Insights

•  AI or artificial intelligence is the teaching of computers to do things that ordinarily are done better by humans and this is achieved through computers acquiring knowledge and learning how to apply them,
•  Machine learning, on the other hand, has to do with algorithms that acquire knowledge or skill through experience to look for the pattern learned.

AI Uses In Digital Marketing

#1 Content curation and search optimization

• Content is considered the deciding factor in any successful marketing model and this is achieved through the application of AI to curate content according to targeted customer segements.
•  AI algorithms utilize data on user habits, interactional patterns, and buying behaviors to select targeted customer's interests before presenting recommendations for them. AI raises the probability of conversions.
• A typical example would be Netflix, the world's largest media service, which uses AI to suggest video content for its subscribers or users.

#2 Predictive analytics and sales forecasting

• This practice involves the extraction of information from data sets to predict future trends by combining data mining, sales modeling, and statistics.
•  Predictive analysis can help online entrepreneurs score leads with better maturation, nurture campaigns from demographics and behavioral data, and increase bottom lines while allowing detailed research on preferences of customers.
• Retail giant Walmart, observed a 10-15% increment for online sales for $1billion while utilizing AI sales prediction.
• Also, FedEx and Sprint use predictive analytics to pinpoint flight risk customers.

Both Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

#3 Chatbots and data learning

• With AI, chatbots now have a more significant role as digital marketers can have unmanned customer support that increases engagement, improve sales and reduce business costs.
• They assist online businesses to run a 24/7 customer support service that tends to basic inquiries in real-time, generating unique content for emails, tracking behaviors of customers and providing recommendations.
•  Chatbots are now capable of giving human-like replies to difficult queries using AI and machine learning. By using natural learning processing to analyze keywords and influence buying decisions in customers, AI can answer complex queries.
• An example would be Starbucks, which utilizes AI chatbot for its Facebook messenger to take complex orders from customers. In an FME infographic compilation, by 2022, chatbots will help save $8 billion.

#4 Profitable dynamic pricing model

• The success of any business lies in the price settings on the products or services being offered.
• Businesses offer flexible prices for products and services they offer by utilizing dynamic pricing strategies. It is a common model in hospitality, entertainment industry, travel, and the retail industry.
• The strategy helps segment prices based on customer choices. There is a relationship between dynamic pricing and real-time pricing which is when the value of goods is based on market conditions.
•  Machine learning makes it easier for businesses to efficiently implement a dynamic pricing model.
• Machine learning utilizes regression techniques to make market predictions.

Machine Learning Uses in Digital Marketing

#5 Computer vision for product recognition

• Using a software called GumGum, machine learning for computer vision was used to assist brands to recognize their products in videos and images online.
• A company called Miller Lite utilized a machine-learning algorithm to scan through user-generated content on social media. It searched for images without relevant text to find posts related to the brand and tracked information about competing brands and influencers.
• The results of the data collected by the software include 1.1 million total posts found, 3.2% irrelevant text posts scanned found, and 575 promoters found. This would have been almost impossible for a human to carry out such a task.

Research Strategy

VIRGIN HOLIDAYS

• Virgin Holidays had challenges relating to the "sign-off processes involved in email marketing and copywriting."
• This led to the absence of a testing culture and a lack of creativity.
• They partnered with Phrasee — a platform that utilizes AI to optimize and automate subject line — to generate a marketing language that can engage users.
• Virgin Holidays had previously used 'directness' and 'curiosity' as subject lines for past campaigns.
• However, Phrasee predicted that a more suitable subject line would be 'directness' and 'urgency'. 
• Phrasee proceeded to automatically generate subject lines around directness' and 'urgency'. 

• After the campaign, there was a 22% increase in clicks on the new subject lines and a 2% improvement in open rates.
• Furthermore, email campaigns, powered by AI, generated "66% increased awareness and a 33% increase in web traffic."

DELL

• Dell witnessed a decline in its email engagement rates. The company figured that it could be a result of language differences.
• In 2016, they partnered with Persado — "a technology company that machine-generates email copy (categorized by emotion) and analyses which key phrases or words succeed where others don’t".
• Persado leveraged its AI-driven tool to optimize language for every Dell's segments, thereby intensifying the effectiveness of the channel.
• Persado was able to "create email copy that was more than just descriptive, it injected characteristics like exclusivity to prompt engagement."
• Furthermore, Persado has improved the marketing copy of Dell's Facebook ads and display banners.

• For using the Persado platform, Dell's email CTR averaged about 50% increase, a 46% rise in email conversion, add-to-carts soared by 77%, and page visits improved by 22%.

KLM

• KLM is one of the oldest airlines in the world. Regarded as the "most punctual airline and safest European air carrier in 2016", the company envisaged an increase in customer volume.
• Every week, KLM's human agents attended to 16,000 cases, hence, the need for assistance.
• To ensure top quality customer experience, the company invested in the KLM's BB (BlueBot). 
• The BB was to be accessed through Facebook’s Messenger.
• The BB was designed to assist customers in ticket booking, "deliver booking confirmation, check-in reminders, boarding passes, deliver flight status updates, and answer passenger questions."
• It leveraged a similar response to entertain thousands of inquiries.

• KLM reported that the BB automatically processed about 1.7 million messages sent by about 500,000 passengers.

CASE STUDY 1

•  GumGum is recognized as an AI company with computer vision as its primary focus. They work towards solving various industry hard problems through enabling machines to perceive the world.

• GumGum has developed applied vision technology that enables the computer to view the surrounding images and hence enable marketers and advertisers to strategically place ads.
• The team has developed "patented algorithms to read online images and then places related advertisements on top of them."
• One of GumGum's clients is Ford, a motor company that specializes in multinational automakers. The technology at GumGum scans through its publishing partners that are more than 2,000 to find related articles, images or videos of specific keywords and terms such as "driving tips" and "road trips." Afterwards, the technology would drop Ford ads either around or on the bottom of the page.
• Ford pays GumGum a charge for advertising while GumGum pays their publishing partners a fee for space.

CASE STUDY 2

•  Albert technologies uses AI to provide solutions for agencies and brands. This software works along customer life cycle in channels such as Google ads.

• Albert "developed proprietary, patent-pending algorithms that leverage predictive analytic to execute on data-driven actions, and deep learning technology to act effortlessly on unpredictable situations that would traditionally require decision-making and reasoning by a human marketer."
• Their technology uses algorithms that have been created from Albert's unique capabilities of machine learning combined with expert systems and natural language processing.
• RedBalloon, a gift basket store, is one of Albert customers that has recorded a "3000% return on as spent." Albert also identified and presented new customer audiences that RedBallon has not realized were part of the targeted audience.
• Albert reduced the amount spent on customer acquiring "by more than 25% in less than 30 days."

CASE STUDY 3

•  Ebay is a multinational e-commerce corporation that facilitates sales through the website.

• Machine learning enables the likeliness of a click to result in maximized conversion value as well as precise goals on new customers and store visits.
• GittiGidiyor is an Ebay brand that uses "Google’s Smart Shopping campaigns for ad management" that saw a sales bump of 4% and ad spent returns increase of 28%.
• Through machine learning, shopping ads can be optimized to where they are supposed to be such as Google.com, YouTube, Image Search and other sited and apps found in the web as well as product featured.