates behavioral decisions, so it is imperative for marketers to connect to those feelings .
• “Situational Awareness” – It is important to develop a sensitivity and intuitive awareness that comes from “experience, historical knowledge and having led a reflective and interesting life”. In today’s divisive world, integrity and credibility are moral virtues that are in big demand in light of the extensive misinformation from social media.  The “reasons to believe” or supportive evidence for a brand promise must also be truthful, accurate and honestly convincing.

David Brooks concludes with the hope that while A.I. can provide useful information, that we also add “the humanistic knowledge that leaves people wiser and transformed”.  Marketers must focus on the relevant emotions and desires of customers to build a sustainable brand, as well.