5 Ways CMOs Are Using GenAI

Smart CMO Newsletter

June 28, 2024

According to Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Association of National Advertisers. When it comes to marketing and industry transformation, BCG certainly know their onions.

In a recent survey of over 200 CMOs across 7 countries were surveyed to gauge their temperature.

So, as always I've read the material so you don't have to. Here's what's included:

What's included?

  • A simplified exec summary

  • Top five key insights from the report

  • Cross-reference from other industry commentators

  • "Bland Puts Brands at Risk"

  • Clearly defined next steps

📌 Easy to Read Exec Summary

It is evident that CMOs are optimistic about the potential of Generative AI (GenAI) to drive marketing efficiencies and unlock growth opportunities.

The survey found that around 80% believe GenAI is already improving automation, speed, and productivity. However, while content creation for social media is a widely adopted use case, scaling GenAI for more strategic initiatives like personalisation remains challenging.

CMOs cite concerns about GenAI's impact on creativity and brand voice. To capitalize on GenAI's benefits, CMOs must shift their focus from automation to innovation, investing in talent, cross-functional collaboration, and organizational transformation.

Over half of surveyed CMOs project at least 5% topline growth from GenAI, with three out of five planning to invest $10 million+ annually in AI/GenAI over three years. Navigating this shift will be crucial for CMOs to shape their organisations' GenAI future successfully.

📌 Top Five Key Insights:

  • CMOs view GenAI as a tool to improve marketing efficiency and unlock growth, with around 80% of surveyed CMOs stating that GenAI is already enhancing automation, speed, and productivity.

  • Content creation, particularly for social media ads, is the most widely adopted use case for GenAI among CMOs, with half of them deploying these tools for this purpose.

  • Personalisation is considered one of the harder use cases to deploy quickly at scale, as it requires predictive AI and constant testing and refinement to understand customer behaviour.

  • Over 70% of CMOs are concerned about GenAI's impact on creativity and brand voice, highlighting the need to maintain a focus on these areas as they adopt the technology.

  • Three out of five CMOs claim to be the driving force behind funding and investment in GenAI, collaborating primarily with data and tech executives rather than broader business leaders.

📌 In-Depth Cross-Reference and Analysis

The rapid adoption of generative AI by CMOs presents both opportunities and challenges for businesses across industries.

While GenAI promises to drive efficiencies and productivity gains, as evidenced by the 60% improvement in content creation processes cited in the BCG article, its true potential lies in unlocking strategic growth through personalisation and customer insights.

However, as Harvard Business Review notes, "The biggest barrier to AI adoption is not technology but management philosophy" (hbr.org/2023/05/ai-wont-be-simple). To harness GenAI's full potential, businesses must foster a culture of experimentation, collaboration, and data-driven decision-making.

A study by McKinsey found that companies leading in AI adoption "invest heavily in talent and have strong data foundations and robust governance models" (mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-analytics/our-insights/global-ai-survey-ai-proves-its-worth-but-few-scale-impact).

As the BCG article highlights, "Three out of five CMOs will invest at least $10 million annually in AI and GenAI initiatives over the next three years," underscoring the need for substantial investments in talent, technology, and organisational transformation.

Consider this, at present CMOs are focused on the low hanging fruit:

  • Content creation

  • Social media engagement

  • Ad copywriting

This is also evidenced by the widely publisised savings made by Karna:

But what's next?

In order to get the most from GenAI, CMOs will need to shift their priorities to strategic areas such as:

  • Customer insight generation

  • Personalisation

  • Segmentation

  • Predictive analytics

None of which are easy to master and will require Marketing teams to either develop the skill sets required or hire them in.

Bland Puts Brands at Risk

Possibly my favourite segment from the BCG document, "Bland puts brand at risk". Such a simple way of summing up what should be at the core of every marketing team.

According to BCG, while GenAI has demonstrated its potential to streamline internal marketing processes and drive productivity gains, there are growing concerns around its limitations in preserving brand distinctiveness and creative excellence.

The report reveals that over 70% of surveyed CMOs are apprehensive about GenAI's adverse impact on creativity and brand voice - two areas where human expertise continues to outshine algorithmic capabilities.

This recognition stems from CMOs' first-hand experience with GenAI-generated content often lacking originality and failing to capture the unique essence of their brands. As a result, CMOs are actively strategising to safeguard creativity and emotional resonance as they incorporate GenAI tools more deeply into their operations.

To mitigate these risks, approximately half of the CMOs surveyed are prioritising the acquisition of talent with specialised GenAI skills. However, talent alone is not a panacea; CMOs acknowledge the need for organisational restructuring and a shift towards cross-functional, agile team models. Such collaborative frameworks will not only expedite decision-making but also ensure that creativity remains a central focus amid the adoption of GenAI technologies.

This underscores the imperative for CMOs to strike a judicious balance between leveraging GenAI's process optimisation capabilities and preserving the human-centric elements that shape distinctive brand identities and resonate emotionally with consumers.

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📌 What's next?

  1. Develop a comprehensive strategy for scaling GenAI implementation beyond content creation and social media, focusing on areas like customer insight generation, personalisation, segmentation, and predictive analytics.

  2. Invest in building cross-functional, agile teams to foster collaboration and maintain a focus on creativity and emotional connection as GenAI adoption increases.

  3. Engage broader business leaders, such as the CEO, CFO, and CHRO, to drive a coordinated, enterprise-wide transformation around GenAI implementation.

  4. Prioritise talent acquisition and upskilling initiatives to ensure the availability of GenAI-specific skills within marketing teams.

🔗 Read the Report

As always, please be sure to read the original materials here:

And thanks to the authors for an insightful read: Mark Abraham, David Edelman, and Lauren Wiener.

📌 Want more insights?

Previously on the Smart CMO: Check out my last summary of Hootsuite's report 'Social Media Trends 2024'.

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