AI and the New Brand-Consumer Paradigm
AI and the New Brand-Consumer Paradigm
How to make your brand storytelling stand out in a world of AI-generated content
The headlines are everywhere: artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are transforming the world of content creation, threatening to put writers, marketers, and content creators permanently out of business. Like Apple’s new Vision Pro XR headset, AI tools are more tangible than ever, purporting to transform and elevate the current world of content into a more personalized, endlessly creative immersive world.
The impact of AI on the world of content is already palpable. Social media is full of hacks, tips, and best practices on how to use generative AI tools like ChatGPT (which is now embedded into a million apps, sites, and search engines) to speed up normally time-consuming processes like research, ideation, and short- and long-form content writing. There are real opportunities moving forward for authentic, high-quality content, including a myriad of use cases built upon a foundation of AI-generated content to drive better business decision making and to formulate and implement unique brand messaging across platforms.
Will AI change the way fashion tells stories? What does AI mean for the future of fashion and luxury content and brand storytelling? How do brands understand what is important about AI for fashion content and what is not in order to “avoid another disappointment like the metaverse,” as one client recently told us?
Understanding first the impact of AI on the world of content as well as the evolving nature of the brand-consumer relationship are critical to building a foundational approach for content to drive the right brand messaging to the right consumers at the right time. Since AI tools are here to stay, brands and content creators need to adapt but stay strong in their own brand storytelling and core content strategy if they want to stand apart in a world of AI-generated content.
AI content is not king but is changing the rules of the game
As we recently explored in our piece “AI and the New Era of Fashion Content Strategy,” we believe that we are in a new era for content with the influx of AI tools available to add with a range of tasks from basic editorial content creation to image and video generation and everything in between.
All hype aside, AI offers real possibilities to transform the business of content or, more specifically, how we use content for business. For business leaders, the ease-of-access, the relatively low user education costs, and the variety of tools and products with embedded generative AI already available provides a dizzying array of ways to save time and money on content and content-related tasks. Look, AI-powered content platforms like Jasper.ai have been around for ages; but ChatGPT perhaps takes them to a new level of functionality and accessibility.
For retailers and e-commerce businesses, the case for AI is strong, with new, deeper opportunities for AI to alleviate the burdens of today’s 24/7 omni-channel content cacophony, assisting with everything from product and social media content to advertising and marketing campaign generation to UX, SEO, and information architecture and product taxonomy. There already is even a lot of really good advice on AI prompts to make content strategy easier.
But, even if you’re a genius at writing AI prompts and adapting the output in a creative way for marketing campaigns à la Jacquemus and the AI-generated handbag cars, none of this matters if the people you want to buy your product either do not see the campaigns or are not inspired to take action because of them.
Like all content, AI content needs to be contextualized and purpose set within a holistic content strategy. Having a content strategy in place not only allows you to determine the best AI content use cases for your brand and the short- and long-term investments of using these tools; but also it ensures that any AI-generated content you create feels consistent and true to your brand across channels and resonates with how consumers are telling their own stories as well as their changing needs and preferences.
Content co-creation and the new brand-consumer content paradigm
Customer stories matter as much, if not more, than brand stories.
As Joanna Williams, CEO of Moore Collective, constantly emphasizes in her work: “Content is the product.” The power is in the hands of consumers now more than ever to shape what they want to see and what they want to buy. The future of brand marketing is a world in which brand storytelling and consumer storytelling are synergistic, with consumers playing an active, even equal role in the world of marketing, content creation, and product development.
Customer stories matter as much, if not more, than brand stories.
What we are loosely calling the “new brand-consumer paradigm” anticipates a more democratized digital world like Web3, wherein decentralized platforms empower consumers with more choice and voice in content and commerce. But this brand-consumer paradigm already exists; and brands that do not acknowledge the shifting currents of the brand-consumer relationship stand to lose out through a fundamental lack of understanding of who is driving trends and ultimately buying their products.
In short, the new brand-consumer content paradigm is about consumer choice and value. It reflects a foundational shift in the brand-consumer relationship wherein consumers are now in the driver’s seat when it comes to what content they see, where they experience it, and how they experience it. The age of top-down, brand-driven broadcast media is over. Creators are in control.
What this new paradigm means for brands is simple: create content that is platform-appropriate, audience-specific, and brand-authentic to your values and your products. AI tools can help this approach at scale. But you need to build a tailored content strategy to identify opportunities for AI to aid and augment your content teams within your existing workflow, content, and channels.
AI won’t solve your content problems. Content strategy will.