A Cautionary Tale of Two Marketers

We asked several AIs to tell us a story about the same topic. We liked Google Gemini's story best (though we made a few tweaks). Read on and see what you think.

Anna and Ben were two sides of the same marketing coin. Both were ambitious, both were skilled, and both had climbed the ranks at their respective companies (in the same industry sector) by understanding their audience and crafting campaigns that, frankly, usually worked.

Ben, Brand Manager at Innovate Solutions, with his years of experience and gut instinct, was the seasoned pro, relying on tried-and-true methods: meticulously researched demographics, A/B testing honed over countless campaigns, and a knack for commissioning compelling copy that resonated on an emotional level. Anna, Product Manager at Accelerate, younger but equally driven, was more restless, always searching for the next edge, the next innovation.

When whispers of “AI in marketing” started circulating – initially dismissed by many as tech hype – Anna pricked up her ears. While Ben rolled his eyes, muttering about algorithms and robots stealing human creativity, Anna dove in. She spent evenings absorbing online courses, experimenting with free AI tools, and cautiously suggesting AI-powered solutions in team meetings. Initially, her ideas were met with skepticism by senior executives, who’d counter with phrases like, “We’ve always done it this way,” or “Marketing is about people, not programs.”

Anna persisted. She started small, using AI for mundane tasks like optimizing ad spend across platforms, freeing up hours she used to spend poring over spreadsheets. The results were subtle at first, but undeniable. Her campaigns started showing slightly better ROI, her engagement metrics ticked upwards.

Ben, however, attributed his competitor's success to “luck” or “market fluctuations.” He was too busy refining his own meticulously crafted, human-centric campaigns, proud of the personal touch he and his team brought to every piece of content.

The real turning point came when both companies launched similar new products: complex, customizable products targeting a niche market with diverse needs. Ben approached the campaign in his usual way. He spent weeks building detailed customer personas, meticulously crafting separate ad sets for each segment, commissioning copy that spoke to their perceived pain points. He even invested in focus groups to refine his messaging, ensuring every word felt authentic and human.

Anna, meanwhile, took a different route. She used AI-powered tools to analyze vast datasets of customer behaviour, social media trends, and competitor strategies. The AI identified customer segments Ben had completely missed, segments based not on traditional demographics, but on subtle behavioral patterns and emerging needs. It also predicted which channels would be most effective for each micro-segment, and even suggested personalized content themes that resonated deeply with these audiences.

While Ben was busy perfecting his focus group-approved messaging, Anna was deploying dynamic, AI-driven ad campaigns that adapted in real-time based on user interaction. Her landing pages personalized content based on visitor source and behaviour, and her email sequences were triggered not just by actions, but by predicted intent.

The results were stark. Ben’s campaign, despite its human touch and meticulous planning, sputtered. It generated decent traffic, but conversions were low. His lovingly crafted copy felt generic to the niche audiences, lost in the noise of the Internet. His inbox remained stubbornly, disappointingly empty.

Anna’s campaign, on the other hand, exploded. Her personalized, AI-optimized approach resonated deeply with the diverse market segments. Leads poured in, conversion rates soared, and the sales team was overwhelmed with qualified prospects. The product launch was a resounding success, attributed almost entirely to Anna's innovative marketing strategy.

Ben watched, bewildered and increasingly anxious, as Anna’s star rose. He saw the dashboards glowing green with her campaign’s success, while his own numbers remained stubbornly flat. He felt a knot of unease tightening in his stomach. Had he become… irrelevant?

The post-launch debrief was brutal. Anna was lauded as a visionary, her AI-driven approach hailed as the future of marketing at Accelerate. Over at Innovate, Ben’s campaign was politely praised for its “traditional strengths,” but the subtext was clear: it was outdated, ineffective, and outpaced.

Ben finally understood. It wasn’t that human creativity was obsolete, but that human creativity, amplified by AI, was now exponentially more powerful. He realized he’d been trapped in an echo chamber of his own assumptions, clinging to familiar methods while the marketing landscape had fundamentally shifted. His meticulously researched personas were static snapshots, while Anna's AI-powered insights were living, breathing portraits of a dynamic, ever-evolving market. His "human touch" felt distant and generic compared to the hyper-personalized experiences Anna's AI campaigns delivered.

Ben's career stalled. He felt like a carpenter suddenly confronted with power tools, still clinging to his hand saw while everyone else built skyscrapers around him.

Anna continued to thrive, leading the charge in AI-powered marketing at Accelerate. The company invested heavily in AI, driven by the undeniable results she had delivered.

And Ben? Well, eventually he realised he was in danger of being left behind if he kept refusing to learn the language of the future.

He finally took note of the industry-redefining quote by Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI:

"95% of what marketers use agencies, strategists and creative professionals for today will easily, nearly instantly and at almost no cost be handled by the AI".

So Ben put in the hard yards, learning everything he could about AI for Marketing and then putting it into practice at Innovate Solutions. And that made all the difference, to his business success and his career.

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OK, a little bit cheesy, but we weren't aiming for Shakespeare, just trying to make a point: don't get left behind as AI-assisted marketing changes everything.

If you'd like to learn more about AI in Marketing, check out our online course: https://netmarketingcourses.co.nz/courses/ai-for-marketers/