\n<\/p>\n
Imagine stepping out of a Fortune 500 boardroom after 16 years, only to find yourself on the cutting edge of AI marketing and innovation. Sounds like a plot twist in a tech thriller, right? Well, for our guest today, it\u2019s not fiction \u2013 it\u2019s her extraordinary career path.<\/p>\n
In today\u2019s fast-paced marketing world, staying ahead often means embracing the unknown. But what happens when that unknown is as vast and complex as artificial intelligence <\/g><\/svg><\/span><\/a>? Many marketers find themselves at a crossroads, wondering how to bridge the gap between traditional strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> and this brave new world of AI.<\/p>\nThis is where our guest\u2019s journey becomes not just inspiring, but invaluable. Today, we have the privilege of speaking with Lauren Schiavone, a visionary leader who\u2019s made the leap from corporate titan to AI trailblazer.<\/p>\nLauren isn\u2019t just any former executive. With nearly two decades of consumer insights, brand, and sales leadership experience at Procter & Gamble, she\u2019s been the driving force behind some of the most recognizable brands in your home. Her work at P&G was consistently recognized as best-in-class, and she was even selected as one of Progressive Grocer Industry\u2019s Best and Brightest Under 40.<\/p>\nBut Lauren\u2019s story doesn\u2019t end in the corporate world. In a bold move, she stepped away from her prestigious role to dive headfirst into the world of AI. Now, as a consultant and thought leader, Lauren is on a mission to demystify AI for business<\/a> leaders, particularly in the realms of consumer goods, brand innovation, and retail.<\/p>\nWhat makes Lauren\u2019s perspective so unique is her ability to translate complex AI concepts into practical strategies that non-technical leaders can actually use. She\u2019s not just talking about AI \u2013 she\u2019s showing businesses how to enhance decision-making<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, drive innovation, and deliver business growth in tangible ways.<\/p>\nAI in Marketing: Unpacked<\/svg><\/span><\/a> host Mike Allton asked Lauren Schiavone about:<\/p>\n\u2728 Corporate Wisdom in AI<\/strong>: Understand how traditional business acumen enhances AI implementation in marketing.<\/p>\n\u2728 Practical AI Integration<\/strong>: Learn strategies for incorporating AI into existing marketing processes and teams.<\/p>\n\u2728 Future-Ready Marketing<\/strong>: Discover how to prepare marketing strategies for an AI-driven<\/svg><\/span><\/a> future while leveraging current strengths.<\/p>\nLearn more about Lauren Schiavone<\/strong><\/p>\nResources & Brands mentioned in this episode<\/strong><\/p>\nLauren\u2019s Framework for AI Adoption:<\/strong><\/p>\nAssess | Establish | Experimentation | Scaling<\/p>\n<\/figure>\nFull Transcript<\/h2>\n(lightly edited)<\/em><\/p>\nFrom Boardroom to Bot Room: A Leader\u2019s Journey into AI Marketing with Lauren Schiavone<\/h3>\n[00:00:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we are going to conduct a comprehensive audit<\/svg><\/span><\/a> of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. I actually developed a scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners<\/svg><\/span><\/a> are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here, we identify what the opportunities are for AI, define goals, KPIs. And really start to select the pilots that, that align with the business goals. And then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach, and probably even decide on new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated.<\/p>\n[00:00:59] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Welcome to AI in Marketing: Unpacked, where we simplify AI for impactful marketing. I\u2019m your host, Mike Allton here to guide you through the world of artificial intelligence and its transformative impact on marketing strategies. Each episode, we\u2019ll break down AI concepts into manageable insights and explore practical applications that can supercharge your marketing efforts.<\/p>\nWhether you\u2019re an experienced marketer just starting to explore the potential of AI, this podcast will equip you with the knowledge and tools you need to succeed. So tune in and let\u2019s unlock the power of AI together.<\/p>\nGreetings program. Welcome back to AI in Marketing: Unpacked, where I\u2019m selfishly used this time to pick the brains of experts at keeping up with and integrating or layering artificial intelligence into social media, content, advertising, search, and all these other areas of digital marketing. You get to learn too. Subscribe to be shown and prepare yourself and your brand for this AI revolution<\/svg><\/span><\/a> and come out ahead. And listen, imagine stepping out of a fortune 500 boardroom after 16 years, only to find yourself on the cutting edge of AI innovation.<\/p>\nSound like a plot twist and a tech thriller, right? Well, for our guest today, it\u2019s not fiction. It\u2019s her extraordinary career path in today\u2019s fast paced marketing world. Staying ahead often means embracing the unknown, but what happens when that unknown is as fast and complex as artificial intelligence? Many marketers find themselves at a crossroads wondering how to bridge the gap between traditional strategies and this brave new world of AI.<\/p>\nThis is where our guest journey begins. Becomes not just inspiring, but invaluable today. We have the privilege of speaking with Lauren Schiavone, a visionary leader who\u2019s made the leap from corporate titan to AI trailblazer. Lauren isn\u2019t just any former executive with nearly two decades of consumer insights, brand and sales leadership experience at Procter and Gamble.<\/p>\nShe\u2019s been the driving force behind some of the most recognizable brands in your home. Her work at P and G was consistently recognized as best in class. And she was even selected as one of Progressive Grocer Industry\u2019s best and brightest under 40, but Lauren\u2019s story doesn\u2019t end in the corporate world, in a bold move she stepped away from her prestigious role to dive headfirst into the world of AI. Now, as a consultant and thought leader, Lauren is on a mission to demystify AI for business<\/a> leaders, particularly in the realms of consumer goods, brand innovation, and retail. Hey, Lauren, welcome to the show.<\/p>\n[00:03:23] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Thank you so much, Mike.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s great to be here.<\/p>\n[00:03:25] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So excited to have you on and to, quite frankly, pick your brain. Cause I think this is going to be really insightful for me personally. And for all of you listening, Lauren, if you could just start by talking us through that decision to transition from corporate and focusing on AI and marketing.<\/p>\n[00:03:42] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. So Mike I had a incredible opportunity at P& G to be there for 16 years and work on some incredible brands. Actually started at P& G and consumer insights. Then I moved into brand management and finally really my interest in e commerce is what took me to sales in my final chapter at P& G.<\/p>\nAnd at P& G, I spent a lot of time working on product, consumer and retail innovation. And in doing so that\u2019s where I really developed my passion for leveraging innovation to drive business growth. And last year I made a very personal decision to leave P& G. I have two young children and I wanted the flexibility to spend more time with them.<\/p>\nIn this time away, I finally had a moment to lift my head up from the corporate world and see the broader landscape. And that\u2019s when it became very clear to me. AI is going to revolutionize everything, not just marketing and sales, but every industry, every career and the way we live our lives. In fact, early in my journey, I was walking with a former executive at P and G.<\/p>\nAnd she said to me, Oh, Lauren, this is like the early days of e comm to which I said, no, Amy, this is not like the early days of e comm e comm was a new way for shoppers to shop, right? A new modality, if you will. AI will transform absolutely everything. So I was super inspired, inspired by the possibility.<\/p>\nSo I really decided to dive in and immerse myself in learning and really figuring out how AI can be a growth accelerator. And of course, just like you probably Mike, my AI learning journey is ongoing. There is something new to learn every day. But I\u2019m focused on helping non technical leaders really harness that power of AI.<\/p>\nSo this past summer, I decided to combine my 16 years of experience leading business growth and innovation at P and G combined with my industry leading AI education<\/svg><\/span><\/a> to form wonder consulting. So with wonder consulting, I want to empower leaders to thrive in this AI driven future and use A I to accelerate business growth and to do it in a way where I demystify a I really to make it practical, practical and actionable, particularly for non technical leaders to use it for growth.<\/p>\n[00:05:55] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Love that there\u2019s there\u2019s so many aspects of your journey in that answer, quite frankly, that I can relate to starting with the first of moving from corporate wanting to spend time with your kids. I have two girls. One of them turns 10 tomorrow, the other\u2019s 13. And I just, I love being able to work from home.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve been working from home for their entire lives. So I\u2019m, you know, a real part of their life. And, and to your point, the AI journey is very much the same. It was kind of a thunderbolt to me late in 2023 that, wow, this is to your point, changing my life. Everything. It\u2019s not just changing marketing. It\u2019s not just changing sales or e commerce.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s literally the fourth industrial revolution. And it\u2019s something that we have to pay attention to. And I loved your point about how it\u2019s changing every day. There\u2019s news and developments and new apps every single day. That\u2019s something we don\u2019t talk a lot about on this show.<\/p>\n[00:06:46] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:06:47] Mike Allton:<\/strong> but to your point, you know, recording this on October 9th and I was just playing with OpenAI\u2019s new Canvas feature just before we got on this call, this innovative way to edit a document or collaborate in real time because I had a document that Colleagues, an actual, like a word document or a Google doc that colleagues had left comments on.<\/p>\nAnd I wanted AI\u2019s help addressing those comments and integrating them into this larger four page piece of text. So I basically duplicated it in canvas and got AI to weigh in and help me address these colleagues concerns. And I could not have done that without canvas, which is super cool. But you talked about.<\/p>\nYeah. You talked about your consumer insights background at PNG. And I\u2019m wondering how that\u2019s kind of influenced your approach to AI implementation and marketing strategies<\/a>.<\/p>\n[00:07:38] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So at PNG, we believe that consumer is boss and that belief really shapes a lot of the work that I do. And I want the consumer to be at the forefront of every strategy and every piece of work that I\u2019m working on.<\/p>\nAnd AI really is an incredible tool to allow us to uncover consumer insights. Thanks. Not just more quickly and deeply but in a more real time way than traditional methods. So I\u2019ll share with you a few examples of how this comes to life for me across a couple different, you know, quote, consumer groups.<\/p>\nSo the first example highlights how you might use a tool like ChatGBT to gain consumer insights. So I was actually working with a client who wanted to understand consumer insights related to the different service offerings that they had. The client needed quick insights, right? So I use Chat GBT to draft consumer personas and develop a discussion guide based on our business questions.<\/p>\nAnd then at Chat GBT simulate a focus group. This part blew my mind because as someone who has spent hours in the backroom of traditional research, the speed and effectiveness of this tool was just, I mind blowing for me. Chat GBT even summarized the results. They provided the top lines, you know, that I could share with my client.<\/p>\nAnd look, I know what many of you listeners are probably thinking. Wait, these are not real consumers and you\u2019re right. These are AI generated consumers, but the model is trained on so much consumer data that it\u2019s able to simulate consumer sentiment and beliefs very, very quickly. accurately. And look, AI research or should never be a replacement for traditional research, but it\u2019s an incredible tool for early stage brainstorming, ideation, or gaining even initial feedback as you think about how to shape your research plans.<\/p>\nThe next example, you know, it\u2019s not always the traditional consumer. Sometimes the consumer is the person that we\u2019re selling to. So maybe for you, it\u2019s the buyer or someone at your retail partner or someone like that. So LLMs also offer a powerful way to ensure that you are listening to those key stakeholders.<\/p>\nSo one of the things I like to do with many of my friends in sales is we create a detailed buyer persona. In that persona, we include things like the buyer\u2019s background, their goals, their objections their maybe personal things that they\u2019re interested. And if possible, I also like to incorporate any sort of call notes or previous communication<\/svg><\/span><\/a> back and forth with the buyer.<\/p>\nOnce we have that persona, it\u2019s an incredibly valuable tool. So imagine the scenario where you say, act as my buyer and provide me feedback on this business plan, or act as my buyer, or and provide me feedback on this new brand artwork. It allows you to get insight and allows you to optimize what you\u2019re working on by really listening to the voice of the person that matters most in the discussion.<\/p>\nAnd then last, you know, sometimes the quote consumer is just our client or a key leader in the organization. In these cases, I like to use Chat GBT to perform what I call tone of voice analysis. So this really helps you ensure that the content<\/a> or the tool or whatever you\u2019re developing really reflects the style and preferences of that person.<\/p>\nIn order to do this, I gather tons of documents, videos. anything that you might have and organize it in AI and create a tone of voice analysis, then I use ChatGBT to refine content in that, in that tone. So for example, I\u2019ll say, Hey, ChatGBT, act as John and write this update this document as if it\u2019s in John\u2019s writing, or how could this sound more like me?<\/p>\nAnd honestly, this has been a game changer for anyone who is creating content on behalf of someone else or has a leader that wants something written in a certain way, or is writing on behalf of a brand<\/a>, having a tone of voice analysis and using it in Chat GPT is an absolute must.<\/p>\n[00:11:40] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love that approach.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve even used it for myself on a copy that I had previously written. And when I went back and I looked at, I\u2019m like, I obviously just kind of mailed that one in. I really didn\u2019t pay attention or pay a lot of time because again, it\u2019s for the social media hat, my personal side hustle. So sometimes I\u2019m doing things really, really rapidly because maybe I have 20 minutes on a Thursday night to put up a contact page or landing page or something like that.<\/p>\nSo I can feed all that into. Check GPT and get a much better, you know, several paragraphs or whatever of copy cause I\u2019ve taken the time to develop a Mike Allton\u2019s voice, custom GPT<\/a>. And in fact, I think I\u2019m going to do a whole episode just on, on how to do that for you folks. But I also loved your point about simulated data is something we\u2019ve talked about a couple of times on the show and a friend of the show and former guest. Chris Penn has spoken at length about how to create simulated audiences and simulated data. So I\u2019ll link to some of those in the show, because I think that\u2019s a really powerful use case.<\/p>\n[00:12:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\nHe has a great tool to create an ICP persona. He does.<\/p>\n[00:12:46] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
This is where our guest\u2019s journey becomes not just inspiring, but invaluable. Today, we have the privilege of speaking with Lauren Schiavone, a visionary leader who\u2019s made the leap from corporate titan to AI trailblazer.<\/p>\n
Lauren isn\u2019t just any former executive. With nearly two decades of consumer insights, brand, and sales leadership experience at Procter & Gamble, she\u2019s been the driving force behind some of the most recognizable brands in your home. Her work at P&G was consistently recognized as best-in-class, and she was even selected as one of Progressive Grocer Industry\u2019s Best and Brightest Under 40.<\/p>\n
But Lauren\u2019s story doesn\u2019t end in the corporate world. In a bold move, she stepped away from her prestigious role to dive headfirst into the world of AI. Now, as a consultant and thought leader, Lauren is on a mission to demystify AI for business<\/a> leaders, particularly in the realms of consumer goods, brand innovation, and retail.<\/p>\nWhat makes Lauren\u2019s perspective so unique is her ability to translate complex AI concepts into practical strategies that non-technical leaders can actually use. She\u2019s not just talking about AI \u2013 she\u2019s showing businesses how to enhance decision-making<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, drive innovation, and deliver business growth in tangible ways.<\/p>\nAI in Marketing: Unpacked<\/svg><\/span><\/a> host Mike Allton asked Lauren Schiavone about:<\/p>\n\u2728 Corporate Wisdom in AI<\/strong>: Understand how traditional business acumen enhances AI implementation in marketing.<\/p>\n\u2728 Practical AI Integration<\/strong>: Learn strategies for incorporating AI into existing marketing processes and teams.<\/p>\n\u2728 Future-Ready Marketing<\/strong>: Discover how to prepare marketing strategies for an AI-driven<\/svg><\/span><\/a> future while leveraging current strengths.<\/p>\nLearn more about Lauren Schiavone<\/strong><\/p>\nResources & Brands mentioned in this episode<\/strong><\/p>\nLauren\u2019s Framework for AI Adoption:<\/strong><\/p>\nAssess | Establish | Experimentation | Scaling<\/p>\n<\/figure>\nFull Transcript<\/h2>\n(lightly edited)<\/em><\/p>\nFrom Boardroom to Bot Room: A Leader\u2019s Journey into AI Marketing with Lauren Schiavone<\/h3>\n[00:00:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we are going to conduct a comprehensive audit<\/svg><\/span><\/a> of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. I actually developed a scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners<\/svg><\/span><\/a> are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here, we identify what the opportunities are for AI, define goals, KPIs. And really start to select the pilots that, that align with the business goals. And then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach, and probably even decide on new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated.<\/p>\n[00:00:59] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Welcome to AI in Marketing: Unpacked, where we simplify AI for impactful marketing. I\u2019m your host, Mike Allton here to guide you through the world of artificial intelligence and its transformative impact on marketing strategies. Each episode, we\u2019ll break down AI concepts into manageable insights and explore practical applications that can supercharge your marketing efforts.<\/p>\nWhether you\u2019re an experienced marketer just starting to explore the potential of AI, this podcast will equip you with the knowledge and tools you need to succeed. So tune in and let\u2019s unlock the power of AI together.<\/p>\nGreetings program. Welcome back to AI in Marketing: Unpacked, where I\u2019m selfishly used this time to pick the brains of experts at keeping up with and integrating or layering artificial intelligence into social media, content, advertising, search, and all these other areas of digital marketing. You get to learn too. Subscribe to be shown and prepare yourself and your brand for this AI revolution<\/svg><\/span><\/a> and come out ahead. And listen, imagine stepping out of a fortune 500 boardroom after 16 years, only to find yourself on the cutting edge of AI innovation.<\/p>\nSound like a plot twist and a tech thriller, right? Well, for our guest today, it\u2019s not fiction. It\u2019s her extraordinary career path in today\u2019s fast paced marketing world. Staying ahead often means embracing the unknown, but what happens when that unknown is as fast and complex as artificial intelligence? Many marketers find themselves at a crossroads wondering how to bridge the gap between traditional strategies and this brave new world of AI.<\/p>\nThis is where our guest journey begins. Becomes not just inspiring, but invaluable today. We have the privilege of speaking with Lauren Schiavone, a visionary leader who\u2019s made the leap from corporate titan to AI trailblazer. Lauren isn\u2019t just any former executive with nearly two decades of consumer insights, brand and sales leadership experience at Procter and Gamble.<\/p>\nShe\u2019s been the driving force behind some of the most recognizable brands in your home. Her work at P and G was consistently recognized as best in class. And she was even selected as one of Progressive Grocer Industry\u2019s best and brightest under 40, but Lauren\u2019s story doesn\u2019t end in the corporate world, in a bold move she stepped away from her prestigious role to dive headfirst into the world of AI. Now, as a consultant and thought leader, Lauren is on a mission to demystify AI for business<\/a> leaders, particularly in the realms of consumer goods, brand innovation, and retail. Hey, Lauren, welcome to the show.<\/p>\n[00:03:23] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Thank you so much, Mike.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s great to be here.<\/p>\n[00:03:25] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So excited to have you on and to, quite frankly, pick your brain. Cause I think this is going to be really insightful for me personally. And for all of you listening, Lauren, if you could just start by talking us through that decision to transition from corporate and focusing on AI and marketing.<\/p>\n[00:03:42] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. So Mike I had a incredible opportunity at P& G to be there for 16 years and work on some incredible brands. Actually started at P& G and consumer insights. Then I moved into brand management and finally really my interest in e commerce is what took me to sales in my final chapter at P& G.<\/p>\nAnd at P& G, I spent a lot of time working on product, consumer and retail innovation. And in doing so that\u2019s where I really developed my passion for leveraging innovation to drive business growth. And last year I made a very personal decision to leave P& G. I have two young children and I wanted the flexibility to spend more time with them.<\/p>\nIn this time away, I finally had a moment to lift my head up from the corporate world and see the broader landscape. And that\u2019s when it became very clear to me. AI is going to revolutionize everything, not just marketing and sales, but every industry, every career and the way we live our lives. In fact, early in my journey, I was walking with a former executive at P and G.<\/p>\nAnd she said to me, Oh, Lauren, this is like the early days of e comm to which I said, no, Amy, this is not like the early days of e comm e comm was a new way for shoppers to shop, right? A new modality, if you will. AI will transform absolutely everything. So I was super inspired, inspired by the possibility.<\/p>\nSo I really decided to dive in and immerse myself in learning and really figuring out how AI can be a growth accelerator. And of course, just like you probably Mike, my AI learning journey is ongoing. There is something new to learn every day. But I\u2019m focused on helping non technical leaders really harness that power of AI.<\/p>\nSo this past summer, I decided to combine my 16 years of experience leading business growth and innovation at P and G combined with my industry leading AI education<\/svg><\/span><\/a> to form wonder consulting. So with wonder consulting, I want to empower leaders to thrive in this AI driven future and use A I to accelerate business growth and to do it in a way where I demystify a I really to make it practical, practical and actionable, particularly for non technical leaders to use it for growth.<\/p>\n[00:05:55] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Love that there\u2019s there\u2019s so many aspects of your journey in that answer, quite frankly, that I can relate to starting with the first of moving from corporate wanting to spend time with your kids. I have two girls. One of them turns 10 tomorrow, the other\u2019s 13. And I just, I love being able to work from home.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve been working from home for their entire lives. So I\u2019m, you know, a real part of their life. And, and to your point, the AI journey is very much the same. It was kind of a thunderbolt to me late in 2023 that, wow, this is to your point, changing my life. Everything. It\u2019s not just changing marketing. It\u2019s not just changing sales or e commerce.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s literally the fourth industrial revolution. And it\u2019s something that we have to pay attention to. And I loved your point about how it\u2019s changing every day. There\u2019s news and developments and new apps every single day. That\u2019s something we don\u2019t talk a lot about on this show.<\/p>\n[00:06:46] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:06:47] Mike Allton:<\/strong> but to your point, you know, recording this on October 9th and I was just playing with OpenAI\u2019s new Canvas feature just before we got on this call, this innovative way to edit a document or collaborate in real time because I had a document that Colleagues, an actual, like a word document or a Google doc that colleagues had left comments on.<\/p>\nAnd I wanted AI\u2019s help addressing those comments and integrating them into this larger four page piece of text. So I basically duplicated it in canvas and got AI to weigh in and help me address these colleagues concerns. And I could not have done that without canvas, which is super cool. But you talked about.<\/p>\nYeah. You talked about your consumer insights background at PNG. And I\u2019m wondering how that\u2019s kind of influenced your approach to AI implementation and marketing strategies<\/a>.<\/p>\n[00:07:38] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So at PNG, we believe that consumer is boss and that belief really shapes a lot of the work that I do. And I want the consumer to be at the forefront of every strategy and every piece of work that I\u2019m working on.<\/p>\nAnd AI really is an incredible tool to allow us to uncover consumer insights. Thanks. Not just more quickly and deeply but in a more real time way than traditional methods. So I\u2019ll share with you a few examples of how this comes to life for me across a couple different, you know, quote, consumer groups.<\/p>\nSo the first example highlights how you might use a tool like ChatGBT to gain consumer insights. So I was actually working with a client who wanted to understand consumer insights related to the different service offerings that they had. The client needed quick insights, right? So I use Chat GBT to draft consumer personas and develop a discussion guide based on our business questions.<\/p>\nAnd then at Chat GBT simulate a focus group. This part blew my mind because as someone who has spent hours in the backroom of traditional research, the speed and effectiveness of this tool was just, I mind blowing for me. Chat GBT even summarized the results. They provided the top lines, you know, that I could share with my client.<\/p>\nAnd look, I know what many of you listeners are probably thinking. Wait, these are not real consumers and you\u2019re right. These are AI generated consumers, but the model is trained on so much consumer data that it\u2019s able to simulate consumer sentiment and beliefs very, very quickly. accurately. And look, AI research or should never be a replacement for traditional research, but it\u2019s an incredible tool for early stage brainstorming, ideation, or gaining even initial feedback as you think about how to shape your research plans.<\/p>\nThe next example, you know, it\u2019s not always the traditional consumer. Sometimes the consumer is the person that we\u2019re selling to. So maybe for you, it\u2019s the buyer or someone at your retail partner or someone like that. So LLMs also offer a powerful way to ensure that you are listening to those key stakeholders.<\/p>\nSo one of the things I like to do with many of my friends in sales is we create a detailed buyer persona. In that persona, we include things like the buyer\u2019s background, their goals, their objections their maybe personal things that they\u2019re interested. And if possible, I also like to incorporate any sort of call notes or previous communication<\/svg><\/span><\/a> back and forth with the buyer.<\/p>\nOnce we have that persona, it\u2019s an incredibly valuable tool. So imagine the scenario where you say, act as my buyer and provide me feedback on this business plan, or act as my buyer, or and provide me feedback on this new brand artwork. It allows you to get insight and allows you to optimize what you\u2019re working on by really listening to the voice of the person that matters most in the discussion.<\/p>\nAnd then last, you know, sometimes the quote consumer is just our client or a key leader in the organization. In these cases, I like to use Chat GBT to perform what I call tone of voice analysis. So this really helps you ensure that the content<\/a> or the tool or whatever you\u2019re developing really reflects the style and preferences of that person.<\/p>\nIn order to do this, I gather tons of documents, videos. anything that you might have and organize it in AI and create a tone of voice analysis, then I use ChatGBT to refine content in that, in that tone. So for example, I\u2019ll say, Hey, ChatGBT, act as John and write this update this document as if it\u2019s in John\u2019s writing, or how could this sound more like me?<\/p>\nAnd honestly, this has been a game changer for anyone who is creating content on behalf of someone else or has a leader that wants something written in a certain way, or is writing on behalf of a brand<\/a>, having a tone of voice analysis and using it in Chat GPT is an absolute must.<\/p>\n[00:11:40] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love that approach.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve even used it for myself on a copy that I had previously written. And when I went back and I looked at, I\u2019m like, I obviously just kind of mailed that one in. I really didn\u2019t pay attention or pay a lot of time because again, it\u2019s for the social media hat, my personal side hustle. So sometimes I\u2019m doing things really, really rapidly because maybe I have 20 minutes on a Thursday night to put up a contact page or landing page or something like that.<\/p>\nSo I can feed all that into. Check GPT and get a much better, you know, several paragraphs or whatever of copy cause I\u2019ve taken the time to develop a Mike Allton\u2019s voice, custom GPT<\/a>. And in fact, I think I\u2019m going to do a whole episode just on, on how to do that for you folks. But I also loved your point about simulated data is something we\u2019ve talked about a couple of times on the show and a friend of the show and former guest. Chris Penn has spoken at length about how to create simulated audiences and simulated data. So I\u2019ll link to some of those in the show, because I think that\u2019s a really powerful use case.<\/p>\n[00:12:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\nHe has a great tool to create an ICP persona. He does.<\/p>\n[00:12:46] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
What makes Lauren\u2019s perspective so unique is her ability to translate complex AI concepts into practical strategies that non-technical leaders can actually use. She\u2019s not just talking about AI \u2013 she\u2019s showing businesses how to enhance decision-making<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, drive innovation, and deliver business growth in tangible ways.<\/p>\nAI in Marketing: Unpacked<\/svg><\/span><\/a> host Mike Allton asked Lauren Schiavone about:<\/p>\n\u2728 Corporate Wisdom in AI<\/strong>: Understand how traditional business acumen enhances AI implementation in marketing.<\/p>\n\u2728 Practical AI Integration<\/strong>: Learn strategies for incorporating AI into existing marketing processes and teams.<\/p>\n\u2728 Future-Ready Marketing<\/strong>: Discover how to prepare marketing strategies for an AI-driven<\/svg><\/span><\/a> future while leveraging current strengths.<\/p>\nLearn more about Lauren Schiavone<\/strong><\/p>\nResources & Brands mentioned in this episode<\/strong><\/p>\nLauren\u2019s Framework for AI Adoption:<\/strong><\/p>\nAssess | Establish | Experimentation | Scaling<\/p>\n<\/figure>\nFull Transcript<\/h2>\n(lightly edited)<\/em><\/p>\nFrom Boardroom to Bot Room: A Leader\u2019s Journey into AI Marketing with Lauren Schiavone<\/h3>\n[00:00:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we are going to conduct a comprehensive audit<\/svg><\/span><\/a> of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. I actually developed a scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners<\/svg><\/span><\/a> are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here, we identify what the opportunities are for AI, define goals, KPIs. And really start to select the pilots that, that align with the business goals. And then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach, and probably even decide on new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated.<\/p>\n[00:00:59] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Welcome to AI in Marketing: Unpacked, where we simplify AI for impactful marketing. I\u2019m your host, Mike Allton here to guide you through the world of artificial intelligence and its transformative impact on marketing strategies. Each episode, we\u2019ll break down AI concepts into manageable insights and explore practical applications that can supercharge your marketing efforts.<\/p>\nWhether you\u2019re an experienced marketer just starting to explore the potential of AI, this podcast will equip you with the knowledge and tools you need to succeed. So tune in and let\u2019s unlock the power of AI together.<\/p>\nGreetings program. Welcome back to AI in Marketing: Unpacked, where I\u2019m selfishly used this time to pick the brains of experts at keeping up with and integrating or layering artificial intelligence into social media, content, advertising, search, and all these other areas of digital marketing. You get to learn too. Subscribe to be shown and prepare yourself and your brand for this AI revolution<\/svg><\/span><\/a> and come out ahead. And listen, imagine stepping out of a fortune 500 boardroom after 16 years, only to find yourself on the cutting edge of AI innovation.<\/p>\nSound like a plot twist and a tech thriller, right? Well, for our guest today, it\u2019s not fiction. It\u2019s her extraordinary career path in today\u2019s fast paced marketing world. Staying ahead often means embracing the unknown, but what happens when that unknown is as fast and complex as artificial intelligence? Many marketers find themselves at a crossroads wondering how to bridge the gap between traditional strategies and this brave new world of AI.<\/p>\nThis is where our guest journey begins. Becomes not just inspiring, but invaluable today. We have the privilege of speaking with Lauren Schiavone, a visionary leader who\u2019s made the leap from corporate titan to AI trailblazer. Lauren isn\u2019t just any former executive with nearly two decades of consumer insights, brand and sales leadership experience at Procter and Gamble.<\/p>\nShe\u2019s been the driving force behind some of the most recognizable brands in your home. Her work at P and G was consistently recognized as best in class. And she was even selected as one of Progressive Grocer Industry\u2019s best and brightest under 40, but Lauren\u2019s story doesn\u2019t end in the corporate world, in a bold move she stepped away from her prestigious role to dive headfirst into the world of AI. Now, as a consultant and thought leader, Lauren is on a mission to demystify AI for business<\/a> leaders, particularly in the realms of consumer goods, brand innovation, and retail. Hey, Lauren, welcome to the show.<\/p>\n[00:03:23] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Thank you so much, Mike.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s great to be here.<\/p>\n[00:03:25] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So excited to have you on and to, quite frankly, pick your brain. Cause I think this is going to be really insightful for me personally. And for all of you listening, Lauren, if you could just start by talking us through that decision to transition from corporate and focusing on AI and marketing.<\/p>\n[00:03:42] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. So Mike I had a incredible opportunity at P& G to be there for 16 years and work on some incredible brands. Actually started at P& G and consumer insights. Then I moved into brand management and finally really my interest in e commerce is what took me to sales in my final chapter at P& G.<\/p>\nAnd at P& G, I spent a lot of time working on product, consumer and retail innovation. And in doing so that\u2019s where I really developed my passion for leveraging innovation to drive business growth. And last year I made a very personal decision to leave P& G. I have two young children and I wanted the flexibility to spend more time with them.<\/p>\nIn this time away, I finally had a moment to lift my head up from the corporate world and see the broader landscape. And that\u2019s when it became very clear to me. AI is going to revolutionize everything, not just marketing and sales, but every industry, every career and the way we live our lives. In fact, early in my journey, I was walking with a former executive at P and G.<\/p>\nAnd she said to me, Oh, Lauren, this is like the early days of e comm to which I said, no, Amy, this is not like the early days of e comm e comm was a new way for shoppers to shop, right? A new modality, if you will. AI will transform absolutely everything. So I was super inspired, inspired by the possibility.<\/p>\nSo I really decided to dive in and immerse myself in learning and really figuring out how AI can be a growth accelerator. And of course, just like you probably Mike, my AI learning journey is ongoing. There is something new to learn every day. But I\u2019m focused on helping non technical leaders really harness that power of AI.<\/p>\nSo this past summer, I decided to combine my 16 years of experience leading business growth and innovation at P and G combined with my industry leading AI education<\/svg><\/span><\/a> to form wonder consulting. So with wonder consulting, I want to empower leaders to thrive in this AI driven future and use A I to accelerate business growth and to do it in a way where I demystify a I really to make it practical, practical and actionable, particularly for non technical leaders to use it for growth.<\/p>\n[00:05:55] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Love that there\u2019s there\u2019s so many aspects of your journey in that answer, quite frankly, that I can relate to starting with the first of moving from corporate wanting to spend time with your kids. I have two girls. One of them turns 10 tomorrow, the other\u2019s 13. And I just, I love being able to work from home.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve been working from home for their entire lives. So I\u2019m, you know, a real part of their life. And, and to your point, the AI journey is very much the same. It was kind of a thunderbolt to me late in 2023 that, wow, this is to your point, changing my life. Everything. It\u2019s not just changing marketing. It\u2019s not just changing sales or e commerce.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s literally the fourth industrial revolution. And it\u2019s something that we have to pay attention to. And I loved your point about how it\u2019s changing every day. There\u2019s news and developments and new apps every single day. That\u2019s something we don\u2019t talk a lot about on this show.<\/p>\n[00:06:46] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:06:47] Mike Allton:<\/strong> but to your point, you know, recording this on October 9th and I was just playing with OpenAI\u2019s new Canvas feature just before we got on this call, this innovative way to edit a document or collaborate in real time because I had a document that Colleagues, an actual, like a word document or a Google doc that colleagues had left comments on.<\/p>\nAnd I wanted AI\u2019s help addressing those comments and integrating them into this larger four page piece of text. So I basically duplicated it in canvas and got AI to weigh in and help me address these colleagues concerns. And I could not have done that without canvas, which is super cool. But you talked about.<\/p>\nYeah. You talked about your consumer insights background at PNG. And I\u2019m wondering how that\u2019s kind of influenced your approach to AI implementation and marketing strategies<\/a>.<\/p>\n[00:07:38] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So at PNG, we believe that consumer is boss and that belief really shapes a lot of the work that I do. And I want the consumer to be at the forefront of every strategy and every piece of work that I\u2019m working on.<\/p>\nAnd AI really is an incredible tool to allow us to uncover consumer insights. Thanks. Not just more quickly and deeply but in a more real time way than traditional methods. So I\u2019ll share with you a few examples of how this comes to life for me across a couple different, you know, quote, consumer groups.<\/p>\nSo the first example highlights how you might use a tool like ChatGBT to gain consumer insights. So I was actually working with a client who wanted to understand consumer insights related to the different service offerings that they had. The client needed quick insights, right? So I use Chat GBT to draft consumer personas and develop a discussion guide based on our business questions.<\/p>\nAnd then at Chat GBT simulate a focus group. This part blew my mind because as someone who has spent hours in the backroom of traditional research, the speed and effectiveness of this tool was just, I mind blowing for me. Chat GBT even summarized the results. They provided the top lines, you know, that I could share with my client.<\/p>\nAnd look, I know what many of you listeners are probably thinking. Wait, these are not real consumers and you\u2019re right. These are AI generated consumers, but the model is trained on so much consumer data that it\u2019s able to simulate consumer sentiment and beliefs very, very quickly. accurately. And look, AI research or should never be a replacement for traditional research, but it\u2019s an incredible tool for early stage brainstorming, ideation, or gaining even initial feedback as you think about how to shape your research plans.<\/p>\nThe next example, you know, it\u2019s not always the traditional consumer. Sometimes the consumer is the person that we\u2019re selling to. So maybe for you, it\u2019s the buyer or someone at your retail partner or someone like that. So LLMs also offer a powerful way to ensure that you are listening to those key stakeholders.<\/p>\nSo one of the things I like to do with many of my friends in sales is we create a detailed buyer persona. In that persona, we include things like the buyer\u2019s background, their goals, their objections their maybe personal things that they\u2019re interested. And if possible, I also like to incorporate any sort of call notes or previous communication<\/svg><\/span><\/a> back and forth with the buyer.<\/p>\nOnce we have that persona, it\u2019s an incredibly valuable tool. So imagine the scenario where you say, act as my buyer and provide me feedback on this business plan, or act as my buyer, or and provide me feedback on this new brand artwork. It allows you to get insight and allows you to optimize what you\u2019re working on by really listening to the voice of the person that matters most in the discussion.<\/p>\nAnd then last, you know, sometimes the quote consumer is just our client or a key leader in the organization. In these cases, I like to use Chat GBT to perform what I call tone of voice analysis. So this really helps you ensure that the content<\/a> or the tool or whatever you\u2019re developing really reflects the style and preferences of that person.<\/p>\nIn order to do this, I gather tons of documents, videos. anything that you might have and organize it in AI and create a tone of voice analysis, then I use ChatGBT to refine content in that, in that tone. So for example, I\u2019ll say, Hey, ChatGBT, act as John and write this update this document as if it\u2019s in John\u2019s writing, or how could this sound more like me?<\/p>\nAnd honestly, this has been a game changer for anyone who is creating content on behalf of someone else or has a leader that wants something written in a certain way, or is writing on behalf of a brand<\/a>, having a tone of voice analysis and using it in Chat GPT is an absolute must.<\/p>\n[00:11:40] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love that approach.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve even used it for myself on a copy that I had previously written. And when I went back and I looked at, I\u2019m like, I obviously just kind of mailed that one in. I really didn\u2019t pay attention or pay a lot of time because again, it\u2019s for the social media hat, my personal side hustle. So sometimes I\u2019m doing things really, really rapidly because maybe I have 20 minutes on a Thursday night to put up a contact page or landing page or something like that.<\/p>\nSo I can feed all that into. Check GPT and get a much better, you know, several paragraphs or whatever of copy cause I\u2019ve taken the time to develop a Mike Allton\u2019s voice, custom GPT<\/a>. And in fact, I think I\u2019m going to do a whole episode just on, on how to do that for you folks. But I also loved your point about simulated data is something we\u2019ve talked about a couple of times on the show and a friend of the show and former guest. Chris Penn has spoken at length about how to create simulated audiences and simulated data. So I\u2019ll link to some of those in the show, because I think that\u2019s a really powerful use case.<\/p>\n[00:12:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\nHe has a great tool to create an ICP persona. He does.<\/p>\n[00:12:46] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
AI in Marketing: Unpacked<\/svg><\/span><\/a> host Mike Allton asked Lauren Schiavone about:<\/p>\n\u2728 Corporate Wisdom in AI<\/strong>: Understand how traditional business acumen enhances AI implementation in marketing.<\/p>\n\u2728 Practical AI Integration<\/strong>: Learn strategies for incorporating AI into existing marketing processes and teams.<\/p>\n\u2728 Future-Ready Marketing<\/strong>: Discover how to prepare marketing strategies for an AI-driven<\/svg><\/span><\/a> future while leveraging current strengths.<\/p>\nLearn more about Lauren Schiavone<\/strong><\/p>\nResources & Brands mentioned in this episode<\/strong><\/p>\nLauren\u2019s Framework for AI Adoption:<\/strong><\/p>\nAssess | Establish | Experimentation | Scaling<\/p>\n<\/figure>\nFull Transcript<\/h2>\n(lightly edited)<\/em><\/p>\nFrom Boardroom to Bot Room: A Leader\u2019s Journey into AI Marketing with Lauren Schiavone<\/h3>\n[00:00:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we are going to conduct a comprehensive audit<\/svg><\/span><\/a> of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. I actually developed a scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners<\/svg><\/span><\/a> are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here, we identify what the opportunities are for AI, define goals, KPIs. And really start to select the pilots that, that align with the business goals. And then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach, and probably even decide on new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated.<\/p>\n[00:00:59] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Welcome to AI in Marketing: Unpacked, where we simplify AI for impactful marketing. I\u2019m your host, Mike Allton here to guide you through the world of artificial intelligence and its transformative impact on marketing strategies. Each episode, we\u2019ll break down AI concepts into manageable insights and explore practical applications that can supercharge your marketing efforts.<\/p>\nWhether you\u2019re an experienced marketer just starting to explore the potential of AI, this podcast will equip you with the knowledge and tools you need to succeed. So tune in and let\u2019s unlock the power of AI together.<\/p>\nGreetings program. Welcome back to AI in Marketing: Unpacked, where I\u2019m selfishly used this time to pick the brains of experts at keeping up with and integrating or layering artificial intelligence into social media, content, advertising, search, and all these other areas of digital marketing. You get to learn too. Subscribe to be shown and prepare yourself and your brand for this AI revolution<\/svg><\/span><\/a> and come out ahead. And listen, imagine stepping out of a fortune 500 boardroom after 16 years, only to find yourself on the cutting edge of AI innovation.<\/p>\nSound like a plot twist and a tech thriller, right? Well, for our guest today, it\u2019s not fiction. It\u2019s her extraordinary career path in today\u2019s fast paced marketing world. Staying ahead often means embracing the unknown, but what happens when that unknown is as fast and complex as artificial intelligence? Many marketers find themselves at a crossroads wondering how to bridge the gap between traditional strategies and this brave new world of AI.<\/p>\nThis is where our guest journey begins. Becomes not just inspiring, but invaluable today. We have the privilege of speaking with Lauren Schiavone, a visionary leader who\u2019s made the leap from corporate titan to AI trailblazer. Lauren isn\u2019t just any former executive with nearly two decades of consumer insights, brand and sales leadership experience at Procter and Gamble.<\/p>\nShe\u2019s been the driving force behind some of the most recognizable brands in your home. Her work at P and G was consistently recognized as best in class. And she was even selected as one of Progressive Grocer Industry\u2019s best and brightest under 40, but Lauren\u2019s story doesn\u2019t end in the corporate world, in a bold move she stepped away from her prestigious role to dive headfirst into the world of AI. Now, as a consultant and thought leader, Lauren is on a mission to demystify AI for business<\/a> leaders, particularly in the realms of consumer goods, brand innovation, and retail. Hey, Lauren, welcome to the show.<\/p>\n[00:03:23] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Thank you so much, Mike.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s great to be here.<\/p>\n[00:03:25] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So excited to have you on and to, quite frankly, pick your brain. Cause I think this is going to be really insightful for me personally. And for all of you listening, Lauren, if you could just start by talking us through that decision to transition from corporate and focusing on AI and marketing.<\/p>\n[00:03:42] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. So Mike I had a incredible opportunity at P& G to be there for 16 years and work on some incredible brands. Actually started at P& G and consumer insights. Then I moved into brand management and finally really my interest in e commerce is what took me to sales in my final chapter at P& G.<\/p>\nAnd at P& G, I spent a lot of time working on product, consumer and retail innovation. And in doing so that\u2019s where I really developed my passion for leveraging innovation to drive business growth. And last year I made a very personal decision to leave P& G. I have two young children and I wanted the flexibility to spend more time with them.<\/p>\nIn this time away, I finally had a moment to lift my head up from the corporate world and see the broader landscape. And that\u2019s when it became very clear to me. AI is going to revolutionize everything, not just marketing and sales, but every industry, every career and the way we live our lives. In fact, early in my journey, I was walking with a former executive at P and G.<\/p>\nAnd she said to me, Oh, Lauren, this is like the early days of e comm to which I said, no, Amy, this is not like the early days of e comm e comm was a new way for shoppers to shop, right? A new modality, if you will. AI will transform absolutely everything. So I was super inspired, inspired by the possibility.<\/p>\nSo I really decided to dive in and immerse myself in learning and really figuring out how AI can be a growth accelerator. And of course, just like you probably Mike, my AI learning journey is ongoing. There is something new to learn every day. But I\u2019m focused on helping non technical leaders really harness that power of AI.<\/p>\nSo this past summer, I decided to combine my 16 years of experience leading business growth and innovation at P and G combined with my industry leading AI education<\/svg><\/span><\/a> to form wonder consulting. So with wonder consulting, I want to empower leaders to thrive in this AI driven future and use A I to accelerate business growth and to do it in a way where I demystify a I really to make it practical, practical and actionable, particularly for non technical leaders to use it for growth.<\/p>\n[00:05:55] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Love that there\u2019s there\u2019s so many aspects of your journey in that answer, quite frankly, that I can relate to starting with the first of moving from corporate wanting to spend time with your kids. I have two girls. One of them turns 10 tomorrow, the other\u2019s 13. And I just, I love being able to work from home.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve been working from home for their entire lives. So I\u2019m, you know, a real part of their life. And, and to your point, the AI journey is very much the same. It was kind of a thunderbolt to me late in 2023 that, wow, this is to your point, changing my life. Everything. It\u2019s not just changing marketing. It\u2019s not just changing sales or e commerce.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s literally the fourth industrial revolution. And it\u2019s something that we have to pay attention to. And I loved your point about how it\u2019s changing every day. There\u2019s news and developments and new apps every single day. That\u2019s something we don\u2019t talk a lot about on this show.<\/p>\n[00:06:46] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:06:47] Mike Allton:<\/strong> but to your point, you know, recording this on October 9th and I was just playing with OpenAI\u2019s new Canvas feature just before we got on this call, this innovative way to edit a document or collaborate in real time because I had a document that Colleagues, an actual, like a word document or a Google doc that colleagues had left comments on.<\/p>\nAnd I wanted AI\u2019s help addressing those comments and integrating them into this larger four page piece of text. So I basically duplicated it in canvas and got AI to weigh in and help me address these colleagues concerns. And I could not have done that without canvas, which is super cool. But you talked about.<\/p>\nYeah. You talked about your consumer insights background at PNG. And I\u2019m wondering how that\u2019s kind of influenced your approach to AI implementation and marketing strategies<\/a>.<\/p>\n[00:07:38] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So at PNG, we believe that consumer is boss and that belief really shapes a lot of the work that I do. And I want the consumer to be at the forefront of every strategy and every piece of work that I\u2019m working on.<\/p>\nAnd AI really is an incredible tool to allow us to uncover consumer insights. Thanks. Not just more quickly and deeply but in a more real time way than traditional methods. So I\u2019ll share with you a few examples of how this comes to life for me across a couple different, you know, quote, consumer groups.<\/p>\nSo the first example highlights how you might use a tool like ChatGBT to gain consumer insights. So I was actually working with a client who wanted to understand consumer insights related to the different service offerings that they had. The client needed quick insights, right? So I use Chat GBT to draft consumer personas and develop a discussion guide based on our business questions.<\/p>\nAnd then at Chat GBT simulate a focus group. This part blew my mind because as someone who has spent hours in the backroom of traditional research, the speed and effectiveness of this tool was just, I mind blowing for me. Chat GBT even summarized the results. They provided the top lines, you know, that I could share with my client.<\/p>\nAnd look, I know what many of you listeners are probably thinking. Wait, these are not real consumers and you\u2019re right. These are AI generated consumers, but the model is trained on so much consumer data that it\u2019s able to simulate consumer sentiment and beliefs very, very quickly. accurately. And look, AI research or should never be a replacement for traditional research, but it\u2019s an incredible tool for early stage brainstorming, ideation, or gaining even initial feedback as you think about how to shape your research plans.<\/p>\nThe next example, you know, it\u2019s not always the traditional consumer. Sometimes the consumer is the person that we\u2019re selling to. So maybe for you, it\u2019s the buyer or someone at your retail partner or someone like that. So LLMs also offer a powerful way to ensure that you are listening to those key stakeholders.<\/p>\nSo one of the things I like to do with many of my friends in sales is we create a detailed buyer persona. In that persona, we include things like the buyer\u2019s background, their goals, their objections their maybe personal things that they\u2019re interested. And if possible, I also like to incorporate any sort of call notes or previous communication<\/svg><\/span><\/a> back and forth with the buyer.<\/p>\nOnce we have that persona, it\u2019s an incredibly valuable tool. So imagine the scenario where you say, act as my buyer and provide me feedback on this business plan, or act as my buyer, or and provide me feedback on this new brand artwork. It allows you to get insight and allows you to optimize what you\u2019re working on by really listening to the voice of the person that matters most in the discussion.<\/p>\nAnd then last, you know, sometimes the quote consumer is just our client or a key leader in the organization. In these cases, I like to use Chat GBT to perform what I call tone of voice analysis. So this really helps you ensure that the content<\/a> or the tool or whatever you\u2019re developing really reflects the style and preferences of that person.<\/p>\nIn order to do this, I gather tons of documents, videos. anything that you might have and organize it in AI and create a tone of voice analysis, then I use ChatGBT to refine content in that, in that tone. So for example, I\u2019ll say, Hey, ChatGBT, act as John and write this update this document as if it\u2019s in John\u2019s writing, or how could this sound more like me?<\/p>\nAnd honestly, this has been a game changer for anyone who is creating content on behalf of someone else or has a leader that wants something written in a certain way, or is writing on behalf of a brand<\/a>, having a tone of voice analysis and using it in Chat GPT is an absolute must.<\/p>\n[00:11:40] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love that approach.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve even used it for myself on a copy that I had previously written. And when I went back and I looked at, I\u2019m like, I obviously just kind of mailed that one in. I really didn\u2019t pay attention or pay a lot of time because again, it\u2019s for the social media hat, my personal side hustle. So sometimes I\u2019m doing things really, really rapidly because maybe I have 20 minutes on a Thursday night to put up a contact page or landing page or something like that.<\/p>\nSo I can feed all that into. Check GPT and get a much better, you know, several paragraphs or whatever of copy cause I\u2019ve taken the time to develop a Mike Allton\u2019s voice, custom GPT<\/a>. And in fact, I think I\u2019m going to do a whole episode just on, on how to do that for you folks. But I also loved your point about simulated data is something we\u2019ve talked about a couple of times on the show and a friend of the show and former guest. Chris Penn has spoken at length about how to create simulated audiences and simulated data. So I\u2019ll link to some of those in the show, because I think that\u2019s a really powerful use case.<\/p>\n[00:12:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\nHe has a great tool to create an ICP persona. He does.<\/p>\n[00:12:46] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
\u2728 Corporate Wisdom in AI<\/strong>: Understand how traditional business acumen enhances AI implementation in marketing.<\/p>\n\u2728 Practical AI Integration<\/strong>: Learn strategies for incorporating AI into existing marketing processes and teams.<\/p>\n\u2728 Future-Ready Marketing<\/strong>: Discover how to prepare marketing strategies for an AI-driven<\/svg><\/span><\/a> future while leveraging current strengths.<\/p>\nLearn more about Lauren Schiavone<\/strong><\/p>\nResources & Brands mentioned in this episode<\/strong><\/p>\nLauren\u2019s Framework for AI Adoption:<\/strong><\/p>\nAssess | Establish | Experimentation | Scaling<\/p>\n<\/figure>\nFull Transcript<\/h2>\n(lightly edited)<\/em><\/p>\nFrom Boardroom to Bot Room: A Leader\u2019s Journey into AI Marketing with Lauren Schiavone<\/h3>\n[00:00:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we are going to conduct a comprehensive audit<\/svg><\/span><\/a> of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. I actually developed a scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners<\/svg><\/span><\/a> are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here, we identify what the opportunities are for AI, define goals, KPIs. And really start to select the pilots that, that align with the business goals. And then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach, and probably even decide on new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated.<\/p>\n[00:00:59] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Welcome to AI in Marketing: Unpacked, where we simplify AI for impactful marketing. I\u2019m your host, Mike Allton here to guide you through the world of artificial intelligence and its transformative impact on marketing strategies. Each episode, we\u2019ll break down AI concepts into manageable insights and explore practical applications that can supercharge your marketing efforts.<\/p>\nWhether you\u2019re an experienced marketer just starting to explore the potential of AI, this podcast will equip you with the knowledge and tools you need to succeed. So tune in and let\u2019s unlock the power of AI together.<\/p>\nGreetings program. Welcome back to AI in Marketing: Unpacked, where I\u2019m selfishly used this time to pick the brains of experts at keeping up with and integrating or layering artificial intelligence into social media, content, advertising, search, and all these other areas of digital marketing. You get to learn too. Subscribe to be shown and prepare yourself and your brand for this AI revolution<\/svg><\/span><\/a> and come out ahead. And listen, imagine stepping out of a fortune 500 boardroom after 16 years, only to find yourself on the cutting edge of AI innovation.<\/p>\nSound like a plot twist and a tech thriller, right? Well, for our guest today, it\u2019s not fiction. It\u2019s her extraordinary career path in today\u2019s fast paced marketing world. Staying ahead often means embracing the unknown, but what happens when that unknown is as fast and complex as artificial intelligence? Many marketers find themselves at a crossroads wondering how to bridge the gap between traditional strategies and this brave new world of AI.<\/p>\nThis is where our guest journey begins. Becomes not just inspiring, but invaluable today. We have the privilege of speaking with Lauren Schiavone, a visionary leader who\u2019s made the leap from corporate titan to AI trailblazer. Lauren isn\u2019t just any former executive with nearly two decades of consumer insights, brand and sales leadership experience at Procter and Gamble.<\/p>\nShe\u2019s been the driving force behind some of the most recognizable brands in your home. Her work at P and G was consistently recognized as best in class. And she was even selected as one of Progressive Grocer Industry\u2019s best and brightest under 40, but Lauren\u2019s story doesn\u2019t end in the corporate world, in a bold move she stepped away from her prestigious role to dive headfirst into the world of AI. Now, as a consultant and thought leader, Lauren is on a mission to demystify AI for business<\/a> leaders, particularly in the realms of consumer goods, brand innovation, and retail. Hey, Lauren, welcome to the show.<\/p>\n[00:03:23] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Thank you so much, Mike.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s great to be here.<\/p>\n[00:03:25] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So excited to have you on and to, quite frankly, pick your brain. Cause I think this is going to be really insightful for me personally. And for all of you listening, Lauren, if you could just start by talking us through that decision to transition from corporate and focusing on AI and marketing.<\/p>\n[00:03:42] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. So Mike I had a incredible opportunity at P& G to be there for 16 years and work on some incredible brands. Actually started at P& G and consumer insights. Then I moved into brand management and finally really my interest in e commerce is what took me to sales in my final chapter at P& G.<\/p>\nAnd at P& G, I spent a lot of time working on product, consumer and retail innovation. And in doing so that\u2019s where I really developed my passion for leveraging innovation to drive business growth. And last year I made a very personal decision to leave P& G. I have two young children and I wanted the flexibility to spend more time with them.<\/p>\nIn this time away, I finally had a moment to lift my head up from the corporate world and see the broader landscape. And that\u2019s when it became very clear to me. AI is going to revolutionize everything, not just marketing and sales, but every industry, every career and the way we live our lives. In fact, early in my journey, I was walking with a former executive at P and G.<\/p>\nAnd she said to me, Oh, Lauren, this is like the early days of e comm to which I said, no, Amy, this is not like the early days of e comm e comm was a new way for shoppers to shop, right? A new modality, if you will. AI will transform absolutely everything. So I was super inspired, inspired by the possibility.<\/p>\nSo I really decided to dive in and immerse myself in learning and really figuring out how AI can be a growth accelerator. And of course, just like you probably Mike, my AI learning journey is ongoing. There is something new to learn every day. But I\u2019m focused on helping non technical leaders really harness that power of AI.<\/p>\nSo this past summer, I decided to combine my 16 years of experience leading business growth and innovation at P and G combined with my industry leading AI education<\/svg><\/span><\/a> to form wonder consulting. So with wonder consulting, I want to empower leaders to thrive in this AI driven future and use A I to accelerate business growth and to do it in a way where I demystify a I really to make it practical, practical and actionable, particularly for non technical leaders to use it for growth.<\/p>\n[00:05:55] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Love that there\u2019s there\u2019s so many aspects of your journey in that answer, quite frankly, that I can relate to starting with the first of moving from corporate wanting to spend time with your kids. I have two girls. One of them turns 10 tomorrow, the other\u2019s 13. And I just, I love being able to work from home.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve been working from home for their entire lives. So I\u2019m, you know, a real part of their life. And, and to your point, the AI journey is very much the same. It was kind of a thunderbolt to me late in 2023 that, wow, this is to your point, changing my life. Everything. It\u2019s not just changing marketing. It\u2019s not just changing sales or e commerce.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s literally the fourth industrial revolution. And it\u2019s something that we have to pay attention to. And I loved your point about how it\u2019s changing every day. There\u2019s news and developments and new apps every single day. That\u2019s something we don\u2019t talk a lot about on this show.<\/p>\n[00:06:46] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:06:47] Mike Allton:<\/strong> but to your point, you know, recording this on October 9th and I was just playing with OpenAI\u2019s new Canvas feature just before we got on this call, this innovative way to edit a document or collaborate in real time because I had a document that Colleagues, an actual, like a word document or a Google doc that colleagues had left comments on.<\/p>\nAnd I wanted AI\u2019s help addressing those comments and integrating them into this larger four page piece of text. So I basically duplicated it in canvas and got AI to weigh in and help me address these colleagues concerns. And I could not have done that without canvas, which is super cool. But you talked about.<\/p>\nYeah. You talked about your consumer insights background at PNG. And I\u2019m wondering how that\u2019s kind of influenced your approach to AI implementation and marketing strategies<\/a>.<\/p>\n[00:07:38] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So at PNG, we believe that consumer is boss and that belief really shapes a lot of the work that I do. And I want the consumer to be at the forefront of every strategy and every piece of work that I\u2019m working on.<\/p>\nAnd AI really is an incredible tool to allow us to uncover consumer insights. Thanks. Not just more quickly and deeply but in a more real time way than traditional methods. So I\u2019ll share with you a few examples of how this comes to life for me across a couple different, you know, quote, consumer groups.<\/p>\nSo the first example highlights how you might use a tool like ChatGBT to gain consumer insights. So I was actually working with a client who wanted to understand consumer insights related to the different service offerings that they had. The client needed quick insights, right? So I use Chat GBT to draft consumer personas and develop a discussion guide based on our business questions.<\/p>\nAnd then at Chat GBT simulate a focus group. This part blew my mind because as someone who has spent hours in the backroom of traditional research, the speed and effectiveness of this tool was just, I mind blowing for me. Chat GBT even summarized the results. They provided the top lines, you know, that I could share with my client.<\/p>\nAnd look, I know what many of you listeners are probably thinking. Wait, these are not real consumers and you\u2019re right. These are AI generated consumers, but the model is trained on so much consumer data that it\u2019s able to simulate consumer sentiment and beliefs very, very quickly. accurately. And look, AI research or should never be a replacement for traditional research, but it\u2019s an incredible tool for early stage brainstorming, ideation, or gaining even initial feedback as you think about how to shape your research plans.<\/p>\nThe next example, you know, it\u2019s not always the traditional consumer. Sometimes the consumer is the person that we\u2019re selling to. So maybe for you, it\u2019s the buyer or someone at your retail partner or someone like that. So LLMs also offer a powerful way to ensure that you are listening to those key stakeholders.<\/p>\nSo one of the things I like to do with many of my friends in sales is we create a detailed buyer persona. In that persona, we include things like the buyer\u2019s background, their goals, their objections their maybe personal things that they\u2019re interested. And if possible, I also like to incorporate any sort of call notes or previous communication<\/svg><\/span><\/a> back and forth with the buyer.<\/p>\nOnce we have that persona, it\u2019s an incredibly valuable tool. So imagine the scenario where you say, act as my buyer and provide me feedback on this business plan, or act as my buyer, or and provide me feedback on this new brand artwork. It allows you to get insight and allows you to optimize what you\u2019re working on by really listening to the voice of the person that matters most in the discussion.<\/p>\nAnd then last, you know, sometimes the quote consumer is just our client or a key leader in the organization. In these cases, I like to use Chat GBT to perform what I call tone of voice analysis. So this really helps you ensure that the content<\/a> or the tool or whatever you\u2019re developing really reflects the style and preferences of that person.<\/p>\nIn order to do this, I gather tons of documents, videos. anything that you might have and organize it in AI and create a tone of voice analysis, then I use ChatGBT to refine content in that, in that tone. So for example, I\u2019ll say, Hey, ChatGBT, act as John and write this update this document as if it\u2019s in John\u2019s writing, or how could this sound more like me?<\/p>\nAnd honestly, this has been a game changer for anyone who is creating content on behalf of someone else or has a leader that wants something written in a certain way, or is writing on behalf of a brand<\/a>, having a tone of voice analysis and using it in Chat GPT is an absolute must.<\/p>\n[00:11:40] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love that approach.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve even used it for myself on a copy that I had previously written. And when I went back and I looked at, I\u2019m like, I obviously just kind of mailed that one in. I really didn\u2019t pay attention or pay a lot of time because again, it\u2019s for the social media hat, my personal side hustle. So sometimes I\u2019m doing things really, really rapidly because maybe I have 20 minutes on a Thursday night to put up a contact page or landing page or something like that.<\/p>\nSo I can feed all that into. Check GPT and get a much better, you know, several paragraphs or whatever of copy cause I\u2019ve taken the time to develop a Mike Allton\u2019s voice, custom GPT<\/a>. And in fact, I think I\u2019m going to do a whole episode just on, on how to do that for you folks. But I also loved your point about simulated data is something we\u2019ve talked about a couple of times on the show and a friend of the show and former guest. Chris Penn has spoken at length about how to create simulated audiences and simulated data. So I\u2019ll link to some of those in the show, because I think that\u2019s a really powerful use case.<\/p>\n[00:12:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\nHe has a great tool to create an ICP persona. He does.<\/p>\n[00:12:46] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
\u2728 Practical AI Integration<\/strong>: Learn strategies for incorporating AI into existing marketing processes and teams.<\/p>\n\u2728 Future-Ready Marketing<\/strong>: Discover how to prepare marketing strategies for an AI-driven<\/svg><\/span><\/a> future while leveraging current strengths.<\/p>\nLearn more about Lauren Schiavone<\/strong><\/p>\nResources & Brands mentioned in this episode<\/strong><\/p>\nLauren\u2019s Framework for AI Adoption:<\/strong><\/p>\nAssess | Establish | Experimentation | Scaling<\/p>\n<\/figure>\nFull Transcript<\/h2>\n(lightly edited)<\/em><\/p>\nFrom Boardroom to Bot Room: A Leader\u2019s Journey into AI Marketing with Lauren Schiavone<\/h3>\n[00:00:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we are going to conduct a comprehensive audit<\/svg><\/span><\/a> of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. I actually developed a scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners<\/svg><\/span><\/a> are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here, we identify what the opportunities are for AI, define goals, KPIs. And really start to select the pilots that, that align with the business goals. And then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach, and probably even decide on new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated.<\/p>\n[00:00:59] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Welcome to AI in Marketing: Unpacked, where we simplify AI for impactful marketing. I\u2019m your host, Mike Allton here to guide you through the world of artificial intelligence and its transformative impact on marketing strategies. Each episode, we\u2019ll break down AI concepts into manageable insights and explore practical applications that can supercharge your marketing efforts.<\/p>\nWhether you\u2019re an experienced marketer just starting to explore the potential of AI, this podcast will equip you with the knowledge and tools you need to succeed. So tune in and let\u2019s unlock the power of AI together.<\/p>\nGreetings program. Welcome back to AI in Marketing: Unpacked, where I\u2019m selfishly used this time to pick the brains of experts at keeping up with and integrating or layering artificial intelligence into social media, content, advertising, search, and all these other areas of digital marketing. You get to learn too. Subscribe to be shown and prepare yourself and your brand for this AI revolution<\/svg><\/span><\/a> and come out ahead. And listen, imagine stepping out of a fortune 500 boardroom after 16 years, only to find yourself on the cutting edge of AI innovation.<\/p>\nSound like a plot twist and a tech thriller, right? Well, for our guest today, it\u2019s not fiction. It\u2019s her extraordinary career path in today\u2019s fast paced marketing world. Staying ahead often means embracing the unknown, but what happens when that unknown is as fast and complex as artificial intelligence? Many marketers find themselves at a crossroads wondering how to bridge the gap between traditional strategies and this brave new world of AI.<\/p>\nThis is where our guest journey begins. Becomes not just inspiring, but invaluable today. We have the privilege of speaking with Lauren Schiavone, a visionary leader who\u2019s made the leap from corporate titan to AI trailblazer. Lauren isn\u2019t just any former executive with nearly two decades of consumer insights, brand and sales leadership experience at Procter and Gamble.<\/p>\nShe\u2019s been the driving force behind some of the most recognizable brands in your home. Her work at P and G was consistently recognized as best in class. And she was even selected as one of Progressive Grocer Industry\u2019s best and brightest under 40, but Lauren\u2019s story doesn\u2019t end in the corporate world, in a bold move she stepped away from her prestigious role to dive headfirst into the world of AI. Now, as a consultant and thought leader, Lauren is on a mission to demystify AI for business<\/a> leaders, particularly in the realms of consumer goods, brand innovation, and retail. Hey, Lauren, welcome to the show.<\/p>\n[00:03:23] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Thank you so much, Mike.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s great to be here.<\/p>\n[00:03:25] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So excited to have you on and to, quite frankly, pick your brain. Cause I think this is going to be really insightful for me personally. And for all of you listening, Lauren, if you could just start by talking us through that decision to transition from corporate and focusing on AI and marketing.<\/p>\n[00:03:42] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. So Mike I had a incredible opportunity at P& G to be there for 16 years and work on some incredible brands. Actually started at P& G and consumer insights. Then I moved into brand management and finally really my interest in e commerce is what took me to sales in my final chapter at P& G.<\/p>\nAnd at P& G, I spent a lot of time working on product, consumer and retail innovation. And in doing so that\u2019s where I really developed my passion for leveraging innovation to drive business growth. And last year I made a very personal decision to leave P& G. I have two young children and I wanted the flexibility to spend more time with them.<\/p>\nIn this time away, I finally had a moment to lift my head up from the corporate world and see the broader landscape. And that\u2019s when it became very clear to me. AI is going to revolutionize everything, not just marketing and sales, but every industry, every career and the way we live our lives. In fact, early in my journey, I was walking with a former executive at P and G.<\/p>\nAnd she said to me, Oh, Lauren, this is like the early days of e comm to which I said, no, Amy, this is not like the early days of e comm e comm was a new way for shoppers to shop, right? A new modality, if you will. AI will transform absolutely everything. So I was super inspired, inspired by the possibility.<\/p>\nSo I really decided to dive in and immerse myself in learning and really figuring out how AI can be a growth accelerator. And of course, just like you probably Mike, my AI learning journey is ongoing. There is something new to learn every day. But I\u2019m focused on helping non technical leaders really harness that power of AI.<\/p>\nSo this past summer, I decided to combine my 16 years of experience leading business growth and innovation at P and G combined with my industry leading AI education<\/svg><\/span><\/a> to form wonder consulting. So with wonder consulting, I want to empower leaders to thrive in this AI driven future and use A I to accelerate business growth and to do it in a way where I demystify a I really to make it practical, practical and actionable, particularly for non technical leaders to use it for growth.<\/p>\n[00:05:55] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Love that there\u2019s there\u2019s so many aspects of your journey in that answer, quite frankly, that I can relate to starting with the first of moving from corporate wanting to spend time with your kids. I have two girls. One of them turns 10 tomorrow, the other\u2019s 13. And I just, I love being able to work from home.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve been working from home for their entire lives. So I\u2019m, you know, a real part of their life. And, and to your point, the AI journey is very much the same. It was kind of a thunderbolt to me late in 2023 that, wow, this is to your point, changing my life. Everything. It\u2019s not just changing marketing. It\u2019s not just changing sales or e commerce.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s literally the fourth industrial revolution. And it\u2019s something that we have to pay attention to. And I loved your point about how it\u2019s changing every day. There\u2019s news and developments and new apps every single day. That\u2019s something we don\u2019t talk a lot about on this show.<\/p>\n[00:06:46] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:06:47] Mike Allton:<\/strong> but to your point, you know, recording this on October 9th and I was just playing with OpenAI\u2019s new Canvas feature just before we got on this call, this innovative way to edit a document or collaborate in real time because I had a document that Colleagues, an actual, like a word document or a Google doc that colleagues had left comments on.<\/p>\nAnd I wanted AI\u2019s help addressing those comments and integrating them into this larger four page piece of text. So I basically duplicated it in canvas and got AI to weigh in and help me address these colleagues concerns. And I could not have done that without canvas, which is super cool. But you talked about.<\/p>\nYeah. You talked about your consumer insights background at PNG. And I\u2019m wondering how that\u2019s kind of influenced your approach to AI implementation and marketing strategies<\/a>.<\/p>\n[00:07:38] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So at PNG, we believe that consumer is boss and that belief really shapes a lot of the work that I do. And I want the consumer to be at the forefront of every strategy and every piece of work that I\u2019m working on.<\/p>\nAnd AI really is an incredible tool to allow us to uncover consumer insights. Thanks. Not just more quickly and deeply but in a more real time way than traditional methods. So I\u2019ll share with you a few examples of how this comes to life for me across a couple different, you know, quote, consumer groups.<\/p>\nSo the first example highlights how you might use a tool like ChatGBT to gain consumer insights. So I was actually working with a client who wanted to understand consumer insights related to the different service offerings that they had. The client needed quick insights, right? So I use Chat GBT to draft consumer personas and develop a discussion guide based on our business questions.<\/p>\nAnd then at Chat GBT simulate a focus group. This part blew my mind because as someone who has spent hours in the backroom of traditional research, the speed and effectiveness of this tool was just, I mind blowing for me. Chat GBT even summarized the results. They provided the top lines, you know, that I could share with my client.<\/p>\nAnd look, I know what many of you listeners are probably thinking. Wait, these are not real consumers and you\u2019re right. These are AI generated consumers, but the model is trained on so much consumer data that it\u2019s able to simulate consumer sentiment and beliefs very, very quickly. accurately. And look, AI research or should never be a replacement for traditional research, but it\u2019s an incredible tool for early stage brainstorming, ideation, or gaining even initial feedback as you think about how to shape your research plans.<\/p>\nThe next example, you know, it\u2019s not always the traditional consumer. Sometimes the consumer is the person that we\u2019re selling to. So maybe for you, it\u2019s the buyer or someone at your retail partner or someone like that. So LLMs also offer a powerful way to ensure that you are listening to those key stakeholders.<\/p>\nSo one of the things I like to do with many of my friends in sales is we create a detailed buyer persona. In that persona, we include things like the buyer\u2019s background, their goals, their objections their maybe personal things that they\u2019re interested. And if possible, I also like to incorporate any sort of call notes or previous communication<\/svg><\/span><\/a> back and forth with the buyer.<\/p>\nOnce we have that persona, it\u2019s an incredibly valuable tool. So imagine the scenario where you say, act as my buyer and provide me feedback on this business plan, or act as my buyer, or and provide me feedback on this new brand artwork. It allows you to get insight and allows you to optimize what you\u2019re working on by really listening to the voice of the person that matters most in the discussion.<\/p>\nAnd then last, you know, sometimes the quote consumer is just our client or a key leader in the organization. In these cases, I like to use Chat GBT to perform what I call tone of voice analysis. So this really helps you ensure that the content<\/a> or the tool or whatever you\u2019re developing really reflects the style and preferences of that person.<\/p>\nIn order to do this, I gather tons of documents, videos. anything that you might have and organize it in AI and create a tone of voice analysis, then I use ChatGBT to refine content in that, in that tone. So for example, I\u2019ll say, Hey, ChatGBT, act as John and write this update this document as if it\u2019s in John\u2019s writing, or how could this sound more like me?<\/p>\nAnd honestly, this has been a game changer for anyone who is creating content on behalf of someone else or has a leader that wants something written in a certain way, or is writing on behalf of a brand<\/a>, having a tone of voice analysis and using it in Chat GPT is an absolute must.<\/p>\n[00:11:40] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love that approach.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve even used it for myself on a copy that I had previously written. And when I went back and I looked at, I\u2019m like, I obviously just kind of mailed that one in. I really didn\u2019t pay attention or pay a lot of time because again, it\u2019s for the social media hat, my personal side hustle. So sometimes I\u2019m doing things really, really rapidly because maybe I have 20 minutes on a Thursday night to put up a contact page or landing page or something like that.<\/p>\nSo I can feed all that into. Check GPT and get a much better, you know, several paragraphs or whatever of copy cause I\u2019ve taken the time to develop a Mike Allton\u2019s voice, custom GPT<\/a>. And in fact, I think I\u2019m going to do a whole episode just on, on how to do that for you folks. But I also loved your point about simulated data is something we\u2019ve talked about a couple of times on the show and a friend of the show and former guest. Chris Penn has spoken at length about how to create simulated audiences and simulated data. So I\u2019ll link to some of those in the show, because I think that\u2019s a really powerful use case.<\/p>\n[00:12:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\nHe has a great tool to create an ICP persona. He does.<\/p>\n[00:12:46] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
\u2728 Future-Ready Marketing<\/strong>: Discover how to prepare marketing strategies for an AI-driven<\/svg><\/span><\/a> future while leveraging current strengths.<\/p>\nLearn more about Lauren Schiavone<\/strong><\/p>\nResources & Brands mentioned in this episode<\/strong><\/p>\nLauren\u2019s Framework for AI Adoption:<\/strong><\/p>\nAssess | Establish | Experimentation | Scaling<\/p>\n<\/figure>\nFull Transcript<\/h2>\n(lightly edited)<\/em><\/p>\nFrom Boardroom to Bot Room: A Leader\u2019s Journey into AI Marketing with Lauren Schiavone<\/h3>\n[00:00:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we are going to conduct a comprehensive audit<\/svg><\/span><\/a> of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. I actually developed a scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners<\/svg><\/span><\/a> are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here, we identify what the opportunities are for AI, define goals, KPIs. And really start to select the pilots that, that align with the business goals. And then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach, and probably even decide on new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated.<\/p>\n[00:00:59] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Welcome to AI in Marketing: Unpacked, where we simplify AI for impactful marketing. I\u2019m your host, Mike Allton here to guide you through the world of artificial intelligence and its transformative impact on marketing strategies. Each episode, we\u2019ll break down AI concepts into manageable insights and explore practical applications that can supercharge your marketing efforts.<\/p>\nWhether you\u2019re an experienced marketer just starting to explore the potential of AI, this podcast will equip you with the knowledge and tools you need to succeed. So tune in and let\u2019s unlock the power of AI together.<\/p>\nGreetings program. Welcome back to AI in Marketing: Unpacked, where I\u2019m selfishly used this time to pick the brains of experts at keeping up with and integrating or layering artificial intelligence into social media, content, advertising, search, and all these other areas of digital marketing. You get to learn too. Subscribe to be shown and prepare yourself and your brand for this AI revolution<\/svg><\/span><\/a> and come out ahead. And listen, imagine stepping out of a fortune 500 boardroom after 16 years, only to find yourself on the cutting edge of AI innovation.<\/p>\nSound like a plot twist and a tech thriller, right? Well, for our guest today, it\u2019s not fiction. It\u2019s her extraordinary career path in today\u2019s fast paced marketing world. Staying ahead often means embracing the unknown, but what happens when that unknown is as fast and complex as artificial intelligence? Many marketers find themselves at a crossroads wondering how to bridge the gap between traditional strategies and this brave new world of AI.<\/p>\nThis is where our guest journey begins. Becomes not just inspiring, but invaluable today. We have the privilege of speaking with Lauren Schiavone, a visionary leader who\u2019s made the leap from corporate titan to AI trailblazer. Lauren isn\u2019t just any former executive with nearly two decades of consumer insights, brand and sales leadership experience at Procter and Gamble.<\/p>\nShe\u2019s been the driving force behind some of the most recognizable brands in your home. Her work at P and G was consistently recognized as best in class. And she was even selected as one of Progressive Grocer Industry\u2019s best and brightest under 40, but Lauren\u2019s story doesn\u2019t end in the corporate world, in a bold move she stepped away from her prestigious role to dive headfirst into the world of AI. Now, as a consultant and thought leader, Lauren is on a mission to demystify AI for business<\/a> leaders, particularly in the realms of consumer goods, brand innovation, and retail. Hey, Lauren, welcome to the show.<\/p>\n[00:03:23] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Thank you so much, Mike.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s great to be here.<\/p>\n[00:03:25] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So excited to have you on and to, quite frankly, pick your brain. Cause I think this is going to be really insightful for me personally. And for all of you listening, Lauren, if you could just start by talking us through that decision to transition from corporate and focusing on AI and marketing.<\/p>\n[00:03:42] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. So Mike I had a incredible opportunity at P& G to be there for 16 years and work on some incredible brands. Actually started at P& G and consumer insights. Then I moved into brand management and finally really my interest in e commerce is what took me to sales in my final chapter at P& G.<\/p>\nAnd at P& G, I spent a lot of time working on product, consumer and retail innovation. And in doing so that\u2019s where I really developed my passion for leveraging innovation to drive business growth. And last year I made a very personal decision to leave P& G. I have two young children and I wanted the flexibility to spend more time with them.<\/p>\nIn this time away, I finally had a moment to lift my head up from the corporate world and see the broader landscape. And that\u2019s when it became very clear to me. AI is going to revolutionize everything, not just marketing and sales, but every industry, every career and the way we live our lives. In fact, early in my journey, I was walking with a former executive at P and G.<\/p>\nAnd she said to me, Oh, Lauren, this is like the early days of e comm to which I said, no, Amy, this is not like the early days of e comm e comm was a new way for shoppers to shop, right? A new modality, if you will. AI will transform absolutely everything. So I was super inspired, inspired by the possibility.<\/p>\nSo I really decided to dive in and immerse myself in learning and really figuring out how AI can be a growth accelerator. And of course, just like you probably Mike, my AI learning journey is ongoing. There is something new to learn every day. But I\u2019m focused on helping non technical leaders really harness that power of AI.<\/p>\nSo this past summer, I decided to combine my 16 years of experience leading business growth and innovation at P and G combined with my industry leading AI education<\/svg><\/span><\/a> to form wonder consulting. So with wonder consulting, I want to empower leaders to thrive in this AI driven future and use A I to accelerate business growth and to do it in a way where I demystify a I really to make it practical, practical and actionable, particularly for non technical leaders to use it for growth.<\/p>\n[00:05:55] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Love that there\u2019s there\u2019s so many aspects of your journey in that answer, quite frankly, that I can relate to starting with the first of moving from corporate wanting to spend time with your kids. I have two girls. One of them turns 10 tomorrow, the other\u2019s 13. And I just, I love being able to work from home.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve been working from home for their entire lives. So I\u2019m, you know, a real part of their life. And, and to your point, the AI journey is very much the same. It was kind of a thunderbolt to me late in 2023 that, wow, this is to your point, changing my life. Everything. It\u2019s not just changing marketing. It\u2019s not just changing sales or e commerce.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s literally the fourth industrial revolution. And it\u2019s something that we have to pay attention to. And I loved your point about how it\u2019s changing every day. There\u2019s news and developments and new apps every single day. That\u2019s something we don\u2019t talk a lot about on this show.<\/p>\n[00:06:46] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:06:47] Mike Allton:<\/strong> but to your point, you know, recording this on October 9th and I was just playing with OpenAI\u2019s new Canvas feature just before we got on this call, this innovative way to edit a document or collaborate in real time because I had a document that Colleagues, an actual, like a word document or a Google doc that colleagues had left comments on.<\/p>\nAnd I wanted AI\u2019s help addressing those comments and integrating them into this larger four page piece of text. So I basically duplicated it in canvas and got AI to weigh in and help me address these colleagues concerns. And I could not have done that without canvas, which is super cool. But you talked about.<\/p>\nYeah. You talked about your consumer insights background at PNG. And I\u2019m wondering how that\u2019s kind of influenced your approach to AI implementation and marketing strategies<\/a>.<\/p>\n[00:07:38] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So at PNG, we believe that consumer is boss and that belief really shapes a lot of the work that I do. And I want the consumer to be at the forefront of every strategy and every piece of work that I\u2019m working on.<\/p>\nAnd AI really is an incredible tool to allow us to uncover consumer insights. Thanks. Not just more quickly and deeply but in a more real time way than traditional methods. So I\u2019ll share with you a few examples of how this comes to life for me across a couple different, you know, quote, consumer groups.<\/p>\nSo the first example highlights how you might use a tool like ChatGBT to gain consumer insights. So I was actually working with a client who wanted to understand consumer insights related to the different service offerings that they had. The client needed quick insights, right? So I use Chat GBT to draft consumer personas and develop a discussion guide based on our business questions.<\/p>\nAnd then at Chat GBT simulate a focus group. This part blew my mind because as someone who has spent hours in the backroom of traditional research, the speed and effectiveness of this tool was just, I mind blowing for me. Chat GBT even summarized the results. They provided the top lines, you know, that I could share with my client.<\/p>\nAnd look, I know what many of you listeners are probably thinking. Wait, these are not real consumers and you\u2019re right. These are AI generated consumers, but the model is trained on so much consumer data that it\u2019s able to simulate consumer sentiment and beliefs very, very quickly. accurately. And look, AI research or should never be a replacement for traditional research, but it\u2019s an incredible tool for early stage brainstorming, ideation, or gaining even initial feedback as you think about how to shape your research plans.<\/p>\nThe next example, you know, it\u2019s not always the traditional consumer. Sometimes the consumer is the person that we\u2019re selling to. So maybe for you, it\u2019s the buyer or someone at your retail partner or someone like that. So LLMs also offer a powerful way to ensure that you are listening to those key stakeholders.<\/p>\nSo one of the things I like to do with many of my friends in sales is we create a detailed buyer persona. In that persona, we include things like the buyer\u2019s background, their goals, their objections their maybe personal things that they\u2019re interested. And if possible, I also like to incorporate any sort of call notes or previous communication<\/svg><\/span><\/a> back and forth with the buyer.<\/p>\nOnce we have that persona, it\u2019s an incredibly valuable tool. So imagine the scenario where you say, act as my buyer and provide me feedback on this business plan, or act as my buyer, or and provide me feedback on this new brand artwork. It allows you to get insight and allows you to optimize what you\u2019re working on by really listening to the voice of the person that matters most in the discussion.<\/p>\nAnd then last, you know, sometimes the quote consumer is just our client or a key leader in the organization. In these cases, I like to use Chat GBT to perform what I call tone of voice analysis. So this really helps you ensure that the content<\/a> or the tool or whatever you\u2019re developing really reflects the style and preferences of that person.<\/p>\nIn order to do this, I gather tons of documents, videos. anything that you might have and organize it in AI and create a tone of voice analysis, then I use ChatGBT to refine content in that, in that tone. So for example, I\u2019ll say, Hey, ChatGBT, act as John and write this update this document as if it\u2019s in John\u2019s writing, or how could this sound more like me?<\/p>\nAnd honestly, this has been a game changer for anyone who is creating content on behalf of someone else or has a leader that wants something written in a certain way, or is writing on behalf of a brand<\/a>, having a tone of voice analysis and using it in Chat GPT is an absolute must.<\/p>\n[00:11:40] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love that approach.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve even used it for myself on a copy that I had previously written. And when I went back and I looked at, I\u2019m like, I obviously just kind of mailed that one in. I really didn\u2019t pay attention or pay a lot of time because again, it\u2019s for the social media hat, my personal side hustle. So sometimes I\u2019m doing things really, really rapidly because maybe I have 20 minutes on a Thursday night to put up a contact page or landing page or something like that.<\/p>\nSo I can feed all that into. Check GPT and get a much better, you know, several paragraphs or whatever of copy cause I\u2019ve taken the time to develop a Mike Allton\u2019s voice, custom GPT<\/a>. And in fact, I think I\u2019m going to do a whole episode just on, on how to do that for you folks. But I also loved your point about simulated data is something we\u2019ve talked about a couple of times on the show and a friend of the show and former guest. Chris Penn has spoken at length about how to create simulated audiences and simulated data. So I\u2019ll link to some of those in the show, because I think that\u2019s a really powerful use case.<\/p>\n[00:12:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\nHe has a great tool to create an ICP persona. He does.<\/p>\n[00:12:46] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
Learn more about Lauren Schiavone<\/strong><\/p>\nResources & Brands mentioned in this episode<\/strong><\/p>\nLauren\u2019s Framework for AI Adoption:<\/strong><\/p>\nAssess | Establish | Experimentation | Scaling<\/p>\n<\/figure>\nFull Transcript<\/h2>\n(lightly edited)<\/em><\/p>\nFrom Boardroom to Bot Room: A Leader\u2019s Journey into AI Marketing with Lauren Schiavone<\/h3>\n[00:00:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we are going to conduct a comprehensive audit<\/svg><\/span><\/a> of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. I actually developed a scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners<\/svg><\/span><\/a> are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here, we identify what the opportunities are for AI, define goals, KPIs. And really start to select the pilots that, that align with the business goals. And then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach, and probably even decide on new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated.<\/p>\n[00:00:59] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Welcome to AI in Marketing: Unpacked, where we simplify AI for impactful marketing. I\u2019m your host, Mike Allton here to guide you through the world of artificial intelligence and its transformative impact on marketing strategies. Each episode, we\u2019ll break down AI concepts into manageable insights and explore practical applications that can supercharge your marketing efforts.<\/p>\nWhether you\u2019re an experienced marketer just starting to explore the potential of AI, this podcast will equip you with the knowledge and tools you need to succeed. So tune in and let\u2019s unlock the power of AI together.<\/p>\nGreetings program. Welcome back to AI in Marketing: Unpacked, where I\u2019m selfishly used this time to pick the brains of experts at keeping up with and integrating or layering artificial intelligence into social media, content, advertising, search, and all these other areas of digital marketing. You get to learn too. Subscribe to be shown and prepare yourself and your brand for this AI revolution<\/svg><\/span><\/a> and come out ahead. And listen, imagine stepping out of a fortune 500 boardroom after 16 years, only to find yourself on the cutting edge of AI innovation.<\/p>\nSound like a plot twist and a tech thriller, right? Well, for our guest today, it\u2019s not fiction. It\u2019s her extraordinary career path in today\u2019s fast paced marketing world. Staying ahead often means embracing the unknown, but what happens when that unknown is as fast and complex as artificial intelligence? Many marketers find themselves at a crossroads wondering how to bridge the gap between traditional strategies and this brave new world of AI.<\/p>\nThis is where our guest journey begins. Becomes not just inspiring, but invaluable today. We have the privilege of speaking with Lauren Schiavone, a visionary leader who\u2019s made the leap from corporate titan to AI trailblazer. Lauren isn\u2019t just any former executive with nearly two decades of consumer insights, brand and sales leadership experience at Procter and Gamble.<\/p>\nShe\u2019s been the driving force behind some of the most recognizable brands in your home. Her work at P and G was consistently recognized as best in class. And she was even selected as one of Progressive Grocer Industry\u2019s best and brightest under 40, but Lauren\u2019s story doesn\u2019t end in the corporate world, in a bold move she stepped away from her prestigious role to dive headfirst into the world of AI. Now, as a consultant and thought leader, Lauren is on a mission to demystify AI for business<\/a> leaders, particularly in the realms of consumer goods, brand innovation, and retail. Hey, Lauren, welcome to the show.<\/p>\n[00:03:23] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Thank you so much, Mike.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s great to be here.<\/p>\n[00:03:25] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So excited to have you on and to, quite frankly, pick your brain. Cause I think this is going to be really insightful for me personally. And for all of you listening, Lauren, if you could just start by talking us through that decision to transition from corporate and focusing on AI and marketing.<\/p>\n[00:03:42] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. So Mike I had a incredible opportunity at P& G to be there for 16 years and work on some incredible brands. Actually started at P& G and consumer insights. Then I moved into brand management and finally really my interest in e commerce is what took me to sales in my final chapter at P& G.<\/p>\nAnd at P& G, I spent a lot of time working on product, consumer and retail innovation. And in doing so that\u2019s where I really developed my passion for leveraging innovation to drive business growth. And last year I made a very personal decision to leave P& G. I have two young children and I wanted the flexibility to spend more time with them.<\/p>\nIn this time away, I finally had a moment to lift my head up from the corporate world and see the broader landscape. And that\u2019s when it became very clear to me. AI is going to revolutionize everything, not just marketing and sales, but every industry, every career and the way we live our lives. In fact, early in my journey, I was walking with a former executive at P and G.<\/p>\nAnd she said to me, Oh, Lauren, this is like the early days of e comm to which I said, no, Amy, this is not like the early days of e comm e comm was a new way for shoppers to shop, right? A new modality, if you will. AI will transform absolutely everything. So I was super inspired, inspired by the possibility.<\/p>\nSo I really decided to dive in and immerse myself in learning and really figuring out how AI can be a growth accelerator. And of course, just like you probably Mike, my AI learning journey is ongoing. There is something new to learn every day. But I\u2019m focused on helping non technical leaders really harness that power of AI.<\/p>\nSo this past summer, I decided to combine my 16 years of experience leading business growth and innovation at P and G combined with my industry leading AI education<\/svg><\/span><\/a> to form wonder consulting. So with wonder consulting, I want to empower leaders to thrive in this AI driven future and use A I to accelerate business growth and to do it in a way where I demystify a I really to make it practical, practical and actionable, particularly for non technical leaders to use it for growth.<\/p>\n[00:05:55] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Love that there\u2019s there\u2019s so many aspects of your journey in that answer, quite frankly, that I can relate to starting with the first of moving from corporate wanting to spend time with your kids. I have two girls. One of them turns 10 tomorrow, the other\u2019s 13. And I just, I love being able to work from home.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve been working from home for their entire lives. So I\u2019m, you know, a real part of their life. And, and to your point, the AI journey is very much the same. It was kind of a thunderbolt to me late in 2023 that, wow, this is to your point, changing my life. Everything. It\u2019s not just changing marketing. It\u2019s not just changing sales or e commerce.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s literally the fourth industrial revolution. And it\u2019s something that we have to pay attention to. And I loved your point about how it\u2019s changing every day. There\u2019s news and developments and new apps every single day. That\u2019s something we don\u2019t talk a lot about on this show.<\/p>\n[00:06:46] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:06:47] Mike Allton:<\/strong> but to your point, you know, recording this on October 9th and I was just playing with OpenAI\u2019s new Canvas feature just before we got on this call, this innovative way to edit a document or collaborate in real time because I had a document that Colleagues, an actual, like a word document or a Google doc that colleagues had left comments on.<\/p>\nAnd I wanted AI\u2019s help addressing those comments and integrating them into this larger four page piece of text. So I basically duplicated it in canvas and got AI to weigh in and help me address these colleagues concerns. And I could not have done that without canvas, which is super cool. But you talked about.<\/p>\nYeah. You talked about your consumer insights background at PNG. And I\u2019m wondering how that\u2019s kind of influenced your approach to AI implementation and marketing strategies<\/a>.<\/p>\n[00:07:38] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So at PNG, we believe that consumer is boss and that belief really shapes a lot of the work that I do. And I want the consumer to be at the forefront of every strategy and every piece of work that I\u2019m working on.<\/p>\nAnd AI really is an incredible tool to allow us to uncover consumer insights. Thanks. Not just more quickly and deeply but in a more real time way than traditional methods. So I\u2019ll share with you a few examples of how this comes to life for me across a couple different, you know, quote, consumer groups.<\/p>\nSo the first example highlights how you might use a tool like ChatGBT to gain consumer insights. So I was actually working with a client who wanted to understand consumer insights related to the different service offerings that they had. The client needed quick insights, right? So I use Chat GBT to draft consumer personas and develop a discussion guide based on our business questions.<\/p>\nAnd then at Chat GBT simulate a focus group. This part blew my mind because as someone who has spent hours in the backroom of traditional research, the speed and effectiveness of this tool was just, I mind blowing for me. Chat GBT even summarized the results. They provided the top lines, you know, that I could share with my client.<\/p>\nAnd look, I know what many of you listeners are probably thinking. Wait, these are not real consumers and you\u2019re right. These are AI generated consumers, but the model is trained on so much consumer data that it\u2019s able to simulate consumer sentiment and beliefs very, very quickly. accurately. And look, AI research or should never be a replacement for traditional research, but it\u2019s an incredible tool for early stage brainstorming, ideation, or gaining even initial feedback as you think about how to shape your research plans.<\/p>\nThe next example, you know, it\u2019s not always the traditional consumer. Sometimes the consumer is the person that we\u2019re selling to. So maybe for you, it\u2019s the buyer or someone at your retail partner or someone like that. So LLMs also offer a powerful way to ensure that you are listening to those key stakeholders.<\/p>\nSo one of the things I like to do with many of my friends in sales is we create a detailed buyer persona. In that persona, we include things like the buyer\u2019s background, their goals, their objections their maybe personal things that they\u2019re interested. And if possible, I also like to incorporate any sort of call notes or previous communication<\/svg><\/span><\/a> back and forth with the buyer.<\/p>\nOnce we have that persona, it\u2019s an incredibly valuable tool. So imagine the scenario where you say, act as my buyer and provide me feedback on this business plan, or act as my buyer, or and provide me feedback on this new brand artwork. It allows you to get insight and allows you to optimize what you\u2019re working on by really listening to the voice of the person that matters most in the discussion.<\/p>\nAnd then last, you know, sometimes the quote consumer is just our client or a key leader in the organization. In these cases, I like to use Chat GBT to perform what I call tone of voice analysis. So this really helps you ensure that the content<\/a> or the tool or whatever you\u2019re developing really reflects the style and preferences of that person.<\/p>\nIn order to do this, I gather tons of documents, videos. anything that you might have and organize it in AI and create a tone of voice analysis, then I use ChatGBT to refine content in that, in that tone. So for example, I\u2019ll say, Hey, ChatGBT, act as John and write this update this document as if it\u2019s in John\u2019s writing, or how could this sound more like me?<\/p>\nAnd honestly, this has been a game changer for anyone who is creating content on behalf of someone else or has a leader that wants something written in a certain way, or is writing on behalf of a brand<\/a>, having a tone of voice analysis and using it in Chat GPT is an absolute must.<\/p>\n[00:11:40] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love that approach.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve even used it for myself on a copy that I had previously written. And when I went back and I looked at, I\u2019m like, I obviously just kind of mailed that one in. I really didn\u2019t pay attention or pay a lot of time because again, it\u2019s for the social media hat, my personal side hustle. So sometimes I\u2019m doing things really, really rapidly because maybe I have 20 minutes on a Thursday night to put up a contact page or landing page or something like that.<\/p>\nSo I can feed all that into. Check GPT and get a much better, you know, several paragraphs or whatever of copy cause I\u2019ve taken the time to develop a Mike Allton\u2019s voice, custom GPT<\/a>. And in fact, I think I\u2019m going to do a whole episode just on, on how to do that for you folks. But I also loved your point about simulated data is something we\u2019ve talked about a couple of times on the show and a friend of the show and former guest. Chris Penn has spoken at length about how to create simulated audiences and simulated data. So I\u2019ll link to some of those in the show, because I think that\u2019s a really powerful use case.<\/p>\n[00:12:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\nHe has a great tool to create an ICP persona. He does.<\/p>\n[00:12:46] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
Resources & Brands mentioned in this episode<\/strong><\/p>\nLauren\u2019s Framework for AI Adoption:<\/strong><\/p>\nAssess | Establish | Experimentation | Scaling<\/p>\n<\/figure>\nFull Transcript<\/h2>\n(lightly edited)<\/em><\/p>\nFrom Boardroom to Bot Room: A Leader\u2019s Journey into AI Marketing with Lauren Schiavone<\/h3>\n[00:00:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we are going to conduct a comprehensive audit<\/svg><\/span><\/a> of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. I actually developed a scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners<\/svg><\/span><\/a> are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here, we identify what the opportunities are for AI, define goals, KPIs. And really start to select the pilots that, that align with the business goals. And then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach, and probably even decide on new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated.<\/p>\n[00:00:59] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Welcome to AI in Marketing: Unpacked, where we simplify AI for impactful marketing. I\u2019m your host, Mike Allton here to guide you through the world of artificial intelligence and its transformative impact on marketing strategies. Each episode, we\u2019ll break down AI concepts into manageable insights and explore practical applications that can supercharge your marketing efforts.<\/p>\nWhether you\u2019re an experienced marketer just starting to explore the potential of AI, this podcast will equip you with the knowledge and tools you need to succeed. So tune in and let\u2019s unlock the power of AI together.<\/p>\nGreetings program. Welcome back to AI in Marketing: Unpacked, where I\u2019m selfishly used this time to pick the brains of experts at keeping up with and integrating or layering artificial intelligence into social media, content, advertising, search, and all these other areas of digital marketing. You get to learn too. Subscribe to be shown and prepare yourself and your brand for this AI revolution<\/svg><\/span><\/a> and come out ahead. And listen, imagine stepping out of a fortune 500 boardroom after 16 years, only to find yourself on the cutting edge of AI innovation.<\/p>\nSound like a plot twist and a tech thriller, right? Well, for our guest today, it\u2019s not fiction. It\u2019s her extraordinary career path in today\u2019s fast paced marketing world. Staying ahead often means embracing the unknown, but what happens when that unknown is as fast and complex as artificial intelligence? Many marketers find themselves at a crossroads wondering how to bridge the gap between traditional strategies and this brave new world of AI.<\/p>\nThis is where our guest journey begins. Becomes not just inspiring, but invaluable today. We have the privilege of speaking with Lauren Schiavone, a visionary leader who\u2019s made the leap from corporate titan to AI trailblazer. Lauren isn\u2019t just any former executive with nearly two decades of consumer insights, brand and sales leadership experience at Procter and Gamble.<\/p>\nShe\u2019s been the driving force behind some of the most recognizable brands in your home. Her work at P and G was consistently recognized as best in class. And she was even selected as one of Progressive Grocer Industry\u2019s best and brightest under 40, but Lauren\u2019s story doesn\u2019t end in the corporate world, in a bold move she stepped away from her prestigious role to dive headfirst into the world of AI. Now, as a consultant and thought leader, Lauren is on a mission to demystify AI for business<\/a> leaders, particularly in the realms of consumer goods, brand innovation, and retail. Hey, Lauren, welcome to the show.<\/p>\n[00:03:23] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Thank you so much, Mike.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s great to be here.<\/p>\n[00:03:25] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So excited to have you on and to, quite frankly, pick your brain. Cause I think this is going to be really insightful for me personally. And for all of you listening, Lauren, if you could just start by talking us through that decision to transition from corporate and focusing on AI and marketing.<\/p>\n[00:03:42] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. So Mike I had a incredible opportunity at P& G to be there for 16 years and work on some incredible brands. Actually started at P& G and consumer insights. Then I moved into brand management and finally really my interest in e commerce is what took me to sales in my final chapter at P& G.<\/p>\nAnd at P& G, I spent a lot of time working on product, consumer and retail innovation. And in doing so that\u2019s where I really developed my passion for leveraging innovation to drive business growth. And last year I made a very personal decision to leave P& G. I have two young children and I wanted the flexibility to spend more time with them.<\/p>\nIn this time away, I finally had a moment to lift my head up from the corporate world and see the broader landscape. And that\u2019s when it became very clear to me. AI is going to revolutionize everything, not just marketing and sales, but every industry, every career and the way we live our lives. In fact, early in my journey, I was walking with a former executive at P and G.<\/p>\nAnd she said to me, Oh, Lauren, this is like the early days of e comm to which I said, no, Amy, this is not like the early days of e comm e comm was a new way for shoppers to shop, right? A new modality, if you will. AI will transform absolutely everything. So I was super inspired, inspired by the possibility.<\/p>\nSo I really decided to dive in and immerse myself in learning and really figuring out how AI can be a growth accelerator. And of course, just like you probably Mike, my AI learning journey is ongoing. There is something new to learn every day. But I\u2019m focused on helping non technical leaders really harness that power of AI.<\/p>\nSo this past summer, I decided to combine my 16 years of experience leading business growth and innovation at P and G combined with my industry leading AI education<\/svg><\/span><\/a> to form wonder consulting. So with wonder consulting, I want to empower leaders to thrive in this AI driven future and use A I to accelerate business growth and to do it in a way where I demystify a I really to make it practical, practical and actionable, particularly for non technical leaders to use it for growth.<\/p>\n[00:05:55] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Love that there\u2019s there\u2019s so many aspects of your journey in that answer, quite frankly, that I can relate to starting with the first of moving from corporate wanting to spend time with your kids. I have two girls. One of them turns 10 tomorrow, the other\u2019s 13. And I just, I love being able to work from home.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve been working from home for their entire lives. So I\u2019m, you know, a real part of their life. And, and to your point, the AI journey is very much the same. It was kind of a thunderbolt to me late in 2023 that, wow, this is to your point, changing my life. Everything. It\u2019s not just changing marketing. It\u2019s not just changing sales or e commerce.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s literally the fourth industrial revolution. And it\u2019s something that we have to pay attention to. And I loved your point about how it\u2019s changing every day. There\u2019s news and developments and new apps every single day. That\u2019s something we don\u2019t talk a lot about on this show.<\/p>\n[00:06:46] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:06:47] Mike Allton:<\/strong> but to your point, you know, recording this on October 9th and I was just playing with OpenAI\u2019s new Canvas feature just before we got on this call, this innovative way to edit a document or collaborate in real time because I had a document that Colleagues, an actual, like a word document or a Google doc that colleagues had left comments on.<\/p>\nAnd I wanted AI\u2019s help addressing those comments and integrating them into this larger four page piece of text. So I basically duplicated it in canvas and got AI to weigh in and help me address these colleagues concerns. And I could not have done that without canvas, which is super cool. But you talked about.<\/p>\nYeah. You talked about your consumer insights background at PNG. And I\u2019m wondering how that\u2019s kind of influenced your approach to AI implementation and marketing strategies<\/a>.<\/p>\n[00:07:38] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So at PNG, we believe that consumer is boss and that belief really shapes a lot of the work that I do. And I want the consumer to be at the forefront of every strategy and every piece of work that I\u2019m working on.<\/p>\nAnd AI really is an incredible tool to allow us to uncover consumer insights. Thanks. Not just more quickly and deeply but in a more real time way than traditional methods. So I\u2019ll share with you a few examples of how this comes to life for me across a couple different, you know, quote, consumer groups.<\/p>\nSo the first example highlights how you might use a tool like ChatGBT to gain consumer insights. So I was actually working with a client who wanted to understand consumer insights related to the different service offerings that they had. The client needed quick insights, right? So I use Chat GBT to draft consumer personas and develop a discussion guide based on our business questions.<\/p>\nAnd then at Chat GBT simulate a focus group. This part blew my mind because as someone who has spent hours in the backroom of traditional research, the speed and effectiveness of this tool was just, I mind blowing for me. Chat GBT even summarized the results. They provided the top lines, you know, that I could share with my client.<\/p>\nAnd look, I know what many of you listeners are probably thinking. Wait, these are not real consumers and you\u2019re right. These are AI generated consumers, but the model is trained on so much consumer data that it\u2019s able to simulate consumer sentiment and beliefs very, very quickly. accurately. And look, AI research or should never be a replacement for traditional research, but it\u2019s an incredible tool for early stage brainstorming, ideation, or gaining even initial feedback as you think about how to shape your research plans.<\/p>\nThe next example, you know, it\u2019s not always the traditional consumer. Sometimes the consumer is the person that we\u2019re selling to. So maybe for you, it\u2019s the buyer or someone at your retail partner or someone like that. So LLMs also offer a powerful way to ensure that you are listening to those key stakeholders.<\/p>\nSo one of the things I like to do with many of my friends in sales is we create a detailed buyer persona. In that persona, we include things like the buyer\u2019s background, their goals, their objections their maybe personal things that they\u2019re interested. And if possible, I also like to incorporate any sort of call notes or previous communication<\/svg><\/span><\/a> back and forth with the buyer.<\/p>\nOnce we have that persona, it\u2019s an incredibly valuable tool. So imagine the scenario where you say, act as my buyer and provide me feedback on this business plan, or act as my buyer, or and provide me feedback on this new brand artwork. It allows you to get insight and allows you to optimize what you\u2019re working on by really listening to the voice of the person that matters most in the discussion.<\/p>\nAnd then last, you know, sometimes the quote consumer is just our client or a key leader in the organization. In these cases, I like to use Chat GBT to perform what I call tone of voice analysis. So this really helps you ensure that the content<\/a> or the tool or whatever you\u2019re developing really reflects the style and preferences of that person.<\/p>\nIn order to do this, I gather tons of documents, videos. anything that you might have and organize it in AI and create a tone of voice analysis, then I use ChatGBT to refine content in that, in that tone. So for example, I\u2019ll say, Hey, ChatGBT, act as John and write this update this document as if it\u2019s in John\u2019s writing, or how could this sound more like me?<\/p>\nAnd honestly, this has been a game changer for anyone who is creating content on behalf of someone else or has a leader that wants something written in a certain way, or is writing on behalf of a brand<\/a>, having a tone of voice analysis and using it in Chat GPT is an absolute must.<\/p>\n[00:11:40] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love that approach.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve even used it for myself on a copy that I had previously written. And when I went back and I looked at, I\u2019m like, I obviously just kind of mailed that one in. I really didn\u2019t pay attention or pay a lot of time because again, it\u2019s for the social media hat, my personal side hustle. So sometimes I\u2019m doing things really, really rapidly because maybe I have 20 minutes on a Thursday night to put up a contact page or landing page or something like that.<\/p>\nSo I can feed all that into. Check GPT and get a much better, you know, several paragraphs or whatever of copy cause I\u2019ve taken the time to develop a Mike Allton\u2019s voice, custom GPT<\/a>. And in fact, I think I\u2019m going to do a whole episode just on, on how to do that for you folks. But I also loved your point about simulated data is something we\u2019ve talked about a couple of times on the show and a friend of the show and former guest. Chris Penn has spoken at length about how to create simulated audiences and simulated data. So I\u2019ll link to some of those in the show, because I think that\u2019s a really powerful use case.<\/p>\n[00:12:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\nHe has a great tool to create an ICP persona. He does.<\/p>\n[00:12:46] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
Lauren\u2019s Framework for AI Adoption:<\/strong><\/p>\nAssess | Establish | Experimentation | Scaling<\/p>\n<\/figure>\nFull Transcript<\/h2>\n(lightly edited)<\/em><\/p>\nFrom Boardroom to Bot Room: A Leader\u2019s Journey into AI Marketing with Lauren Schiavone<\/h3>\n[00:00:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we are going to conduct a comprehensive audit<\/svg><\/span><\/a> of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. I actually developed a scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners<\/svg><\/span><\/a> are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here, we identify what the opportunities are for AI, define goals, KPIs. And really start to select the pilots that, that align with the business goals. And then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach, and probably even decide on new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated.<\/p>\n[00:00:59] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Welcome to AI in Marketing: Unpacked, where we simplify AI for impactful marketing. I\u2019m your host, Mike Allton here to guide you through the world of artificial intelligence and its transformative impact on marketing strategies. Each episode, we\u2019ll break down AI concepts into manageable insights and explore practical applications that can supercharge your marketing efforts.<\/p>\nWhether you\u2019re an experienced marketer just starting to explore the potential of AI, this podcast will equip you with the knowledge and tools you need to succeed. So tune in and let\u2019s unlock the power of AI together.<\/p>\nGreetings program. Welcome back to AI in Marketing: Unpacked, where I\u2019m selfishly used this time to pick the brains of experts at keeping up with and integrating or layering artificial intelligence into social media, content, advertising, search, and all these other areas of digital marketing. You get to learn too. Subscribe to be shown and prepare yourself and your brand for this AI revolution<\/svg><\/span><\/a> and come out ahead. And listen, imagine stepping out of a fortune 500 boardroom after 16 years, only to find yourself on the cutting edge of AI innovation.<\/p>\nSound like a plot twist and a tech thriller, right? Well, for our guest today, it\u2019s not fiction. It\u2019s her extraordinary career path in today\u2019s fast paced marketing world. Staying ahead often means embracing the unknown, but what happens when that unknown is as fast and complex as artificial intelligence? Many marketers find themselves at a crossroads wondering how to bridge the gap between traditional strategies and this brave new world of AI.<\/p>\nThis is where our guest journey begins. Becomes not just inspiring, but invaluable today. We have the privilege of speaking with Lauren Schiavone, a visionary leader who\u2019s made the leap from corporate titan to AI trailblazer. Lauren isn\u2019t just any former executive with nearly two decades of consumer insights, brand and sales leadership experience at Procter and Gamble.<\/p>\nShe\u2019s been the driving force behind some of the most recognizable brands in your home. Her work at P and G was consistently recognized as best in class. And she was even selected as one of Progressive Grocer Industry\u2019s best and brightest under 40, but Lauren\u2019s story doesn\u2019t end in the corporate world, in a bold move she stepped away from her prestigious role to dive headfirst into the world of AI. Now, as a consultant and thought leader, Lauren is on a mission to demystify AI for business<\/a> leaders, particularly in the realms of consumer goods, brand innovation, and retail. Hey, Lauren, welcome to the show.<\/p>\n[00:03:23] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Thank you so much, Mike.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s great to be here.<\/p>\n[00:03:25] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So excited to have you on and to, quite frankly, pick your brain. Cause I think this is going to be really insightful for me personally. And for all of you listening, Lauren, if you could just start by talking us through that decision to transition from corporate and focusing on AI and marketing.<\/p>\n[00:03:42] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. So Mike I had a incredible opportunity at P& G to be there for 16 years and work on some incredible brands. Actually started at P& G and consumer insights. Then I moved into brand management and finally really my interest in e commerce is what took me to sales in my final chapter at P& G.<\/p>\nAnd at P& G, I spent a lot of time working on product, consumer and retail innovation. And in doing so that\u2019s where I really developed my passion for leveraging innovation to drive business growth. And last year I made a very personal decision to leave P& G. I have two young children and I wanted the flexibility to spend more time with them.<\/p>\nIn this time away, I finally had a moment to lift my head up from the corporate world and see the broader landscape. And that\u2019s when it became very clear to me. AI is going to revolutionize everything, not just marketing and sales, but every industry, every career and the way we live our lives. In fact, early in my journey, I was walking with a former executive at P and G.<\/p>\nAnd she said to me, Oh, Lauren, this is like the early days of e comm to which I said, no, Amy, this is not like the early days of e comm e comm was a new way for shoppers to shop, right? A new modality, if you will. AI will transform absolutely everything. So I was super inspired, inspired by the possibility.<\/p>\nSo I really decided to dive in and immerse myself in learning and really figuring out how AI can be a growth accelerator. And of course, just like you probably Mike, my AI learning journey is ongoing. There is something new to learn every day. But I\u2019m focused on helping non technical leaders really harness that power of AI.<\/p>\nSo this past summer, I decided to combine my 16 years of experience leading business growth and innovation at P and G combined with my industry leading AI education<\/svg><\/span><\/a> to form wonder consulting. So with wonder consulting, I want to empower leaders to thrive in this AI driven future and use A I to accelerate business growth and to do it in a way where I demystify a I really to make it practical, practical and actionable, particularly for non technical leaders to use it for growth.<\/p>\n[00:05:55] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Love that there\u2019s there\u2019s so many aspects of your journey in that answer, quite frankly, that I can relate to starting with the first of moving from corporate wanting to spend time with your kids. I have two girls. One of them turns 10 tomorrow, the other\u2019s 13. And I just, I love being able to work from home.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve been working from home for their entire lives. So I\u2019m, you know, a real part of their life. And, and to your point, the AI journey is very much the same. It was kind of a thunderbolt to me late in 2023 that, wow, this is to your point, changing my life. Everything. It\u2019s not just changing marketing. It\u2019s not just changing sales or e commerce.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s literally the fourth industrial revolution. And it\u2019s something that we have to pay attention to. And I loved your point about how it\u2019s changing every day. There\u2019s news and developments and new apps every single day. That\u2019s something we don\u2019t talk a lot about on this show.<\/p>\n[00:06:46] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:06:47] Mike Allton:<\/strong> but to your point, you know, recording this on October 9th and I was just playing with OpenAI\u2019s new Canvas feature just before we got on this call, this innovative way to edit a document or collaborate in real time because I had a document that Colleagues, an actual, like a word document or a Google doc that colleagues had left comments on.<\/p>\nAnd I wanted AI\u2019s help addressing those comments and integrating them into this larger four page piece of text. So I basically duplicated it in canvas and got AI to weigh in and help me address these colleagues concerns. And I could not have done that without canvas, which is super cool. But you talked about.<\/p>\nYeah. You talked about your consumer insights background at PNG. And I\u2019m wondering how that\u2019s kind of influenced your approach to AI implementation and marketing strategies<\/a>.<\/p>\n[00:07:38] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So at PNG, we believe that consumer is boss and that belief really shapes a lot of the work that I do. And I want the consumer to be at the forefront of every strategy and every piece of work that I\u2019m working on.<\/p>\nAnd AI really is an incredible tool to allow us to uncover consumer insights. Thanks. Not just more quickly and deeply but in a more real time way than traditional methods. So I\u2019ll share with you a few examples of how this comes to life for me across a couple different, you know, quote, consumer groups.<\/p>\nSo the first example highlights how you might use a tool like ChatGBT to gain consumer insights. So I was actually working with a client who wanted to understand consumer insights related to the different service offerings that they had. The client needed quick insights, right? So I use Chat GBT to draft consumer personas and develop a discussion guide based on our business questions.<\/p>\nAnd then at Chat GBT simulate a focus group. This part blew my mind because as someone who has spent hours in the backroom of traditional research, the speed and effectiveness of this tool was just, I mind blowing for me. Chat GBT even summarized the results. They provided the top lines, you know, that I could share with my client.<\/p>\nAnd look, I know what many of you listeners are probably thinking. Wait, these are not real consumers and you\u2019re right. These are AI generated consumers, but the model is trained on so much consumer data that it\u2019s able to simulate consumer sentiment and beliefs very, very quickly. accurately. And look, AI research or should never be a replacement for traditional research, but it\u2019s an incredible tool for early stage brainstorming, ideation, or gaining even initial feedback as you think about how to shape your research plans.<\/p>\nThe next example, you know, it\u2019s not always the traditional consumer. Sometimes the consumer is the person that we\u2019re selling to. So maybe for you, it\u2019s the buyer or someone at your retail partner or someone like that. So LLMs also offer a powerful way to ensure that you are listening to those key stakeholders.<\/p>\nSo one of the things I like to do with many of my friends in sales is we create a detailed buyer persona. In that persona, we include things like the buyer\u2019s background, their goals, their objections their maybe personal things that they\u2019re interested. And if possible, I also like to incorporate any sort of call notes or previous communication<\/svg><\/span><\/a> back and forth with the buyer.<\/p>\nOnce we have that persona, it\u2019s an incredibly valuable tool. So imagine the scenario where you say, act as my buyer and provide me feedback on this business plan, or act as my buyer, or and provide me feedback on this new brand artwork. It allows you to get insight and allows you to optimize what you\u2019re working on by really listening to the voice of the person that matters most in the discussion.<\/p>\nAnd then last, you know, sometimes the quote consumer is just our client or a key leader in the organization. In these cases, I like to use Chat GBT to perform what I call tone of voice analysis. So this really helps you ensure that the content<\/a> or the tool or whatever you\u2019re developing really reflects the style and preferences of that person.<\/p>\nIn order to do this, I gather tons of documents, videos. anything that you might have and organize it in AI and create a tone of voice analysis, then I use ChatGBT to refine content in that, in that tone. So for example, I\u2019ll say, Hey, ChatGBT, act as John and write this update this document as if it\u2019s in John\u2019s writing, or how could this sound more like me?<\/p>\nAnd honestly, this has been a game changer for anyone who is creating content on behalf of someone else or has a leader that wants something written in a certain way, or is writing on behalf of a brand<\/a>, having a tone of voice analysis and using it in Chat GPT is an absolute must.<\/p>\n[00:11:40] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love that approach.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve even used it for myself on a copy that I had previously written. And when I went back and I looked at, I\u2019m like, I obviously just kind of mailed that one in. I really didn\u2019t pay attention or pay a lot of time because again, it\u2019s for the social media hat, my personal side hustle. So sometimes I\u2019m doing things really, really rapidly because maybe I have 20 minutes on a Thursday night to put up a contact page or landing page or something like that.<\/p>\nSo I can feed all that into. Check GPT and get a much better, you know, several paragraphs or whatever of copy cause I\u2019ve taken the time to develop a Mike Allton\u2019s voice, custom GPT<\/a>. And in fact, I think I\u2019m going to do a whole episode just on, on how to do that for you folks. But I also loved your point about simulated data is something we\u2019ve talked about a couple of times on the show and a friend of the show and former guest. Chris Penn has spoken at length about how to create simulated audiences and simulated data. So I\u2019ll link to some of those in the show, because I think that\u2019s a really powerful use case.<\/p>\n[00:12:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\nHe has a great tool to create an ICP persona. He does.<\/p>\n[00:12:46] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
Assess | Establish | Experimentation | Scaling<\/p>\n<\/figure>\nFull Transcript<\/h2>\n(lightly edited)<\/em><\/p>\nFrom Boardroom to Bot Room: A Leader\u2019s Journey into AI Marketing with Lauren Schiavone<\/h3>\n[00:00:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we are going to conduct a comprehensive audit<\/svg><\/span><\/a> of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. I actually developed a scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners<\/svg><\/span><\/a> are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here, we identify what the opportunities are for AI, define goals, KPIs. And really start to select the pilots that, that align with the business goals. And then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach, and probably even decide on new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated.<\/p>\n[00:00:59] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Welcome to AI in Marketing: Unpacked, where we simplify AI for impactful marketing. I\u2019m your host, Mike Allton here to guide you through the world of artificial intelligence and its transformative impact on marketing strategies. Each episode, we\u2019ll break down AI concepts into manageable insights and explore practical applications that can supercharge your marketing efforts.<\/p>\nWhether you\u2019re an experienced marketer just starting to explore the potential of AI, this podcast will equip you with the knowledge and tools you need to succeed. So tune in and let\u2019s unlock the power of AI together.<\/p>\nGreetings program. Welcome back to AI in Marketing: Unpacked, where I\u2019m selfishly used this time to pick the brains of experts at keeping up with and integrating or layering artificial intelligence into social media, content, advertising, search, and all these other areas of digital marketing. You get to learn too. Subscribe to be shown and prepare yourself and your brand for this AI revolution<\/svg><\/span><\/a> and come out ahead. And listen, imagine stepping out of a fortune 500 boardroom after 16 years, only to find yourself on the cutting edge of AI innovation.<\/p>\nSound like a plot twist and a tech thriller, right? Well, for our guest today, it\u2019s not fiction. It\u2019s her extraordinary career path in today\u2019s fast paced marketing world. Staying ahead often means embracing the unknown, but what happens when that unknown is as fast and complex as artificial intelligence? Many marketers find themselves at a crossroads wondering how to bridge the gap between traditional strategies and this brave new world of AI.<\/p>\nThis is where our guest journey begins. Becomes not just inspiring, but invaluable today. We have the privilege of speaking with Lauren Schiavone, a visionary leader who\u2019s made the leap from corporate titan to AI trailblazer. Lauren isn\u2019t just any former executive with nearly two decades of consumer insights, brand and sales leadership experience at Procter and Gamble.<\/p>\nShe\u2019s been the driving force behind some of the most recognizable brands in your home. Her work at P and G was consistently recognized as best in class. And she was even selected as one of Progressive Grocer Industry\u2019s best and brightest under 40, but Lauren\u2019s story doesn\u2019t end in the corporate world, in a bold move she stepped away from her prestigious role to dive headfirst into the world of AI. Now, as a consultant and thought leader, Lauren is on a mission to demystify AI for business<\/a> leaders, particularly in the realms of consumer goods, brand innovation, and retail. Hey, Lauren, welcome to the show.<\/p>\n[00:03:23] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Thank you so much, Mike.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s great to be here.<\/p>\n[00:03:25] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So excited to have you on and to, quite frankly, pick your brain. Cause I think this is going to be really insightful for me personally. And for all of you listening, Lauren, if you could just start by talking us through that decision to transition from corporate and focusing on AI and marketing.<\/p>\n[00:03:42] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. So Mike I had a incredible opportunity at P& G to be there for 16 years and work on some incredible brands. Actually started at P& G and consumer insights. Then I moved into brand management and finally really my interest in e commerce is what took me to sales in my final chapter at P& G.<\/p>\nAnd at P& G, I spent a lot of time working on product, consumer and retail innovation. And in doing so that\u2019s where I really developed my passion for leveraging innovation to drive business growth. And last year I made a very personal decision to leave P& G. I have two young children and I wanted the flexibility to spend more time with them.<\/p>\nIn this time away, I finally had a moment to lift my head up from the corporate world and see the broader landscape. And that\u2019s when it became very clear to me. AI is going to revolutionize everything, not just marketing and sales, but every industry, every career and the way we live our lives. In fact, early in my journey, I was walking with a former executive at P and G.<\/p>\nAnd she said to me, Oh, Lauren, this is like the early days of e comm to which I said, no, Amy, this is not like the early days of e comm e comm was a new way for shoppers to shop, right? A new modality, if you will. AI will transform absolutely everything. So I was super inspired, inspired by the possibility.<\/p>\nSo I really decided to dive in and immerse myself in learning and really figuring out how AI can be a growth accelerator. And of course, just like you probably Mike, my AI learning journey is ongoing. There is something new to learn every day. But I\u2019m focused on helping non technical leaders really harness that power of AI.<\/p>\nSo this past summer, I decided to combine my 16 years of experience leading business growth and innovation at P and G combined with my industry leading AI education<\/svg><\/span><\/a> to form wonder consulting. So with wonder consulting, I want to empower leaders to thrive in this AI driven future and use A I to accelerate business growth and to do it in a way where I demystify a I really to make it practical, practical and actionable, particularly for non technical leaders to use it for growth.<\/p>\n[00:05:55] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Love that there\u2019s there\u2019s so many aspects of your journey in that answer, quite frankly, that I can relate to starting with the first of moving from corporate wanting to spend time with your kids. I have two girls. One of them turns 10 tomorrow, the other\u2019s 13. And I just, I love being able to work from home.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve been working from home for their entire lives. So I\u2019m, you know, a real part of their life. And, and to your point, the AI journey is very much the same. It was kind of a thunderbolt to me late in 2023 that, wow, this is to your point, changing my life. Everything. It\u2019s not just changing marketing. It\u2019s not just changing sales or e commerce.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s literally the fourth industrial revolution. And it\u2019s something that we have to pay attention to. And I loved your point about how it\u2019s changing every day. There\u2019s news and developments and new apps every single day. That\u2019s something we don\u2019t talk a lot about on this show.<\/p>\n[00:06:46] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:06:47] Mike Allton:<\/strong> but to your point, you know, recording this on October 9th and I was just playing with OpenAI\u2019s new Canvas feature just before we got on this call, this innovative way to edit a document or collaborate in real time because I had a document that Colleagues, an actual, like a word document or a Google doc that colleagues had left comments on.<\/p>\nAnd I wanted AI\u2019s help addressing those comments and integrating them into this larger four page piece of text. So I basically duplicated it in canvas and got AI to weigh in and help me address these colleagues concerns. And I could not have done that without canvas, which is super cool. But you talked about.<\/p>\nYeah. You talked about your consumer insights background at PNG. And I\u2019m wondering how that\u2019s kind of influenced your approach to AI implementation and marketing strategies<\/a>.<\/p>\n[00:07:38] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So at PNG, we believe that consumer is boss and that belief really shapes a lot of the work that I do. And I want the consumer to be at the forefront of every strategy and every piece of work that I\u2019m working on.<\/p>\nAnd AI really is an incredible tool to allow us to uncover consumer insights. Thanks. Not just more quickly and deeply but in a more real time way than traditional methods. So I\u2019ll share with you a few examples of how this comes to life for me across a couple different, you know, quote, consumer groups.<\/p>\nSo the first example highlights how you might use a tool like ChatGBT to gain consumer insights. So I was actually working with a client who wanted to understand consumer insights related to the different service offerings that they had. The client needed quick insights, right? So I use Chat GBT to draft consumer personas and develop a discussion guide based on our business questions.<\/p>\nAnd then at Chat GBT simulate a focus group. This part blew my mind because as someone who has spent hours in the backroom of traditional research, the speed and effectiveness of this tool was just, I mind blowing for me. Chat GBT even summarized the results. They provided the top lines, you know, that I could share with my client.<\/p>\nAnd look, I know what many of you listeners are probably thinking. Wait, these are not real consumers and you\u2019re right. These are AI generated consumers, but the model is trained on so much consumer data that it\u2019s able to simulate consumer sentiment and beliefs very, very quickly. accurately. And look, AI research or should never be a replacement for traditional research, but it\u2019s an incredible tool for early stage brainstorming, ideation, or gaining even initial feedback as you think about how to shape your research plans.<\/p>\nThe next example, you know, it\u2019s not always the traditional consumer. Sometimes the consumer is the person that we\u2019re selling to. So maybe for you, it\u2019s the buyer or someone at your retail partner or someone like that. So LLMs also offer a powerful way to ensure that you are listening to those key stakeholders.<\/p>\nSo one of the things I like to do with many of my friends in sales is we create a detailed buyer persona. In that persona, we include things like the buyer\u2019s background, their goals, their objections their maybe personal things that they\u2019re interested. And if possible, I also like to incorporate any sort of call notes or previous communication<\/svg><\/span><\/a> back and forth with the buyer.<\/p>\nOnce we have that persona, it\u2019s an incredibly valuable tool. So imagine the scenario where you say, act as my buyer and provide me feedback on this business plan, or act as my buyer, or and provide me feedback on this new brand artwork. It allows you to get insight and allows you to optimize what you\u2019re working on by really listening to the voice of the person that matters most in the discussion.<\/p>\nAnd then last, you know, sometimes the quote consumer is just our client or a key leader in the organization. In these cases, I like to use Chat GBT to perform what I call tone of voice analysis. So this really helps you ensure that the content<\/a> or the tool or whatever you\u2019re developing really reflects the style and preferences of that person.<\/p>\nIn order to do this, I gather tons of documents, videos. anything that you might have and organize it in AI and create a tone of voice analysis, then I use ChatGBT to refine content in that, in that tone. So for example, I\u2019ll say, Hey, ChatGBT, act as John and write this update this document as if it\u2019s in John\u2019s writing, or how could this sound more like me?<\/p>\nAnd honestly, this has been a game changer for anyone who is creating content on behalf of someone else or has a leader that wants something written in a certain way, or is writing on behalf of a brand<\/a>, having a tone of voice analysis and using it in Chat GPT is an absolute must.<\/p>\n[00:11:40] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love that approach.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve even used it for myself on a copy that I had previously written. And when I went back and I looked at, I\u2019m like, I obviously just kind of mailed that one in. I really didn\u2019t pay attention or pay a lot of time because again, it\u2019s for the social media hat, my personal side hustle. So sometimes I\u2019m doing things really, really rapidly because maybe I have 20 minutes on a Thursday night to put up a contact page or landing page or something like that.<\/p>\nSo I can feed all that into. Check GPT and get a much better, you know, several paragraphs or whatever of copy cause I\u2019ve taken the time to develop a Mike Allton\u2019s voice, custom GPT<\/a>. And in fact, I think I\u2019m going to do a whole episode just on, on how to do that for you folks. But I also loved your point about simulated data is something we\u2019ve talked about a couple of times on the show and a friend of the show and former guest. Chris Penn has spoken at length about how to create simulated audiences and simulated data. So I\u2019ll link to some of those in the show, because I think that\u2019s a really powerful use case.<\/p>\n[00:12:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\nHe has a great tool to create an ICP persona. He does.<\/p>\n[00:12:46] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
(lightly edited)<\/em><\/p>\nFrom Boardroom to Bot Room: A Leader\u2019s Journey into AI Marketing with Lauren Schiavone<\/h3>\n[00:00:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we are going to conduct a comprehensive audit<\/svg><\/span><\/a> of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. I actually developed a scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners<\/svg><\/span><\/a> are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here, we identify what the opportunities are for AI, define goals, KPIs. And really start to select the pilots that, that align with the business goals. And then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach, and probably even decide on new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated.<\/p>\n[00:00:59] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Welcome to AI in Marketing: Unpacked, where we simplify AI for impactful marketing. I\u2019m your host, Mike Allton here to guide you through the world of artificial intelligence and its transformative impact on marketing strategies. Each episode, we\u2019ll break down AI concepts into manageable insights and explore practical applications that can supercharge your marketing efforts.<\/p>\nWhether you\u2019re an experienced marketer just starting to explore the potential of AI, this podcast will equip you with the knowledge and tools you need to succeed. So tune in and let\u2019s unlock the power of AI together.<\/p>\nGreetings program. Welcome back to AI in Marketing: Unpacked, where I\u2019m selfishly used this time to pick the brains of experts at keeping up with and integrating or layering artificial intelligence into social media, content, advertising, search, and all these other areas of digital marketing. You get to learn too. Subscribe to be shown and prepare yourself and your brand for this AI revolution<\/svg><\/span><\/a> and come out ahead. And listen, imagine stepping out of a fortune 500 boardroom after 16 years, only to find yourself on the cutting edge of AI innovation.<\/p>\nSound like a plot twist and a tech thriller, right? Well, for our guest today, it\u2019s not fiction. It\u2019s her extraordinary career path in today\u2019s fast paced marketing world. Staying ahead often means embracing the unknown, but what happens when that unknown is as fast and complex as artificial intelligence? Many marketers find themselves at a crossroads wondering how to bridge the gap between traditional strategies and this brave new world of AI.<\/p>\nThis is where our guest journey begins. Becomes not just inspiring, but invaluable today. We have the privilege of speaking with Lauren Schiavone, a visionary leader who\u2019s made the leap from corporate titan to AI trailblazer. Lauren isn\u2019t just any former executive with nearly two decades of consumer insights, brand and sales leadership experience at Procter and Gamble.<\/p>\nShe\u2019s been the driving force behind some of the most recognizable brands in your home. Her work at P and G was consistently recognized as best in class. And she was even selected as one of Progressive Grocer Industry\u2019s best and brightest under 40, but Lauren\u2019s story doesn\u2019t end in the corporate world, in a bold move she stepped away from her prestigious role to dive headfirst into the world of AI. Now, as a consultant and thought leader, Lauren is on a mission to demystify AI for business<\/a> leaders, particularly in the realms of consumer goods, brand innovation, and retail. Hey, Lauren, welcome to the show.<\/p>\n[00:03:23] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Thank you so much, Mike.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s great to be here.<\/p>\n[00:03:25] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So excited to have you on and to, quite frankly, pick your brain. Cause I think this is going to be really insightful for me personally. And for all of you listening, Lauren, if you could just start by talking us through that decision to transition from corporate and focusing on AI and marketing.<\/p>\n[00:03:42] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. So Mike I had a incredible opportunity at P& G to be there for 16 years and work on some incredible brands. Actually started at P& G and consumer insights. Then I moved into brand management and finally really my interest in e commerce is what took me to sales in my final chapter at P& G.<\/p>\nAnd at P& G, I spent a lot of time working on product, consumer and retail innovation. And in doing so that\u2019s where I really developed my passion for leveraging innovation to drive business growth. And last year I made a very personal decision to leave P& G. I have two young children and I wanted the flexibility to spend more time with them.<\/p>\nIn this time away, I finally had a moment to lift my head up from the corporate world and see the broader landscape. And that\u2019s when it became very clear to me. AI is going to revolutionize everything, not just marketing and sales, but every industry, every career and the way we live our lives. In fact, early in my journey, I was walking with a former executive at P and G.<\/p>\nAnd she said to me, Oh, Lauren, this is like the early days of e comm to which I said, no, Amy, this is not like the early days of e comm e comm was a new way for shoppers to shop, right? A new modality, if you will. AI will transform absolutely everything. So I was super inspired, inspired by the possibility.<\/p>\nSo I really decided to dive in and immerse myself in learning and really figuring out how AI can be a growth accelerator. And of course, just like you probably Mike, my AI learning journey is ongoing. There is something new to learn every day. But I\u2019m focused on helping non technical leaders really harness that power of AI.<\/p>\nSo this past summer, I decided to combine my 16 years of experience leading business growth and innovation at P and G combined with my industry leading AI education<\/svg><\/span><\/a> to form wonder consulting. So with wonder consulting, I want to empower leaders to thrive in this AI driven future and use A I to accelerate business growth and to do it in a way where I demystify a I really to make it practical, practical and actionable, particularly for non technical leaders to use it for growth.<\/p>\n[00:05:55] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Love that there\u2019s there\u2019s so many aspects of your journey in that answer, quite frankly, that I can relate to starting with the first of moving from corporate wanting to spend time with your kids. I have two girls. One of them turns 10 tomorrow, the other\u2019s 13. And I just, I love being able to work from home.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve been working from home for their entire lives. So I\u2019m, you know, a real part of their life. And, and to your point, the AI journey is very much the same. It was kind of a thunderbolt to me late in 2023 that, wow, this is to your point, changing my life. Everything. It\u2019s not just changing marketing. It\u2019s not just changing sales or e commerce.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s literally the fourth industrial revolution. And it\u2019s something that we have to pay attention to. And I loved your point about how it\u2019s changing every day. There\u2019s news and developments and new apps every single day. That\u2019s something we don\u2019t talk a lot about on this show.<\/p>\n[00:06:46] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:06:47] Mike Allton:<\/strong> but to your point, you know, recording this on October 9th and I was just playing with OpenAI\u2019s new Canvas feature just before we got on this call, this innovative way to edit a document or collaborate in real time because I had a document that Colleagues, an actual, like a word document or a Google doc that colleagues had left comments on.<\/p>\nAnd I wanted AI\u2019s help addressing those comments and integrating them into this larger four page piece of text. So I basically duplicated it in canvas and got AI to weigh in and help me address these colleagues concerns. And I could not have done that without canvas, which is super cool. But you talked about.<\/p>\nYeah. You talked about your consumer insights background at PNG. And I\u2019m wondering how that\u2019s kind of influenced your approach to AI implementation and marketing strategies<\/a>.<\/p>\n[00:07:38] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So at PNG, we believe that consumer is boss and that belief really shapes a lot of the work that I do. And I want the consumer to be at the forefront of every strategy and every piece of work that I\u2019m working on.<\/p>\nAnd AI really is an incredible tool to allow us to uncover consumer insights. Thanks. Not just more quickly and deeply but in a more real time way than traditional methods. So I\u2019ll share with you a few examples of how this comes to life for me across a couple different, you know, quote, consumer groups.<\/p>\nSo the first example highlights how you might use a tool like ChatGBT to gain consumer insights. So I was actually working with a client who wanted to understand consumer insights related to the different service offerings that they had. The client needed quick insights, right? So I use Chat GBT to draft consumer personas and develop a discussion guide based on our business questions.<\/p>\nAnd then at Chat GBT simulate a focus group. This part blew my mind because as someone who has spent hours in the backroom of traditional research, the speed and effectiveness of this tool was just, I mind blowing for me. Chat GBT even summarized the results. They provided the top lines, you know, that I could share with my client.<\/p>\nAnd look, I know what many of you listeners are probably thinking. Wait, these are not real consumers and you\u2019re right. These are AI generated consumers, but the model is trained on so much consumer data that it\u2019s able to simulate consumer sentiment and beliefs very, very quickly. accurately. And look, AI research or should never be a replacement for traditional research, but it\u2019s an incredible tool for early stage brainstorming, ideation, or gaining even initial feedback as you think about how to shape your research plans.<\/p>\nThe next example, you know, it\u2019s not always the traditional consumer. Sometimes the consumer is the person that we\u2019re selling to. So maybe for you, it\u2019s the buyer or someone at your retail partner or someone like that. So LLMs also offer a powerful way to ensure that you are listening to those key stakeholders.<\/p>\nSo one of the things I like to do with many of my friends in sales is we create a detailed buyer persona. In that persona, we include things like the buyer\u2019s background, their goals, their objections their maybe personal things that they\u2019re interested. And if possible, I also like to incorporate any sort of call notes or previous communication<\/svg><\/span><\/a> back and forth with the buyer.<\/p>\nOnce we have that persona, it\u2019s an incredibly valuable tool. So imagine the scenario where you say, act as my buyer and provide me feedback on this business plan, or act as my buyer, or and provide me feedback on this new brand artwork. It allows you to get insight and allows you to optimize what you\u2019re working on by really listening to the voice of the person that matters most in the discussion.<\/p>\nAnd then last, you know, sometimes the quote consumer is just our client or a key leader in the organization. In these cases, I like to use Chat GBT to perform what I call tone of voice analysis. So this really helps you ensure that the content<\/a> or the tool or whatever you\u2019re developing really reflects the style and preferences of that person.<\/p>\nIn order to do this, I gather tons of documents, videos. anything that you might have and organize it in AI and create a tone of voice analysis, then I use ChatGBT to refine content in that, in that tone. So for example, I\u2019ll say, Hey, ChatGBT, act as John and write this update this document as if it\u2019s in John\u2019s writing, or how could this sound more like me?<\/p>\nAnd honestly, this has been a game changer for anyone who is creating content on behalf of someone else or has a leader that wants something written in a certain way, or is writing on behalf of a brand<\/a>, having a tone of voice analysis and using it in Chat GPT is an absolute must.<\/p>\n[00:11:40] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love that approach.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve even used it for myself on a copy that I had previously written. And when I went back and I looked at, I\u2019m like, I obviously just kind of mailed that one in. I really didn\u2019t pay attention or pay a lot of time because again, it\u2019s for the social media hat, my personal side hustle. So sometimes I\u2019m doing things really, really rapidly because maybe I have 20 minutes on a Thursday night to put up a contact page or landing page or something like that.<\/p>\nSo I can feed all that into. Check GPT and get a much better, you know, several paragraphs or whatever of copy cause I\u2019ve taken the time to develop a Mike Allton\u2019s voice, custom GPT<\/a>. And in fact, I think I\u2019m going to do a whole episode just on, on how to do that for you folks. But I also loved your point about simulated data is something we\u2019ve talked about a couple of times on the show and a friend of the show and former guest. Chris Penn has spoken at length about how to create simulated audiences and simulated data. So I\u2019ll link to some of those in the show, because I think that\u2019s a really powerful use case.<\/p>\n[00:12:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\nHe has a great tool to create an ICP persona. He does.<\/p>\n[00:12:46] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
[00:00:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we are going to conduct a comprehensive audit<\/svg><\/span><\/a> of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. I actually developed a scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners<\/svg><\/span><\/a> are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here, we identify what the opportunities are for AI, define goals, KPIs. And really start to select the pilots that, that align with the business goals. And then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach, and probably even decide on new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated.<\/p>\n[00:00:59] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Welcome to AI in Marketing: Unpacked, where we simplify AI for impactful marketing. I\u2019m your host, Mike Allton here to guide you through the world of artificial intelligence and its transformative impact on marketing strategies. Each episode, we\u2019ll break down AI concepts into manageable insights and explore practical applications that can supercharge your marketing efforts.<\/p>\nWhether you\u2019re an experienced marketer just starting to explore the potential of AI, this podcast will equip you with the knowledge and tools you need to succeed. So tune in and let\u2019s unlock the power of AI together.<\/p>\nGreetings program. Welcome back to AI in Marketing: Unpacked, where I\u2019m selfishly used this time to pick the brains of experts at keeping up with and integrating or layering artificial intelligence into social media, content, advertising, search, and all these other areas of digital marketing. You get to learn too. Subscribe to be shown and prepare yourself and your brand for this AI revolution<\/svg><\/span><\/a> and come out ahead. And listen, imagine stepping out of a fortune 500 boardroom after 16 years, only to find yourself on the cutting edge of AI innovation.<\/p>\nSound like a plot twist and a tech thriller, right? Well, for our guest today, it\u2019s not fiction. It\u2019s her extraordinary career path in today\u2019s fast paced marketing world. Staying ahead often means embracing the unknown, but what happens when that unknown is as fast and complex as artificial intelligence? Many marketers find themselves at a crossroads wondering how to bridge the gap between traditional strategies and this brave new world of AI.<\/p>\nThis is where our guest journey begins. Becomes not just inspiring, but invaluable today. We have the privilege of speaking with Lauren Schiavone, a visionary leader who\u2019s made the leap from corporate titan to AI trailblazer. Lauren isn\u2019t just any former executive with nearly two decades of consumer insights, brand and sales leadership experience at Procter and Gamble.<\/p>\nShe\u2019s been the driving force behind some of the most recognizable brands in your home. Her work at P and G was consistently recognized as best in class. And she was even selected as one of Progressive Grocer Industry\u2019s best and brightest under 40, but Lauren\u2019s story doesn\u2019t end in the corporate world, in a bold move she stepped away from her prestigious role to dive headfirst into the world of AI. Now, as a consultant and thought leader, Lauren is on a mission to demystify AI for business<\/a> leaders, particularly in the realms of consumer goods, brand innovation, and retail. Hey, Lauren, welcome to the show.<\/p>\n[00:03:23] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Thank you so much, Mike.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s great to be here.<\/p>\n[00:03:25] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So excited to have you on and to, quite frankly, pick your brain. Cause I think this is going to be really insightful for me personally. And for all of you listening, Lauren, if you could just start by talking us through that decision to transition from corporate and focusing on AI and marketing.<\/p>\n[00:03:42] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. So Mike I had a incredible opportunity at P& G to be there for 16 years and work on some incredible brands. Actually started at P& G and consumer insights. Then I moved into brand management and finally really my interest in e commerce is what took me to sales in my final chapter at P& G.<\/p>\nAnd at P& G, I spent a lot of time working on product, consumer and retail innovation. And in doing so that\u2019s where I really developed my passion for leveraging innovation to drive business growth. And last year I made a very personal decision to leave P& G. I have two young children and I wanted the flexibility to spend more time with them.<\/p>\nIn this time away, I finally had a moment to lift my head up from the corporate world and see the broader landscape. And that\u2019s when it became very clear to me. AI is going to revolutionize everything, not just marketing and sales, but every industry, every career and the way we live our lives. In fact, early in my journey, I was walking with a former executive at P and G.<\/p>\nAnd she said to me, Oh, Lauren, this is like the early days of e comm to which I said, no, Amy, this is not like the early days of e comm e comm was a new way for shoppers to shop, right? A new modality, if you will. AI will transform absolutely everything. So I was super inspired, inspired by the possibility.<\/p>\nSo I really decided to dive in and immerse myself in learning and really figuring out how AI can be a growth accelerator. And of course, just like you probably Mike, my AI learning journey is ongoing. There is something new to learn every day. But I\u2019m focused on helping non technical leaders really harness that power of AI.<\/p>\nSo this past summer, I decided to combine my 16 years of experience leading business growth and innovation at P and G combined with my industry leading AI education<\/svg><\/span><\/a> to form wonder consulting. So with wonder consulting, I want to empower leaders to thrive in this AI driven future and use A I to accelerate business growth and to do it in a way where I demystify a I really to make it practical, practical and actionable, particularly for non technical leaders to use it for growth.<\/p>\n[00:05:55] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Love that there\u2019s there\u2019s so many aspects of your journey in that answer, quite frankly, that I can relate to starting with the first of moving from corporate wanting to spend time with your kids. I have two girls. One of them turns 10 tomorrow, the other\u2019s 13. And I just, I love being able to work from home.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve been working from home for their entire lives. So I\u2019m, you know, a real part of their life. And, and to your point, the AI journey is very much the same. It was kind of a thunderbolt to me late in 2023 that, wow, this is to your point, changing my life. Everything. It\u2019s not just changing marketing. It\u2019s not just changing sales or e commerce.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s literally the fourth industrial revolution. And it\u2019s something that we have to pay attention to. And I loved your point about how it\u2019s changing every day. There\u2019s news and developments and new apps every single day. That\u2019s something we don\u2019t talk a lot about on this show.<\/p>\n[00:06:46] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:06:47] Mike Allton:<\/strong> but to your point, you know, recording this on October 9th and I was just playing with OpenAI\u2019s new Canvas feature just before we got on this call, this innovative way to edit a document or collaborate in real time because I had a document that Colleagues, an actual, like a word document or a Google doc that colleagues had left comments on.<\/p>\nAnd I wanted AI\u2019s help addressing those comments and integrating them into this larger four page piece of text. So I basically duplicated it in canvas and got AI to weigh in and help me address these colleagues concerns. And I could not have done that without canvas, which is super cool. But you talked about.<\/p>\nYeah. You talked about your consumer insights background at PNG. And I\u2019m wondering how that\u2019s kind of influenced your approach to AI implementation and marketing strategies<\/a>.<\/p>\n[00:07:38] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So at PNG, we believe that consumer is boss and that belief really shapes a lot of the work that I do. And I want the consumer to be at the forefront of every strategy and every piece of work that I\u2019m working on.<\/p>\nAnd AI really is an incredible tool to allow us to uncover consumer insights. Thanks. Not just more quickly and deeply but in a more real time way than traditional methods. So I\u2019ll share with you a few examples of how this comes to life for me across a couple different, you know, quote, consumer groups.<\/p>\nSo the first example highlights how you might use a tool like ChatGBT to gain consumer insights. So I was actually working with a client who wanted to understand consumer insights related to the different service offerings that they had. The client needed quick insights, right? So I use Chat GBT to draft consumer personas and develop a discussion guide based on our business questions.<\/p>\nAnd then at Chat GBT simulate a focus group. This part blew my mind because as someone who has spent hours in the backroom of traditional research, the speed and effectiveness of this tool was just, I mind blowing for me. Chat GBT even summarized the results. They provided the top lines, you know, that I could share with my client.<\/p>\nAnd look, I know what many of you listeners are probably thinking. Wait, these are not real consumers and you\u2019re right. These are AI generated consumers, but the model is trained on so much consumer data that it\u2019s able to simulate consumer sentiment and beliefs very, very quickly. accurately. And look, AI research or should never be a replacement for traditional research, but it\u2019s an incredible tool for early stage brainstorming, ideation, or gaining even initial feedback as you think about how to shape your research plans.<\/p>\nThe next example, you know, it\u2019s not always the traditional consumer. Sometimes the consumer is the person that we\u2019re selling to. So maybe for you, it\u2019s the buyer or someone at your retail partner or someone like that. So LLMs also offer a powerful way to ensure that you are listening to those key stakeholders.<\/p>\nSo one of the things I like to do with many of my friends in sales is we create a detailed buyer persona. In that persona, we include things like the buyer\u2019s background, their goals, their objections their maybe personal things that they\u2019re interested. And if possible, I also like to incorporate any sort of call notes or previous communication<\/svg><\/span><\/a> back and forth with the buyer.<\/p>\nOnce we have that persona, it\u2019s an incredibly valuable tool. So imagine the scenario where you say, act as my buyer and provide me feedback on this business plan, or act as my buyer, or and provide me feedback on this new brand artwork. It allows you to get insight and allows you to optimize what you\u2019re working on by really listening to the voice of the person that matters most in the discussion.<\/p>\nAnd then last, you know, sometimes the quote consumer is just our client or a key leader in the organization. In these cases, I like to use Chat GBT to perform what I call tone of voice analysis. So this really helps you ensure that the content<\/a> or the tool or whatever you\u2019re developing really reflects the style and preferences of that person.<\/p>\nIn order to do this, I gather tons of documents, videos. anything that you might have and organize it in AI and create a tone of voice analysis, then I use ChatGBT to refine content in that, in that tone. So for example, I\u2019ll say, Hey, ChatGBT, act as John and write this update this document as if it\u2019s in John\u2019s writing, or how could this sound more like me?<\/p>\nAnd honestly, this has been a game changer for anyone who is creating content on behalf of someone else or has a leader that wants something written in a certain way, or is writing on behalf of a brand<\/a>, having a tone of voice analysis and using it in Chat GPT is an absolute must.<\/p>\n[00:11:40] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love that approach.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve even used it for myself on a copy that I had previously written. And when I went back and I looked at, I\u2019m like, I obviously just kind of mailed that one in. I really didn\u2019t pay attention or pay a lot of time because again, it\u2019s for the social media hat, my personal side hustle. So sometimes I\u2019m doing things really, really rapidly because maybe I have 20 minutes on a Thursday night to put up a contact page or landing page or something like that.<\/p>\nSo I can feed all that into. Check GPT and get a much better, you know, several paragraphs or whatever of copy cause I\u2019ve taken the time to develop a Mike Allton\u2019s voice, custom GPT<\/a>. And in fact, I think I\u2019m going to do a whole episode just on, on how to do that for you folks. But I also loved your point about simulated data is something we\u2019ve talked about a couple of times on the show and a friend of the show and former guest. Chris Penn has spoken at length about how to create simulated audiences and simulated data. So I\u2019ll link to some of those in the show, because I think that\u2019s a really powerful use case.<\/p>\n[00:12:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\nHe has a great tool to create an ICP persona. He does.<\/p>\n[00:12:46] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
The next is Establish. Here, we identify what the opportunities are for AI, define goals, KPIs. And really start to select the pilots that, that align with the business goals. And then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach, and probably even decide on new pilots to do.<\/p>\n
And the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated.<\/p>\n
[00:00:59] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Welcome to AI in Marketing: Unpacked, where we simplify AI for impactful marketing. I\u2019m your host, Mike Allton here to guide you through the world of artificial intelligence and its transformative impact on marketing strategies. Each episode, we\u2019ll break down AI concepts into manageable insights and explore practical applications that can supercharge your marketing efforts.<\/p>\nWhether you\u2019re an experienced marketer just starting to explore the potential of AI, this podcast will equip you with the knowledge and tools you need to succeed. So tune in and let\u2019s unlock the power of AI together.<\/p>\nGreetings program. Welcome back to AI in Marketing: Unpacked, where I\u2019m selfishly used this time to pick the brains of experts at keeping up with and integrating or layering artificial intelligence into social media, content, advertising, search, and all these other areas of digital marketing. You get to learn too. Subscribe to be shown and prepare yourself and your brand for this AI revolution<\/svg><\/span><\/a> and come out ahead. And listen, imagine stepping out of a fortune 500 boardroom after 16 years, only to find yourself on the cutting edge of AI innovation.<\/p>\nSound like a plot twist and a tech thriller, right? Well, for our guest today, it\u2019s not fiction. It\u2019s her extraordinary career path in today\u2019s fast paced marketing world. Staying ahead often means embracing the unknown, but what happens when that unknown is as fast and complex as artificial intelligence? Many marketers find themselves at a crossroads wondering how to bridge the gap between traditional strategies and this brave new world of AI.<\/p>\nThis is where our guest journey begins. Becomes not just inspiring, but invaluable today. We have the privilege of speaking with Lauren Schiavone, a visionary leader who\u2019s made the leap from corporate titan to AI trailblazer. Lauren isn\u2019t just any former executive with nearly two decades of consumer insights, brand and sales leadership experience at Procter and Gamble.<\/p>\nShe\u2019s been the driving force behind some of the most recognizable brands in your home. Her work at P and G was consistently recognized as best in class. And she was even selected as one of Progressive Grocer Industry\u2019s best and brightest under 40, but Lauren\u2019s story doesn\u2019t end in the corporate world, in a bold move she stepped away from her prestigious role to dive headfirst into the world of AI. Now, as a consultant and thought leader, Lauren is on a mission to demystify AI for business<\/a> leaders, particularly in the realms of consumer goods, brand innovation, and retail. Hey, Lauren, welcome to the show.<\/p>\n[00:03:23] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Thank you so much, Mike.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s great to be here.<\/p>\n[00:03:25] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So excited to have you on and to, quite frankly, pick your brain. Cause I think this is going to be really insightful for me personally. And for all of you listening, Lauren, if you could just start by talking us through that decision to transition from corporate and focusing on AI and marketing.<\/p>\n[00:03:42] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. So Mike I had a incredible opportunity at P& G to be there for 16 years and work on some incredible brands. Actually started at P& G and consumer insights. Then I moved into brand management and finally really my interest in e commerce is what took me to sales in my final chapter at P& G.<\/p>\nAnd at P& G, I spent a lot of time working on product, consumer and retail innovation. And in doing so that\u2019s where I really developed my passion for leveraging innovation to drive business growth. And last year I made a very personal decision to leave P& G. I have two young children and I wanted the flexibility to spend more time with them.<\/p>\nIn this time away, I finally had a moment to lift my head up from the corporate world and see the broader landscape. And that\u2019s when it became very clear to me. AI is going to revolutionize everything, not just marketing and sales, but every industry, every career and the way we live our lives. In fact, early in my journey, I was walking with a former executive at P and G.<\/p>\nAnd she said to me, Oh, Lauren, this is like the early days of e comm to which I said, no, Amy, this is not like the early days of e comm e comm was a new way for shoppers to shop, right? A new modality, if you will. AI will transform absolutely everything. So I was super inspired, inspired by the possibility.<\/p>\nSo I really decided to dive in and immerse myself in learning and really figuring out how AI can be a growth accelerator. And of course, just like you probably Mike, my AI learning journey is ongoing. There is something new to learn every day. But I\u2019m focused on helping non technical leaders really harness that power of AI.<\/p>\nSo this past summer, I decided to combine my 16 years of experience leading business growth and innovation at P and G combined with my industry leading AI education<\/svg><\/span><\/a> to form wonder consulting. So with wonder consulting, I want to empower leaders to thrive in this AI driven future and use A I to accelerate business growth and to do it in a way where I demystify a I really to make it practical, practical and actionable, particularly for non technical leaders to use it for growth.<\/p>\n[00:05:55] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Love that there\u2019s there\u2019s so many aspects of your journey in that answer, quite frankly, that I can relate to starting with the first of moving from corporate wanting to spend time with your kids. I have two girls. One of them turns 10 tomorrow, the other\u2019s 13. And I just, I love being able to work from home.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve been working from home for their entire lives. So I\u2019m, you know, a real part of their life. And, and to your point, the AI journey is very much the same. It was kind of a thunderbolt to me late in 2023 that, wow, this is to your point, changing my life. Everything. It\u2019s not just changing marketing. It\u2019s not just changing sales or e commerce.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s literally the fourth industrial revolution. And it\u2019s something that we have to pay attention to. And I loved your point about how it\u2019s changing every day. There\u2019s news and developments and new apps every single day. That\u2019s something we don\u2019t talk a lot about on this show.<\/p>\n[00:06:46] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:06:47] Mike Allton:<\/strong> but to your point, you know, recording this on October 9th and I was just playing with OpenAI\u2019s new Canvas feature just before we got on this call, this innovative way to edit a document or collaborate in real time because I had a document that Colleagues, an actual, like a word document or a Google doc that colleagues had left comments on.<\/p>\nAnd I wanted AI\u2019s help addressing those comments and integrating them into this larger four page piece of text. So I basically duplicated it in canvas and got AI to weigh in and help me address these colleagues concerns. And I could not have done that without canvas, which is super cool. But you talked about.<\/p>\nYeah. You talked about your consumer insights background at PNG. And I\u2019m wondering how that\u2019s kind of influenced your approach to AI implementation and marketing strategies<\/a>.<\/p>\n[00:07:38] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So at PNG, we believe that consumer is boss and that belief really shapes a lot of the work that I do. And I want the consumer to be at the forefront of every strategy and every piece of work that I\u2019m working on.<\/p>\nAnd AI really is an incredible tool to allow us to uncover consumer insights. Thanks. Not just more quickly and deeply but in a more real time way than traditional methods. So I\u2019ll share with you a few examples of how this comes to life for me across a couple different, you know, quote, consumer groups.<\/p>\nSo the first example highlights how you might use a tool like ChatGBT to gain consumer insights. So I was actually working with a client who wanted to understand consumer insights related to the different service offerings that they had. The client needed quick insights, right? So I use Chat GBT to draft consumer personas and develop a discussion guide based on our business questions.<\/p>\nAnd then at Chat GBT simulate a focus group. This part blew my mind because as someone who has spent hours in the backroom of traditional research, the speed and effectiveness of this tool was just, I mind blowing for me. Chat GBT even summarized the results. They provided the top lines, you know, that I could share with my client.<\/p>\nAnd look, I know what many of you listeners are probably thinking. Wait, these are not real consumers and you\u2019re right. These are AI generated consumers, but the model is trained on so much consumer data that it\u2019s able to simulate consumer sentiment and beliefs very, very quickly. accurately. And look, AI research or should never be a replacement for traditional research, but it\u2019s an incredible tool for early stage brainstorming, ideation, or gaining even initial feedback as you think about how to shape your research plans.<\/p>\nThe next example, you know, it\u2019s not always the traditional consumer. Sometimes the consumer is the person that we\u2019re selling to. So maybe for you, it\u2019s the buyer or someone at your retail partner or someone like that. So LLMs also offer a powerful way to ensure that you are listening to those key stakeholders.<\/p>\nSo one of the things I like to do with many of my friends in sales is we create a detailed buyer persona. In that persona, we include things like the buyer\u2019s background, their goals, their objections their maybe personal things that they\u2019re interested. And if possible, I also like to incorporate any sort of call notes or previous communication<\/svg><\/span><\/a> back and forth with the buyer.<\/p>\nOnce we have that persona, it\u2019s an incredibly valuable tool. So imagine the scenario where you say, act as my buyer and provide me feedback on this business plan, or act as my buyer, or and provide me feedback on this new brand artwork. It allows you to get insight and allows you to optimize what you\u2019re working on by really listening to the voice of the person that matters most in the discussion.<\/p>\nAnd then last, you know, sometimes the quote consumer is just our client or a key leader in the organization. In these cases, I like to use Chat GBT to perform what I call tone of voice analysis. So this really helps you ensure that the content<\/a> or the tool or whatever you\u2019re developing really reflects the style and preferences of that person.<\/p>\nIn order to do this, I gather tons of documents, videos. anything that you might have and organize it in AI and create a tone of voice analysis, then I use ChatGBT to refine content in that, in that tone. So for example, I\u2019ll say, Hey, ChatGBT, act as John and write this update this document as if it\u2019s in John\u2019s writing, or how could this sound more like me?<\/p>\nAnd honestly, this has been a game changer for anyone who is creating content on behalf of someone else or has a leader that wants something written in a certain way, or is writing on behalf of a brand<\/a>, having a tone of voice analysis and using it in Chat GPT is an absolute must.<\/p>\n[00:11:40] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love that approach.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve even used it for myself on a copy that I had previously written. And when I went back and I looked at, I\u2019m like, I obviously just kind of mailed that one in. I really didn\u2019t pay attention or pay a lot of time because again, it\u2019s for the social media hat, my personal side hustle. So sometimes I\u2019m doing things really, really rapidly because maybe I have 20 minutes on a Thursday night to put up a contact page or landing page or something like that.<\/p>\nSo I can feed all that into. Check GPT and get a much better, you know, several paragraphs or whatever of copy cause I\u2019ve taken the time to develop a Mike Allton\u2019s voice, custom GPT<\/a>. And in fact, I think I\u2019m going to do a whole episode just on, on how to do that for you folks. But I also loved your point about simulated data is something we\u2019ve talked about a couple of times on the show and a friend of the show and former guest. Chris Penn has spoken at length about how to create simulated audiences and simulated data. So I\u2019ll link to some of those in the show, because I think that\u2019s a really powerful use case.<\/p>\n[00:12:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\nHe has a great tool to create an ICP persona. He does.<\/p>\n[00:12:46] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
Whether you\u2019re an experienced marketer just starting to explore the potential of AI, this podcast will equip you with the knowledge and tools you need to succeed. So tune in and let\u2019s unlock the power of AI together.<\/p>\n
Greetings program. Welcome back to AI in Marketing: Unpacked, where I\u2019m selfishly used this time to pick the brains of experts at keeping up with and integrating or layering artificial intelligence into social media, content, advertising, search, and all these other areas of digital marketing. You get to learn too. Subscribe to be shown and prepare yourself and your brand for this AI revolution<\/svg><\/span><\/a> and come out ahead. And listen, imagine stepping out of a fortune 500 boardroom after 16 years, only to find yourself on the cutting edge of AI innovation.<\/p>\nSound like a plot twist and a tech thriller, right? Well, for our guest today, it\u2019s not fiction. It\u2019s her extraordinary career path in today\u2019s fast paced marketing world. Staying ahead often means embracing the unknown, but what happens when that unknown is as fast and complex as artificial intelligence? Many marketers find themselves at a crossroads wondering how to bridge the gap between traditional strategies and this brave new world of AI.<\/p>\nThis is where our guest journey begins. Becomes not just inspiring, but invaluable today. We have the privilege of speaking with Lauren Schiavone, a visionary leader who\u2019s made the leap from corporate titan to AI trailblazer. Lauren isn\u2019t just any former executive with nearly two decades of consumer insights, brand and sales leadership experience at Procter and Gamble.<\/p>\nShe\u2019s been the driving force behind some of the most recognizable brands in your home. Her work at P and G was consistently recognized as best in class. And she was even selected as one of Progressive Grocer Industry\u2019s best and brightest under 40, but Lauren\u2019s story doesn\u2019t end in the corporate world, in a bold move she stepped away from her prestigious role to dive headfirst into the world of AI. Now, as a consultant and thought leader, Lauren is on a mission to demystify AI for business<\/a> leaders, particularly in the realms of consumer goods, brand innovation, and retail. Hey, Lauren, welcome to the show.<\/p>\n[00:03:23] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Thank you so much, Mike.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s great to be here.<\/p>\n[00:03:25] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So excited to have you on and to, quite frankly, pick your brain. Cause I think this is going to be really insightful for me personally. And for all of you listening, Lauren, if you could just start by talking us through that decision to transition from corporate and focusing on AI and marketing.<\/p>\n[00:03:42] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. So Mike I had a incredible opportunity at P& G to be there for 16 years and work on some incredible brands. Actually started at P& G and consumer insights. Then I moved into brand management and finally really my interest in e commerce is what took me to sales in my final chapter at P& G.<\/p>\nAnd at P& G, I spent a lot of time working on product, consumer and retail innovation. And in doing so that\u2019s where I really developed my passion for leveraging innovation to drive business growth. And last year I made a very personal decision to leave P& G. I have two young children and I wanted the flexibility to spend more time with them.<\/p>\nIn this time away, I finally had a moment to lift my head up from the corporate world and see the broader landscape. And that\u2019s when it became very clear to me. AI is going to revolutionize everything, not just marketing and sales, but every industry, every career and the way we live our lives. In fact, early in my journey, I was walking with a former executive at P and G.<\/p>\nAnd she said to me, Oh, Lauren, this is like the early days of e comm to which I said, no, Amy, this is not like the early days of e comm e comm was a new way for shoppers to shop, right? A new modality, if you will. AI will transform absolutely everything. So I was super inspired, inspired by the possibility.<\/p>\nSo I really decided to dive in and immerse myself in learning and really figuring out how AI can be a growth accelerator. And of course, just like you probably Mike, my AI learning journey is ongoing. There is something new to learn every day. But I\u2019m focused on helping non technical leaders really harness that power of AI.<\/p>\nSo this past summer, I decided to combine my 16 years of experience leading business growth and innovation at P and G combined with my industry leading AI education<\/svg><\/span><\/a> to form wonder consulting. So with wonder consulting, I want to empower leaders to thrive in this AI driven future and use A I to accelerate business growth and to do it in a way where I demystify a I really to make it practical, practical and actionable, particularly for non technical leaders to use it for growth.<\/p>\n[00:05:55] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Love that there\u2019s there\u2019s so many aspects of your journey in that answer, quite frankly, that I can relate to starting with the first of moving from corporate wanting to spend time with your kids. I have two girls. One of them turns 10 tomorrow, the other\u2019s 13. And I just, I love being able to work from home.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve been working from home for their entire lives. So I\u2019m, you know, a real part of their life. And, and to your point, the AI journey is very much the same. It was kind of a thunderbolt to me late in 2023 that, wow, this is to your point, changing my life. Everything. It\u2019s not just changing marketing. It\u2019s not just changing sales or e commerce.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s literally the fourth industrial revolution. And it\u2019s something that we have to pay attention to. And I loved your point about how it\u2019s changing every day. There\u2019s news and developments and new apps every single day. That\u2019s something we don\u2019t talk a lot about on this show.<\/p>\n[00:06:46] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:06:47] Mike Allton:<\/strong> but to your point, you know, recording this on October 9th and I was just playing with OpenAI\u2019s new Canvas feature just before we got on this call, this innovative way to edit a document or collaborate in real time because I had a document that Colleagues, an actual, like a word document or a Google doc that colleagues had left comments on.<\/p>\nAnd I wanted AI\u2019s help addressing those comments and integrating them into this larger four page piece of text. So I basically duplicated it in canvas and got AI to weigh in and help me address these colleagues concerns. And I could not have done that without canvas, which is super cool. But you talked about.<\/p>\nYeah. You talked about your consumer insights background at PNG. And I\u2019m wondering how that\u2019s kind of influenced your approach to AI implementation and marketing strategies<\/a>.<\/p>\n[00:07:38] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So at PNG, we believe that consumer is boss and that belief really shapes a lot of the work that I do. And I want the consumer to be at the forefront of every strategy and every piece of work that I\u2019m working on.<\/p>\nAnd AI really is an incredible tool to allow us to uncover consumer insights. Thanks. Not just more quickly and deeply but in a more real time way than traditional methods. So I\u2019ll share with you a few examples of how this comes to life for me across a couple different, you know, quote, consumer groups.<\/p>\nSo the first example highlights how you might use a tool like ChatGBT to gain consumer insights. So I was actually working with a client who wanted to understand consumer insights related to the different service offerings that they had. The client needed quick insights, right? So I use Chat GBT to draft consumer personas and develop a discussion guide based on our business questions.<\/p>\nAnd then at Chat GBT simulate a focus group. This part blew my mind because as someone who has spent hours in the backroom of traditional research, the speed and effectiveness of this tool was just, I mind blowing for me. Chat GBT even summarized the results. They provided the top lines, you know, that I could share with my client.<\/p>\nAnd look, I know what many of you listeners are probably thinking. Wait, these are not real consumers and you\u2019re right. These are AI generated consumers, but the model is trained on so much consumer data that it\u2019s able to simulate consumer sentiment and beliefs very, very quickly. accurately. And look, AI research or should never be a replacement for traditional research, but it\u2019s an incredible tool for early stage brainstorming, ideation, or gaining even initial feedback as you think about how to shape your research plans.<\/p>\nThe next example, you know, it\u2019s not always the traditional consumer. Sometimes the consumer is the person that we\u2019re selling to. So maybe for you, it\u2019s the buyer or someone at your retail partner or someone like that. So LLMs also offer a powerful way to ensure that you are listening to those key stakeholders.<\/p>\nSo one of the things I like to do with many of my friends in sales is we create a detailed buyer persona. In that persona, we include things like the buyer\u2019s background, their goals, their objections their maybe personal things that they\u2019re interested. And if possible, I also like to incorporate any sort of call notes or previous communication<\/svg><\/span><\/a> back and forth with the buyer.<\/p>\nOnce we have that persona, it\u2019s an incredibly valuable tool. So imagine the scenario where you say, act as my buyer and provide me feedback on this business plan, or act as my buyer, or and provide me feedback on this new brand artwork. It allows you to get insight and allows you to optimize what you\u2019re working on by really listening to the voice of the person that matters most in the discussion.<\/p>\nAnd then last, you know, sometimes the quote consumer is just our client or a key leader in the organization. In these cases, I like to use Chat GBT to perform what I call tone of voice analysis. So this really helps you ensure that the content<\/a> or the tool or whatever you\u2019re developing really reflects the style and preferences of that person.<\/p>\nIn order to do this, I gather tons of documents, videos. anything that you might have and organize it in AI and create a tone of voice analysis, then I use ChatGBT to refine content in that, in that tone. So for example, I\u2019ll say, Hey, ChatGBT, act as John and write this update this document as if it\u2019s in John\u2019s writing, or how could this sound more like me?<\/p>\nAnd honestly, this has been a game changer for anyone who is creating content on behalf of someone else or has a leader that wants something written in a certain way, or is writing on behalf of a brand<\/a>, having a tone of voice analysis and using it in Chat GPT is an absolute must.<\/p>\n[00:11:40] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love that approach.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve even used it for myself on a copy that I had previously written. And when I went back and I looked at, I\u2019m like, I obviously just kind of mailed that one in. I really didn\u2019t pay attention or pay a lot of time because again, it\u2019s for the social media hat, my personal side hustle. So sometimes I\u2019m doing things really, really rapidly because maybe I have 20 minutes on a Thursday night to put up a contact page or landing page or something like that.<\/p>\nSo I can feed all that into. Check GPT and get a much better, you know, several paragraphs or whatever of copy cause I\u2019ve taken the time to develop a Mike Allton\u2019s voice, custom GPT<\/a>. And in fact, I think I\u2019m going to do a whole episode just on, on how to do that for you folks. But I also loved your point about simulated data is something we\u2019ve talked about a couple of times on the show and a friend of the show and former guest. Chris Penn has spoken at length about how to create simulated audiences and simulated data. So I\u2019ll link to some of those in the show, because I think that\u2019s a really powerful use case.<\/p>\n[00:12:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\nHe has a great tool to create an ICP persona. He does.<\/p>\n[00:12:46] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
Sound like a plot twist and a tech thriller, right? Well, for our guest today, it\u2019s not fiction. It\u2019s her extraordinary career path in today\u2019s fast paced marketing world. Staying ahead often means embracing the unknown, but what happens when that unknown is as fast and complex as artificial intelligence? Many marketers find themselves at a crossroads wondering how to bridge the gap between traditional strategies and this brave new world of AI.<\/p>\n
This is where our guest journey begins. Becomes not just inspiring, but invaluable today. We have the privilege of speaking with Lauren Schiavone, a visionary leader who\u2019s made the leap from corporate titan to AI trailblazer. Lauren isn\u2019t just any former executive with nearly two decades of consumer insights, brand and sales leadership experience at Procter and Gamble.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s been the driving force behind some of the most recognizable brands in your home. Her work at P and G was consistently recognized as best in class. And she was even selected as one of Progressive Grocer Industry\u2019s best and brightest under 40, but Lauren\u2019s story doesn\u2019t end in the corporate world, in a bold move she stepped away from her prestigious role to dive headfirst into the world of AI. Now, as a consultant and thought leader, Lauren is on a mission to demystify AI for business<\/a> leaders, particularly in the realms of consumer goods, brand innovation, and retail. Hey, Lauren, welcome to the show.<\/p>\n[00:03:23] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Thank you so much, Mike.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s great to be here.<\/p>\n[00:03:25] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So excited to have you on and to, quite frankly, pick your brain. Cause I think this is going to be really insightful for me personally. And for all of you listening, Lauren, if you could just start by talking us through that decision to transition from corporate and focusing on AI and marketing.<\/p>\n[00:03:42] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. So Mike I had a incredible opportunity at P& G to be there for 16 years and work on some incredible brands. Actually started at P& G and consumer insights. Then I moved into brand management and finally really my interest in e commerce is what took me to sales in my final chapter at P& G.<\/p>\nAnd at P& G, I spent a lot of time working on product, consumer and retail innovation. And in doing so that\u2019s where I really developed my passion for leveraging innovation to drive business growth. And last year I made a very personal decision to leave P& G. I have two young children and I wanted the flexibility to spend more time with them.<\/p>\nIn this time away, I finally had a moment to lift my head up from the corporate world and see the broader landscape. And that\u2019s when it became very clear to me. AI is going to revolutionize everything, not just marketing and sales, but every industry, every career and the way we live our lives. In fact, early in my journey, I was walking with a former executive at P and G.<\/p>\nAnd she said to me, Oh, Lauren, this is like the early days of e comm to which I said, no, Amy, this is not like the early days of e comm e comm was a new way for shoppers to shop, right? A new modality, if you will. AI will transform absolutely everything. So I was super inspired, inspired by the possibility.<\/p>\nSo I really decided to dive in and immerse myself in learning and really figuring out how AI can be a growth accelerator. And of course, just like you probably Mike, my AI learning journey is ongoing. There is something new to learn every day. But I\u2019m focused on helping non technical leaders really harness that power of AI.<\/p>\nSo this past summer, I decided to combine my 16 years of experience leading business growth and innovation at P and G combined with my industry leading AI education<\/svg><\/span><\/a> to form wonder consulting. So with wonder consulting, I want to empower leaders to thrive in this AI driven future and use A I to accelerate business growth and to do it in a way where I demystify a I really to make it practical, practical and actionable, particularly for non technical leaders to use it for growth.<\/p>\n[00:05:55] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Love that there\u2019s there\u2019s so many aspects of your journey in that answer, quite frankly, that I can relate to starting with the first of moving from corporate wanting to spend time with your kids. I have two girls. One of them turns 10 tomorrow, the other\u2019s 13. And I just, I love being able to work from home.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve been working from home for their entire lives. So I\u2019m, you know, a real part of their life. And, and to your point, the AI journey is very much the same. It was kind of a thunderbolt to me late in 2023 that, wow, this is to your point, changing my life. Everything. It\u2019s not just changing marketing. It\u2019s not just changing sales or e commerce.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s literally the fourth industrial revolution. And it\u2019s something that we have to pay attention to. And I loved your point about how it\u2019s changing every day. There\u2019s news and developments and new apps every single day. That\u2019s something we don\u2019t talk a lot about on this show.<\/p>\n[00:06:46] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:06:47] Mike Allton:<\/strong> but to your point, you know, recording this on October 9th and I was just playing with OpenAI\u2019s new Canvas feature just before we got on this call, this innovative way to edit a document or collaborate in real time because I had a document that Colleagues, an actual, like a word document or a Google doc that colleagues had left comments on.<\/p>\nAnd I wanted AI\u2019s help addressing those comments and integrating them into this larger four page piece of text. So I basically duplicated it in canvas and got AI to weigh in and help me address these colleagues concerns. And I could not have done that without canvas, which is super cool. But you talked about.<\/p>\nYeah. You talked about your consumer insights background at PNG. And I\u2019m wondering how that\u2019s kind of influenced your approach to AI implementation and marketing strategies<\/a>.<\/p>\n[00:07:38] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So at PNG, we believe that consumer is boss and that belief really shapes a lot of the work that I do. And I want the consumer to be at the forefront of every strategy and every piece of work that I\u2019m working on.<\/p>\nAnd AI really is an incredible tool to allow us to uncover consumer insights. Thanks. Not just more quickly and deeply but in a more real time way than traditional methods. So I\u2019ll share with you a few examples of how this comes to life for me across a couple different, you know, quote, consumer groups.<\/p>\nSo the first example highlights how you might use a tool like ChatGBT to gain consumer insights. So I was actually working with a client who wanted to understand consumer insights related to the different service offerings that they had. The client needed quick insights, right? So I use Chat GBT to draft consumer personas and develop a discussion guide based on our business questions.<\/p>\nAnd then at Chat GBT simulate a focus group. This part blew my mind because as someone who has spent hours in the backroom of traditional research, the speed and effectiveness of this tool was just, I mind blowing for me. Chat GBT even summarized the results. They provided the top lines, you know, that I could share with my client.<\/p>\nAnd look, I know what many of you listeners are probably thinking. Wait, these are not real consumers and you\u2019re right. These are AI generated consumers, but the model is trained on so much consumer data that it\u2019s able to simulate consumer sentiment and beliefs very, very quickly. accurately. And look, AI research or should never be a replacement for traditional research, but it\u2019s an incredible tool for early stage brainstorming, ideation, or gaining even initial feedback as you think about how to shape your research plans.<\/p>\nThe next example, you know, it\u2019s not always the traditional consumer. Sometimes the consumer is the person that we\u2019re selling to. So maybe for you, it\u2019s the buyer or someone at your retail partner or someone like that. So LLMs also offer a powerful way to ensure that you are listening to those key stakeholders.<\/p>\nSo one of the things I like to do with many of my friends in sales is we create a detailed buyer persona. In that persona, we include things like the buyer\u2019s background, their goals, their objections their maybe personal things that they\u2019re interested. And if possible, I also like to incorporate any sort of call notes or previous communication<\/svg><\/span><\/a> back and forth with the buyer.<\/p>\nOnce we have that persona, it\u2019s an incredibly valuable tool. So imagine the scenario where you say, act as my buyer and provide me feedback on this business plan, or act as my buyer, or and provide me feedback on this new brand artwork. It allows you to get insight and allows you to optimize what you\u2019re working on by really listening to the voice of the person that matters most in the discussion.<\/p>\nAnd then last, you know, sometimes the quote consumer is just our client or a key leader in the organization. In these cases, I like to use Chat GBT to perform what I call tone of voice analysis. So this really helps you ensure that the content<\/a> or the tool or whatever you\u2019re developing really reflects the style and preferences of that person.<\/p>\nIn order to do this, I gather tons of documents, videos. anything that you might have and organize it in AI and create a tone of voice analysis, then I use ChatGBT to refine content in that, in that tone. So for example, I\u2019ll say, Hey, ChatGBT, act as John and write this update this document as if it\u2019s in John\u2019s writing, or how could this sound more like me?<\/p>\nAnd honestly, this has been a game changer for anyone who is creating content on behalf of someone else or has a leader that wants something written in a certain way, or is writing on behalf of a brand<\/a>, having a tone of voice analysis and using it in Chat GPT is an absolute must.<\/p>\n[00:11:40] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love that approach.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve even used it for myself on a copy that I had previously written. And when I went back and I looked at, I\u2019m like, I obviously just kind of mailed that one in. I really didn\u2019t pay attention or pay a lot of time because again, it\u2019s for the social media hat, my personal side hustle. So sometimes I\u2019m doing things really, really rapidly because maybe I have 20 minutes on a Thursday night to put up a contact page or landing page or something like that.<\/p>\nSo I can feed all that into. Check GPT and get a much better, you know, several paragraphs or whatever of copy cause I\u2019ve taken the time to develop a Mike Allton\u2019s voice, custom GPT<\/a>. And in fact, I think I\u2019m going to do a whole episode just on, on how to do that for you folks. But I also loved your point about simulated data is something we\u2019ve talked about a couple of times on the show and a friend of the show and former guest. Chris Penn has spoken at length about how to create simulated audiences and simulated data. So I\u2019ll link to some of those in the show, because I think that\u2019s a really powerful use case.<\/p>\n[00:12:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\nHe has a great tool to create an ICP persona. He does.<\/p>\n[00:12:46] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
[00:03:23] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Thank you so much, Mike.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s great to be here.<\/p>\n[00:03:25] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So excited to have you on and to, quite frankly, pick your brain. Cause I think this is going to be really insightful for me personally. And for all of you listening, Lauren, if you could just start by talking us through that decision to transition from corporate and focusing on AI and marketing.<\/p>\n[00:03:42] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. So Mike I had a incredible opportunity at P& G to be there for 16 years and work on some incredible brands. Actually started at P& G and consumer insights. Then I moved into brand management and finally really my interest in e commerce is what took me to sales in my final chapter at P& G.<\/p>\nAnd at P& G, I spent a lot of time working on product, consumer and retail innovation. And in doing so that\u2019s where I really developed my passion for leveraging innovation to drive business growth. And last year I made a very personal decision to leave P& G. I have two young children and I wanted the flexibility to spend more time with them.<\/p>\nIn this time away, I finally had a moment to lift my head up from the corporate world and see the broader landscape. And that\u2019s when it became very clear to me. AI is going to revolutionize everything, not just marketing and sales, but every industry, every career and the way we live our lives. In fact, early in my journey, I was walking with a former executive at P and G.<\/p>\nAnd she said to me, Oh, Lauren, this is like the early days of e comm to which I said, no, Amy, this is not like the early days of e comm e comm was a new way for shoppers to shop, right? A new modality, if you will. AI will transform absolutely everything. So I was super inspired, inspired by the possibility.<\/p>\nSo I really decided to dive in and immerse myself in learning and really figuring out how AI can be a growth accelerator. And of course, just like you probably Mike, my AI learning journey is ongoing. There is something new to learn every day. But I\u2019m focused on helping non technical leaders really harness that power of AI.<\/p>\nSo this past summer, I decided to combine my 16 years of experience leading business growth and innovation at P and G combined with my industry leading AI education<\/svg><\/span><\/a> to form wonder consulting. So with wonder consulting, I want to empower leaders to thrive in this AI driven future and use A I to accelerate business growth and to do it in a way where I demystify a I really to make it practical, practical and actionable, particularly for non technical leaders to use it for growth.<\/p>\n[00:05:55] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Love that there\u2019s there\u2019s so many aspects of your journey in that answer, quite frankly, that I can relate to starting with the first of moving from corporate wanting to spend time with your kids. I have two girls. One of them turns 10 tomorrow, the other\u2019s 13. And I just, I love being able to work from home.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve been working from home for their entire lives. So I\u2019m, you know, a real part of their life. And, and to your point, the AI journey is very much the same. It was kind of a thunderbolt to me late in 2023 that, wow, this is to your point, changing my life. Everything. It\u2019s not just changing marketing. It\u2019s not just changing sales or e commerce.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s literally the fourth industrial revolution. And it\u2019s something that we have to pay attention to. And I loved your point about how it\u2019s changing every day. There\u2019s news and developments and new apps every single day. That\u2019s something we don\u2019t talk a lot about on this show.<\/p>\n[00:06:46] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:06:47] Mike Allton:<\/strong> but to your point, you know, recording this on October 9th and I was just playing with OpenAI\u2019s new Canvas feature just before we got on this call, this innovative way to edit a document or collaborate in real time because I had a document that Colleagues, an actual, like a word document or a Google doc that colleagues had left comments on.<\/p>\nAnd I wanted AI\u2019s help addressing those comments and integrating them into this larger four page piece of text. So I basically duplicated it in canvas and got AI to weigh in and help me address these colleagues concerns. And I could not have done that without canvas, which is super cool. But you talked about.<\/p>\nYeah. You talked about your consumer insights background at PNG. And I\u2019m wondering how that\u2019s kind of influenced your approach to AI implementation and marketing strategies<\/a>.<\/p>\n[00:07:38] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So at PNG, we believe that consumer is boss and that belief really shapes a lot of the work that I do. And I want the consumer to be at the forefront of every strategy and every piece of work that I\u2019m working on.<\/p>\nAnd AI really is an incredible tool to allow us to uncover consumer insights. Thanks. Not just more quickly and deeply but in a more real time way than traditional methods. So I\u2019ll share with you a few examples of how this comes to life for me across a couple different, you know, quote, consumer groups.<\/p>\nSo the first example highlights how you might use a tool like ChatGBT to gain consumer insights. So I was actually working with a client who wanted to understand consumer insights related to the different service offerings that they had. The client needed quick insights, right? So I use Chat GBT to draft consumer personas and develop a discussion guide based on our business questions.<\/p>\nAnd then at Chat GBT simulate a focus group. This part blew my mind because as someone who has spent hours in the backroom of traditional research, the speed and effectiveness of this tool was just, I mind blowing for me. Chat GBT even summarized the results. They provided the top lines, you know, that I could share with my client.<\/p>\nAnd look, I know what many of you listeners are probably thinking. Wait, these are not real consumers and you\u2019re right. These are AI generated consumers, but the model is trained on so much consumer data that it\u2019s able to simulate consumer sentiment and beliefs very, very quickly. accurately. And look, AI research or should never be a replacement for traditional research, but it\u2019s an incredible tool for early stage brainstorming, ideation, or gaining even initial feedback as you think about how to shape your research plans.<\/p>\nThe next example, you know, it\u2019s not always the traditional consumer. Sometimes the consumer is the person that we\u2019re selling to. So maybe for you, it\u2019s the buyer or someone at your retail partner or someone like that. So LLMs also offer a powerful way to ensure that you are listening to those key stakeholders.<\/p>\nSo one of the things I like to do with many of my friends in sales is we create a detailed buyer persona. In that persona, we include things like the buyer\u2019s background, their goals, their objections their maybe personal things that they\u2019re interested. And if possible, I also like to incorporate any sort of call notes or previous communication<\/svg><\/span><\/a> back and forth with the buyer.<\/p>\nOnce we have that persona, it\u2019s an incredibly valuable tool. So imagine the scenario where you say, act as my buyer and provide me feedback on this business plan, or act as my buyer, or and provide me feedback on this new brand artwork. It allows you to get insight and allows you to optimize what you\u2019re working on by really listening to the voice of the person that matters most in the discussion.<\/p>\nAnd then last, you know, sometimes the quote consumer is just our client or a key leader in the organization. In these cases, I like to use Chat GBT to perform what I call tone of voice analysis. So this really helps you ensure that the content<\/a> or the tool or whatever you\u2019re developing really reflects the style and preferences of that person.<\/p>\nIn order to do this, I gather tons of documents, videos. anything that you might have and organize it in AI and create a tone of voice analysis, then I use ChatGBT to refine content in that, in that tone. So for example, I\u2019ll say, Hey, ChatGBT, act as John and write this update this document as if it\u2019s in John\u2019s writing, or how could this sound more like me?<\/p>\nAnd honestly, this has been a game changer for anyone who is creating content on behalf of someone else or has a leader that wants something written in a certain way, or is writing on behalf of a brand<\/a>, having a tone of voice analysis and using it in Chat GPT is an absolute must.<\/p>\n[00:11:40] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love that approach.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve even used it for myself on a copy that I had previously written. And when I went back and I looked at, I\u2019m like, I obviously just kind of mailed that one in. I really didn\u2019t pay attention or pay a lot of time because again, it\u2019s for the social media hat, my personal side hustle. So sometimes I\u2019m doing things really, really rapidly because maybe I have 20 minutes on a Thursday night to put up a contact page or landing page or something like that.<\/p>\nSo I can feed all that into. Check GPT and get a much better, you know, several paragraphs or whatever of copy cause I\u2019ve taken the time to develop a Mike Allton\u2019s voice, custom GPT<\/a>. And in fact, I think I\u2019m going to do a whole episode just on, on how to do that for you folks. But I also loved your point about simulated data is something we\u2019ve talked about a couple of times on the show and a friend of the show and former guest. Chris Penn has spoken at length about how to create simulated audiences and simulated data. So I\u2019ll link to some of those in the show, because I think that\u2019s a really powerful use case.<\/p>\n[00:12:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\nHe has a great tool to create an ICP persona. He does.<\/p>\n[00:12:46] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
It\u2019s great to be here.<\/p>\n
[00:03:25] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So excited to have you on and to, quite frankly, pick your brain. Cause I think this is going to be really insightful for me personally. And for all of you listening, Lauren, if you could just start by talking us through that decision to transition from corporate and focusing on AI and marketing.<\/p>\n[00:03:42] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. So Mike I had a incredible opportunity at P& G to be there for 16 years and work on some incredible brands. Actually started at P& G and consumer insights. Then I moved into brand management and finally really my interest in e commerce is what took me to sales in my final chapter at P& G.<\/p>\nAnd at P& G, I spent a lot of time working on product, consumer and retail innovation. And in doing so that\u2019s where I really developed my passion for leveraging innovation to drive business growth. And last year I made a very personal decision to leave P& G. I have two young children and I wanted the flexibility to spend more time with them.<\/p>\nIn this time away, I finally had a moment to lift my head up from the corporate world and see the broader landscape. And that\u2019s when it became very clear to me. AI is going to revolutionize everything, not just marketing and sales, but every industry, every career and the way we live our lives. In fact, early in my journey, I was walking with a former executive at P and G.<\/p>\nAnd she said to me, Oh, Lauren, this is like the early days of e comm to which I said, no, Amy, this is not like the early days of e comm e comm was a new way for shoppers to shop, right? A new modality, if you will. AI will transform absolutely everything. So I was super inspired, inspired by the possibility.<\/p>\nSo I really decided to dive in and immerse myself in learning and really figuring out how AI can be a growth accelerator. And of course, just like you probably Mike, my AI learning journey is ongoing. There is something new to learn every day. But I\u2019m focused on helping non technical leaders really harness that power of AI.<\/p>\nSo this past summer, I decided to combine my 16 years of experience leading business growth and innovation at P and G combined with my industry leading AI education<\/svg><\/span><\/a> to form wonder consulting. So with wonder consulting, I want to empower leaders to thrive in this AI driven future and use A I to accelerate business growth and to do it in a way where I demystify a I really to make it practical, practical and actionable, particularly for non technical leaders to use it for growth.<\/p>\n[00:05:55] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Love that there\u2019s there\u2019s so many aspects of your journey in that answer, quite frankly, that I can relate to starting with the first of moving from corporate wanting to spend time with your kids. I have two girls. One of them turns 10 tomorrow, the other\u2019s 13. And I just, I love being able to work from home.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve been working from home for their entire lives. So I\u2019m, you know, a real part of their life. And, and to your point, the AI journey is very much the same. It was kind of a thunderbolt to me late in 2023 that, wow, this is to your point, changing my life. Everything. It\u2019s not just changing marketing. It\u2019s not just changing sales or e commerce.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s literally the fourth industrial revolution. And it\u2019s something that we have to pay attention to. And I loved your point about how it\u2019s changing every day. There\u2019s news and developments and new apps every single day. That\u2019s something we don\u2019t talk a lot about on this show.<\/p>\n[00:06:46] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:06:47] Mike Allton:<\/strong> but to your point, you know, recording this on October 9th and I was just playing with OpenAI\u2019s new Canvas feature just before we got on this call, this innovative way to edit a document or collaborate in real time because I had a document that Colleagues, an actual, like a word document or a Google doc that colleagues had left comments on.<\/p>\nAnd I wanted AI\u2019s help addressing those comments and integrating them into this larger four page piece of text. So I basically duplicated it in canvas and got AI to weigh in and help me address these colleagues concerns. And I could not have done that without canvas, which is super cool. But you talked about.<\/p>\nYeah. You talked about your consumer insights background at PNG. And I\u2019m wondering how that\u2019s kind of influenced your approach to AI implementation and marketing strategies<\/a>.<\/p>\n[00:07:38] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So at PNG, we believe that consumer is boss and that belief really shapes a lot of the work that I do. And I want the consumer to be at the forefront of every strategy and every piece of work that I\u2019m working on.<\/p>\nAnd AI really is an incredible tool to allow us to uncover consumer insights. Thanks. Not just more quickly and deeply but in a more real time way than traditional methods. So I\u2019ll share with you a few examples of how this comes to life for me across a couple different, you know, quote, consumer groups.<\/p>\nSo the first example highlights how you might use a tool like ChatGBT to gain consumer insights. So I was actually working with a client who wanted to understand consumer insights related to the different service offerings that they had. The client needed quick insights, right? So I use Chat GBT to draft consumer personas and develop a discussion guide based on our business questions.<\/p>\nAnd then at Chat GBT simulate a focus group. This part blew my mind because as someone who has spent hours in the backroom of traditional research, the speed and effectiveness of this tool was just, I mind blowing for me. Chat GBT even summarized the results. They provided the top lines, you know, that I could share with my client.<\/p>\nAnd look, I know what many of you listeners are probably thinking. Wait, these are not real consumers and you\u2019re right. These are AI generated consumers, but the model is trained on so much consumer data that it\u2019s able to simulate consumer sentiment and beliefs very, very quickly. accurately. And look, AI research or should never be a replacement for traditional research, but it\u2019s an incredible tool for early stage brainstorming, ideation, or gaining even initial feedback as you think about how to shape your research plans.<\/p>\nThe next example, you know, it\u2019s not always the traditional consumer. Sometimes the consumer is the person that we\u2019re selling to. So maybe for you, it\u2019s the buyer or someone at your retail partner or someone like that. So LLMs also offer a powerful way to ensure that you are listening to those key stakeholders.<\/p>\nSo one of the things I like to do with many of my friends in sales is we create a detailed buyer persona. In that persona, we include things like the buyer\u2019s background, their goals, their objections their maybe personal things that they\u2019re interested. And if possible, I also like to incorporate any sort of call notes or previous communication<\/svg><\/span><\/a> back and forth with the buyer.<\/p>\nOnce we have that persona, it\u2019s an incredibly valuable tool. So imagine the scenario where you say, act as my buyer and provide me feedback on this business plan, or act as my buyer, or and provide me feedback on this new brand artwork. It allows you to get insight and allows you to optimize what you\u2019re working on by really listening to the voice of the person that matters most in the discussion.<\/p>\nAnd then last, you know, sometimes the quote consumer is just our client or a key leader in the organization. In these cases, I like to use Chat GBT to perform what I call tone of voice analysis. So this really helps you ensure that the content<\/a> or the tool or whatever you\u2019re developing really reflects the style and preferences of that person.<\/p>\nIn order to do this, I gather tons of documents, videos. anything that you might have and organize it in AI and create a tone of voice analysis, then I use ChatGBT to refine content in that, in that tone. So for example, I\u2019ll say, Hey, ChatGBT, act as John and write this update this document as if it\u2019s in John\u2019s writing, or how could this sound more like me?<\/p>\nAnd honestly, this has been a game changer for anyone who is creating content on behalf of someone else or has a leader that wants something written in a certain way, or is writing on behalf of a brand<\/a>, having a tone of voice analysis and using it in Chat GPT is an absolute must.<\/p>\n[00:11:40] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love that approach.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve even used it for myself on a copy that I had previously written. And when I went back and I looked at, I\u2019m like, I obviously just kind of mailed that one in. I really didn\u2019t pay attention or pay a lot of time because again, it\u2019s for the social media hat, my personal side hustle. So sometimes I\u2019m doing things really, really rapidly because maybe I have 20 minutes on a Thursday night to put up a contact page or landing page or something like that.<\/p>\nSo I can feed all that into. Check GPT and get a much better, you know, several paragraphs or whatever of copy cause I\u2019ve taken the time to develop a Mike Allton\u2019s voice, custom GPT<\/a>. And in fact, I think I\u2019m going to do a whole episode just on, on how to do that for you folks. But I also loved your point about simulated data is something we\u2019ve talked about a couple of times on the show and a friend of the show and former guest. Chris Penn has spoken at length about how to create simulated audiences and simulated data. So I\u2019ll link to some of those in the show, because I think that\u2019s a really powerful use case.<\/p>\n[00:12:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\nHe has a great tool to create an ICP persona. He does.<\/p>\n[00:12:46] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
[00:03:42] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. So Mike I had a incredible opportunity at P& G to be there for 16 years and work on some incredible brands. Actually started at P& G and consumer insights. Then I moved into brand management and finally really my interest in e commerce is what took me to sales in my final chapter at P& G.<\/p>\nAnd at P& G, I spent a lot of time working on product, consumer and retail innovation. And in doing so that\u2019s where I really developed my passion for leveraging innovation to drive business growth. And last year I made a very personal decision to leave P& G. I have two young children and I wanted the flexibility to spend more time with them.<\/p>\nIn this time away, I finally had a moment to lift my head up from the corporate world and see the broader landscape. And that\u2019s when it became very clear to me. AI is going to revolutionize everything, not just marketing and sales, but every industry, every career and the way we live our lives. In fact, early in my journey, I was walking with a former executive at P and G.<\/p>\nAnd she said to me, Oh, Lauren, this is like the early days of e comm to which I said, no, Amy, this is not like the early days of e comm e comm was a new way for shoppers to shop, right? A new modality, if you will. AI will transform absolutely everything. So I was super inspired, inspired by the possibility.<\/p>\nSo I really decided to dive in and immerse myself in learning and really figuring out how AI can be a growth accelerator. And of course, just like you probably Mike, my AI learning journey is ongoing. There is something new to learn every day. But I\u2019m focused on helping non technical leaders really harness that power of AI.<\/p>\nSo this past summer, I decided to combine my 16 years of experience leading business growth and innovation at P and G combined with my industry leading AI education<\/svg><\/span><\/a> to form wonder consulting. So with wonder consulting, I want to empower leaders to thrive in this AI driven future and use A I to accelerate business growth and to do it in a way where I demystify a I really to make it practical, practical and actionable, particularly for non technical leaders to use it for growth.<\/p>\n[00:05:55] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Love that there\u2019s there\u2019s so many aspects of your journey in that answer, quite frankly, that I can relate to starting with the first of moving from corporate wanting to spend time with your kids. I have two girls. One of them turns 10 tomorrow, the other\u2019s 13. And I just, I love being able to work from home.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve been working from home for their entire lives. So I\u2019m, you know, a real part of their life. And, and to your point, the AI journey is very much the same. It was kind of a thunderbolt to me late in 2023 that, wow, this is to your point, changing my life. Everything. It\u2019s not just changing marketing. It\u2019s not just changing sales or e commerce.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s literally the fourth industrial revolution. And it\u2019s something that we have to pay attention to. And I loved your point about how it\u2019s changing every day. There\u2019s news and developments and new apps every single day. That\u2019s something we don\u2019t talk a lot about on this show.<\/p>\n[00:06:46] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:06:47] Mike Allton:<\/strong> but to your point, you know, recording this on October 9th and I was just playing with OpenAI\u2019s new Canvas feature just before we got on this call, this innovative way to edit a document or collaborate in real time because I had a document that Colleagues, an actual, like a word document or a Google doc that colleagues had left comments on.<\/p>\nAnd I wanted AI\u2019s help addressing those comments and integrating them into this larger four page piece of text. So I basically duplicated it in canvas and got AI to weigh in and help me address these colleagues concerns. And I could not have done that without canvas, which is super cool. But you talked about.<\/p>\nYeah. You talked about your consumer insights background at PNG. And I\u2019m wondering how that\u2019s kind of influenced your approach to AI implementation and marketing strategies<\/a>.<\/p>\n[00:07:38] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So at PNG, we believe that consumer is boss and that belief really shapes a lot of the work that I do. And I want the consumer to be at the forefront of every strategy and every piece of work that I\u2019m working on.<\/p>\nAnd AI really is an incredible tool to allow us to uncover consumer insights. Thanks. Not just more quickly and deeply but in a more real time way than traditional methods. So I\u2019ll share with you a few examples of how this comes to life for me across a couple different, you know, quote, consumer groups.<\/p>\nSo the first example highlights how you might use a tool like ChatGBT to gain consumer insights. So I was actually working with a client who wanted to understand consumer insights related to the different service offerings that they had. The client needed quick insights, right? So I use Chat GBT to draft consumer personas and develop a discussion guide based on our business questions.<\/p>\nAnd then at Chat GBT simulate a focus group. This part blew my mind because as someone who has spent hours in the backroom of traditional research, the speed and effectiveness of this tool was just, I mind blowing for me. Chat GBT even summarized the results. They provided the top lines, you know, that I could share with my client.<\/p>\nAnd look, I know what many of you listeners are probably thinking. Wait, these are not real consumers and you\u2019re right. These are AI generated consumers, but the model is trained on so much consumer data that it\u2019s able to simulate consumer sentiment and beliefs very, very quickly. accurately. And look, AI research or should never be a replacement for traditional research, but it\u2019s an incredible tool for early stage brainstorming, ideation, or gaining even initial feedback as you think about how to shape your research plans.<\/p>\nThe next example, you know, it\u2019s not always the traditional consumer. Sometimes the consumer is the person that we\u2019re selling to. So maybe for you, it\u2019s the buyer or someone at your retail partner or someone like that. So LLMs also offer a powerful way to ensure that you are listening to those key stakeholders.<\/p>\nSo one of the things I like to do with many of my friends in sales is we create a detailed buyer persona. In that persona, we include things like the buyer\u2019s background, their goals, their objections their maybe personal things that they\u2019re interested. And if possible, I also like to incorporate any sort of call notes or previous communication<\/svg><\/span><\/a> back and forth with the buyer.<\/p>\nOnce we have that persona, it\u2019s an incredibly valuable tool. So imagine the scenario where you say, act as my buyer and provide me feedback on this business plan, or act as my buyer, or and provide me feedback on this new brand artwork. It allows you to get insight and allows you to optimize what you\u2019re working on by really listening to the voice of the person that matters most in the discussion.<\/p>\nAnd then last, you know, sometimes the quote consumer is just our client or a key leader in the organization. In these cases, I like to use Chat GBT to perform what I call tone of voice analysis. So this really helps you ensure that the content<\/a> or the tool or whatever you\u2019re developing really reflects the style and preferences of that person.<\/p>\nIn order to do this, I gather tons of documents, videos. anything that you might have and organize it in AI and create a tone of voice analysis, then I use ChatGBT to refine content in that, in that tone. So for example, I\u2019ll say, Hey, ChatGBT, act as John and write this update this document as if it\u2019s in John\u2019s writing, or how could this sound more like me?<\/p>\nAnd honestly, this has been a game changer for anyone who is creating content on behalf of someone else or has a leader that wants something written in a certain way, or is writing on behalf of a brand<\/a>, having a tone of voice analysis and using it in Chat GPT is an absolute must.<\/p>\n[00:11:40] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love that approach.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve even used it for myself on a copy that I had previously written. And when I went back and I looked at, I\u2019m like, I obviously just kind of mailed that one in. I really didn\u2019t pay attention or pay a lot of time because again, it\u2019s for the social media hat, my personal side hustle. So sometimes I\u2019m doing things really, really rapidly because maybe I have 20 minutes on a Thursday night to put up a contact page or landing page or something like that.<\/p>\nSo I can feed all that into. Check GPT and get a much better, you know, several paragraphs or whatever of copy cause I\u2019ve taken the time to develop a Mike Allton\u2019s voice, custom GPT<\/a>. And in fact, I think I\u2019m going to do a whole episode just on, on how to do that for you folks. But I also loved your point about simulated data is something we\u2019ve talked about a couple of times on the show and a friend of the show and former guest. Chris Penn has spoken at length about how to create simulated audiences and simulated data. So I\u2019ll link to some of those in the show, because I think that\u2019s a really powerful use case.<\/p>\n[00:12:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\nHe has a great tool to create an ICP persona. He does.<\/p>\n[00:12:46] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
And at P& G, I spent a lot of time working on product, consumer and retail innovation. And in doing so that\u2019s where I really developed my passion for leveraging innovation to drive business growth. And last year I made a very personal decision to leave P& G. I have two young children and I wanted the flexibility to spend more time with them.<\/p>\n
In this time away, I finally had a moment to lift my head up from the corporate world and see the broader landscape. And that\u2019s when it became very clear to me. AI is going to revolutionize everything, not just marketing and sales, but every industry, every career and the way we live our lives. In fact, early in my journey, I was walking with a former executive at P and G.<\/p>\n
And she said to me, Oh, Lauren, this is like the early days of e comm to which I said, no, Amy, this is not like the early days of e comm e comm was a new way for shoppers to shop, right? A new modality, if you will. AI will transform absolutely everything. So I was super inspired, inspired by the possibility.<\/p>\n
So I really decided to dive in and immerse myself in learning and really figuring out how AI can be a growth accelerator. And of course, just like you probably Mike, my AI learning journey is ongoing. There is something new to learn every day. But I\u2019m focused on helping non technical leaders really harness that power of AI.<\/p>\n
So this past summer, I decided to combine my 16 years of experience leading business growth and innovation at P and G combined with my industry leading AI education<\/svg><\/span><\/a> to form wonder consulting. So with wonder consulting, I want to empower leaders to thrive in this AI driven future and use A I to accelerate business growth and to do it in a way where I demystify a I really to make it practical, practical and actionable, particularly for non technical leaders to use it for growth.<\/p>\n[00:05:55] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Love that there\u2019s there\u2019s so many aspects of your journey in that answer, quite frankly, that I can relate to starting with the first of moving from corporate wanting to spend time with your kids. I have two girls. One of them turns 10 tomorrow, the other\u2019s 13. And I just, I love being able to work from home.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve been working from home for their entire lives. So I\u2019m, you know, a real part of their life. And, and to your point, the AI journey is very much the same. It was kind of a thunderbolt to me late in 2023 that, wow, this is to your point, changing my life. Everything. It\u2019s not just changing marketing. It\u2019s not just changing sales or e commerce.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s literally the fourth industrial revolution. And it\u2019s something that we have to pay attention to. And I loved your point about how it\u2019s changing every day. There\u2019s news and developments and new apps every single day. That\u2019s something we don\u2019t talk a lot about on this show.<\/p>\n[00:06:46] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:06:47] Mike Allton:<\/strong> but to your point, you know, recording this on October 9th and I was just playing with OpenAI\u2019s new Canvas feature just before we got on this call, this innovative way to edit a document or collaborate in real time because I had a document that Colleagues, an actual, like a word document or a Google doc that colleagues had left comments on.<\/p>\nAnd I wanted AI\u2019s help addressing those comments and integrating them into this larger four page piece of text. So I basically duplicated it in canvas and got AI to weigh in and help me address these colleagues concerns. And I could not have done that without canvas, which is super cool. But you talked about.<\/p>\nYeah. You talked about your consumer insights background at PNG. And I\u2019m wondering how that\u2019s kind of influenced your approach to AI implementation and marketing strategies<\/a>.<\/p>\n[00:07:38] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So at PNG, we believe that consumer is boss and that belief really shapes a lot of the work that I do. And I want the consumer to be at the forefront of every strategy and every piece of work that I\u2019m working on.<\/p>\nAnd AI really is an incredible tool to allow us to uncover consumer insights. Thanks. Not just more quickly and deeply but in a more real time way than traditional methods. So I\u2019ll share with you a few examples of how this comes to life for me across a couple different, you know, quote, consumer groups.<\/p>\nSo the first example highlights how you might use a tool like ChatGBT to gain consumer insights. So I was actually working with a client who wanted to understand consumer insights related to the different service offerings that they had. The client needed quick insights, right? So I use Chat GBT to draft consumer personas and develop a discussion guide based on our business questions.<\/p>\nAnd then at Chat GBT simulate a focus group. This part blew my mind because as someone who has spent hours in the backroom of traditional research, the speed and effectiveness of this tool was just, I mind blowing for me. Chat GBT even summarized the results. They provided the top lines, you know, that I could share with my client.<\/p>\nAnd look, I know what many of you listeners are probably thinking. Wait, these are not real consumers and you\u2019re right. These are AI generated consumers, but the model is trained on so much consumer data that it\u2019s able to simulate consumer sentiment and beliefs very, very quickly. accurately. And look, AI research or should never be a replacement for traditional research, but it\u2019s an incredible tool for early stage brainstorming, ideation, or gaining even initial feedback as you think about how to shape your research plans.<\/p>\nThe next example, you know, it\u2019s not always the traditional consumer. Sometimes the consumer is the person that we\u2019re selling to. So maybe for you, it\u2019s the buyer or someone at your retail partner or someone like that. So LLMs also offer a powerful way to ensure that you are listening to those key stakeholders.<\/p>\nSo one of the things I like to do with many of my friends in sales is we create a detailed buyer persona. In that persona, we include things like the buyer\u2019s background, their goals, their objections their maybe personal things that they\u2019re interested. And if possible, I also like to incorporate any sort of call notes or previous communication<\/svg><\/span><\/a> back and forth with the buyer.<\/p>\nOnce we have that persona, it\u2019s an incredibly valuable tool. So imagine the scenario where you say, act as my buyer and provide me feedback on this business plan, or act as my buyer, or and provide me feedback on this new brand artwork. It allows you to get insight and allows you to optimize what you\u2019re working on by really listening to the voice of the person that matters most in the discussion.<\/p>\nAnd then last, you know, sometimes the quote consumer is just our client or a key leader in the organization. In these cases, I like to use Chat GBT to perform what I call tone of voice analysis. So this really helps you ensure that the content<\/a> or the tool or whatever you\u2019re developing really reflects the style and preferences of that person.<\/p>\nIn order to do this, I gather tons of documents, videos. anything that you might have and organize it in AI and create a tone of voice analysis, then I use ChatGBT to refine content in that, in that tone. So for example, I\u2019ll say, Hey, ChatGBT, act as John and write this update this document as if it\u2019s in John\u2019s writing, or how could this sound more like me?<\/p>\nAnd honestly, this has been a game changer for anyone who is creating content on behalf of someone else or has a leader that wants something written in a certain way, or is writing on behalf of a brand<\/a>, having a tone of voice analysis and using it in Chat GPT is an absolute must.<\/p>\n[00:11:40] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love that approach.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve even used it for myself on a copy that I had previously written. And when I went back and I looked at, I\u2019m like, I obviously just kind of mailed that one in. I really didn\u2019t pay attention or pay a lot of time because again, it\u2019s for the social media hat, my personal side hustle. So sometimes I\u2019m doing things really, really rapidly because maybe I have 20 minutes on a Thursday night to put up a contact page or landing page or something like that.<\/p>\nSo I can feed all that into. Check GPT and get a much better, you know, several paragraphs or whatever of copy cause I\u2019ve taken the time to develop a Mike Allton\u2019s voice, custom GPT<\/a>. And in fact, I think I\u2019m going to do a whole episode just on, on how to do that for you folks. But I also loved your point about simulated data is something we\u2019ve talked about a couple of times on the show and a friend of the show and former guest. Chris Penn has spoken at length about how to create simulated audiences and simulated data. So I\u2019ll link to some of those in the show, because I think that\u2019s a really powerful use case.<\/p>\n[00:12:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\nHe has a great tool to create an ICP persona. He does.<\/p>\n[00:12:46] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
[00:05:55] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Love that there\u2019s there\u2019s so many aspects of your journey in that answer, quite frankly, that I can relate to starting with the first of moving from corporate wanting to spend time with your kids. I have two girls. One of them turns 10 tomorrow, the other\u2019s 13. And I just, I love being able to work from home.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve been working from home for their entire lives. So I\u2019m, you know, a real part of their life. And, and to your point, the AI journey is very much the same. It was kind of a thunderbolt to me late in 2023 that, wow, this is to your point, changing my life. Everything. It\u2019s not just changing marketing. It\u2019s not just changing sales or e commerce.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s literally the fourth industrial revolution. And it\u2019s something that we have to pay attention to. And I loved your point about how it\u2019s changing every day. There\u2019s news and developments and new apps every single day. That\u2019s something we don\u2019t talk a lot about on this show.<\/p>\n[00:06:46] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:06:47] Mike Allton:<\/strong> but to your point, you know, recording this on October 9th and I was just playing with OpenAI\u2019s new Canvas feature just before we got on this call, this innovative way to edit a document or collaborate in real time because I had a document that Colleagues, an actual, like a word document or a Google doc that colleagues had left comments on.<\/p>\nAnd I wanted AI\u2019s help addressing those comments and integrating them into this larger four page piece of text. So I basically duplicated it in canvas and got AI to weigh in and help me address these colleagues concerns. And I could not have done that without canvas, which is super cool. But you talked about.<\/p>\nYeah. You talked about your consumer insights background at PNG. And I\u2019m wondering how that\u2019s kind of influenced your approach to AI implementation and marketing strategies<\/a>.<\/p>\n[00:07:38] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So at PNG, we believe that consumer is boss and that belief really shapes a lot of the work that I do. And I want the consumer to be at the forefront of every strategy and every piece of work that I\u2019m working on.<\/p>\nAnd AI really is an incredible tool to allow us to uncover consumer insights. Thanks. Not just more quickly and deeply but in a more real time way than traditional methods. So I\u2019ll share with you a few examples of how this comes to life for me across a couple different, you know, quote, consumer groups.<\/p>\nSo the first example highlights how you might use a tool like ChatGBT to gain consumer insights. So I was actually working with a client who wanted to understand consumer insights related to the different service offerings that they had. The client needed quick insights, right? So I use Chat GBT to draft consumer personas and develop a discussion guide based on our business questions.<\/p>\nAnd then at Chat GBT simulate a focus group. This part blew my mind because as someone who has spent hours in the backroom of traditional research, the speed and effectiveness of this tool was just, I mind blowing for me. Chat GBT even summarized the results. They provided the top lines, you know, that I could share with my client.<\/p>\nAnd look, I know what many of you listeners are probably thinking. Wait, these are not real consumers and you\u2019re right. These are AI generated consumers, but the model is trained on so much consumer data that it\u2019s able to simulate consumer sentiment and beliefs very, very quickly. accurately. And look, AI research or should never be a replacement for traditional research, but it\u2019s an incredible tool for early stage brainstorming, ideation, or gaining even initial feedback as you think about how to shape your research plans.<\/p>\nThe next example, you know, it\u2019s not always the traditional consumer. Sometimes the consumer is the person that we\u2019re selling to. So maybe for you, it\u2019s the buyer or someone at your retail partner or someone like that. So LLMs also offer a powerful way to ensure that you are listening to those key stakeholders.<\/p>\nSo one of the things I like to do with many of my friends in sales is we create a detailed buyer persona. In that persona, we include things like the buyer\u2019s background, their goals, their objections their maybe personal things that they\u2019re interested. And if possible, I also like to incorporate any sort of call notes or previous communication<\/svg><\/span><\/a> back and forth with the buyer.<\/p>\nOnce we have that persona, it\u2019s an incredibly valuable tool. So imagine the scenario where you say, act as my buyer and provide me feedback on this business plan, or act as my buyer, or and provide me feedback on this new brand artwork. It allows you to get insight and allows you to optimize what you\u2019re working on by really listening to the voice of the person that matters most in the discussion.<\/p>\nAnd then last, you know, sometimes the quote consumer is just our client or a key leader in the organization. In these cases, I like to use Chat GBT to perform what I call tone of voice analysis. So this really helps you ensure that the content<\/a> or the tool or whatever you\u2019re developing really reflects the style and preferences of that person.<\/p>\nIn order to do this, I gather tons of documents, videos. anything that you might have and organize it in AI and create a tone of voice analysis, then I use ChatGBT to refine content in that, in that tone. So for example, I\u2019ll say, Hey, ChatGBT, act as John and write this update this document as if it\u2019s in John\u2019s writing, or how could this sound more like me?<\/p>\nAnd honestly, this has been a game changer for anyone who is creating content on behalf of someone else or has a leader that wants something written in a certain way, or is writing on behalf of a brand<\/a>, having a tone of voice analysis and using it in Chat GPT is an absolute must.<\/p>\n[00:11:40] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love that approach.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve even used it for myself on a copy that I had previously written. And when I went back and I looked at, I\u2019m like, I obviously just kind of mailed that one in. I really didn\u2019t pay attention or pay a lot of time because again, it\u2019s for the social media hat, my personal side hustle. So sometimes I\u2019m doing things really, really rapidly because maybe I have 20 minutes on a Thursday night to put up a contact page or landing page or something like that.<\/p>\nSo I can feed all that into. Check GPT and get a much better, you know, several paragraphs or whatever of copy cause I\u2019ve taken the time to develop a Mike Allton\u2019s voice, custom GPT<\/a>. And in fact, I think I\u2019m going to do a whole episode just on, on how to do that for you folks. But I also loved your point about simulated data is something we\u2019ve talked about a couple of times on the show and a friend of the show and former guest. Chris Penn has spoken at length about how to create simulated audiences and simulated data. So I\u2019ll link to some of those in the show, because I think that\u2019s a really powerful use case.<\/p>\n[00:12:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\nHe has a great tool to create an ICP persona. He does.<\/p>\n[00:12:46] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
I\u2019ve been working from home for their entire lives. So I\u2019m, you know, a real part of their life. And, and to your point, the AI journey is very much the same. It was kind of a thunderbolt to me late in 2023 that, wow, this is to your point, changing my life. Everything. It\u2019s not just changing marketing. It\u2019s not just changing sales or e commerce.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s literally the fourth industrial revolution. And it\u2019s something that we have to pay attention to. And I loved your point about how it\u2019s changing every day. There\u2019s news and developments and new apps every single day. That\u2019s something we don\u2019t talk a lot about on this show.<\/p>\n
[00:06:46] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:06:47] Mike Allton:<\/strong> but to your point, you know, recording this on October 9th and I was just playing with OpenAI\u2019s new Canvas feature just before we got on this call, this innovative way to edit a document or collaborate in real time because I had a document that Colleagues, an actual, like a word document or a Google doc that colleagues had left comments on.<\/p>\nAnd I wanted AI\u2019s help addressing those comments and integrating them into this larger four page piece of text. So I basically duplicated it in canvas and got AI to weigh in and help me address these colleagues concerns. And I could not have done that without canvas, which is super cool. But you talked about.<\/p>\nYeah. You talked about your consumer insights background at PNG. And I\u2019m wondering how that\u2019s kind of influenced your approach to AI implementation and marketing strategies<\/a>.<\/p>\n[00:07:38] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So at PNG, we believe that consumer is boss and that belief really shapes a lot of the work that I do. And I want the consumer to be at the forefront of every strategy and every piece of work that I\u2019m working on.<\/p>\nAnd AI really is an incredible tool to allow us to uncover consumer insights. Thanks. Not just more quickly and deeply but in a more real time way than traditional methods. So I\u2019ll share with you a few examples of how this comes to life for me across a couple different, you know, quote, consumer groups.<\/p>\nSo the first example highlights how you might use a tool like ChatGBT to gain consumer insights. So I was actually working with a client who wanted to understand consumer insights related to the different service offerings that they had. The client needed quick insights, right? So I use Chat GBT to draft consumer personas and develop a discussion guide based on our business questions.<\/p>\nAnd then at Chat GBT simulate a focus group. This part blew my mind because as someone who has spent hours in the backroom of traditional research, the speed and effectiveness of this tool was just, I mind blowing for me. Chat GBT even summarized the results. They provided the top lines, you know, that I could share with my client.<\/p>\nAnd look, I know what many of you listeners are probably thinking. Wait, these are not real consumers and you\u2019re right. These are AI generated consumers, but the model is trained on so much consumer data that it\u2019s able to simulate consumer sentiment and beliefs very, very quickly. accurately. And look, AI research or should never be a replacement for traditional research, but it\u2019s an incredible tool for early stage brainstorming, ideation, or gaining even initial feedback as you think about how to shape your research plans.<\/p>\nThe next example, you know, it\u2019s not always the traditional consumer. Sometimes the consumer is the person that we\u2019re selling to. So maybe for you, it\u2019s the buyer or someone at your retail partner or someone like that. So LLMs also offer a powerful way to ensure that you are listening to those key stakeholders.<\/p>\nSo one of the things I like to do with many of my friends in sales is we create a detailed buyer persona. In that persona, we include things like the buyer\u2019s background, their goals, their objections their maybe personal things that they\u2019re interested. And if possible, I also like to incorporate any sort of call notes or previous communication<\/svg><\/span><\/a> back and forth with the buyer.<\/p>\nOnce we have that persona, it\u2019s an incredibly valuable tool. So imagine the scenario where you say, act as my buyer and provide me feedback on this business plan, or act as my buyer, or and provide me feedback on this new brand artwork. It allows you to get insight and allows you to optimize what you\u2019re working on by really listening to the voice of the person that matters most in the discussion.<\/p>\nAnd then last, you know, sometimes the quote consumer is just our client or a key leader in the organization. In these cases, I like to use Chat GBT to perform what I call tone of voice analysis. So this really helps you ensure that the content<\/a> or the tool or whatever you\u2019re developing really reflects the style and preferences of that person.<\/p>\nIn order to do this, I gather tons of documents, videos. anything that you might have and organize it in AI and create a tone of voice analysis, then I use ChatGBT to refine content in that, in that tone. So for example, I\u2019ll say, Hey, ChatGBT, act as John and write this update this document as if it\u2019s in John\u2019s writing, or how could this sound more like me?<\/p>\nAnd honestly, this has been a game changer for anyone who is creating content on behalf of someone else or has a leader that wants something written in a certain way, or is writing on behalf of a brand<\/a>, having a tone of voice analysis and using it in Chat GPT is an absolute must.<\/p>\n[00:11:40] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love that approach.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve even used it for myself on a copy that I had previously written. And when I went back and I looked at, I\u2019m like, I obviously just kind of mailed that one in. I really didn\u2019t pay attention or pay a lot of time because again, it\u2019s for the social media hat, my personal side hustle. So sometimes I\u2019m doing things really, really rapidly because maybe I have 20 minutes on a Thursday night to put up a contact page or landing page or something like that.<\/p>\nSo I can feed all that into. Check GPT and get a much better, you know, several paragraphs or whatever of copy cause I\u2019ve taken the time to develop a Mike Allton\u2019s voice, custom GPT<\/a>. And in fact, I think I\u2019m going to do a whole episode just on, on how to do that for you folks. But I also loved your point about simulated data is something we\u2019ve talked about a couple of times on the show and a friend of the show and former guest. Chris Penn has spoken at length about how to create simulated audiences and simulated data. So I\u2019ll link to some of those in the show, because I think that\u2019s a really powerful use case.<\/p>\n[00:12:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\nHe has a great tool to create an ICP persona. He does.<\/p>\n[00:12:46] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
[00:06:47] Mike Allton:<\/strong> but to your point, you know, recording this on October 9th and I was just playing with OpenAI\u2019s new Canvas feature just before we got on this call, this innovative way to edit a document or collaborate in real time because I had a document that Colleagues, an actual, like a word document or a Google doc that colleagues had left comments on.<\/p>\nAnd I wanted AI\u2019s help addressing those comments and integrating them into this larger four page piece of text. So I basically duplicated it in canvas and got AI to weigh in and help me address these colleagues concerns. And I could not have done that without canvas, which is super cool. But you talked about.<\/p>\nYeah. You talked about your consumer insights background at PNG. And I\u2019m wondering how that\u2019s kind of influenced your approach to AI implementation and marketing strategies<\/a>.<\/p>\n[00:07:38] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So at PNG, we believe that consumer is boss and that belief really shapes a lot of the work that I do. And I want the consumer to be at the forefront of every strategy and every piece of work that I\u2019m working on.<\/p>\nAnd AI really is an incredible tool to allow us to uncover consumer insights. Thanks. Not just more quickly and deeply but in a more real time way than traditional methods. So I\u2019ll share with you a few examples of how this comes to life for me across a couple different, you know, quote, consumer groups.<\/p>\nSo the first example highlights how you might use a tool like ChatGBT to gain consumer insights. So I was actually working with a client who wanted to understand consumer insights related to the different service offerings that they had. The client needed quick insights, right? So I use Chat GBT to draft consumer personas and develop a discussion guide based on our business questions.<\/p>\nAnd then at Chat GBT simulate a focus group. This part blew my mind because as someone who has spent hours in the backroom of traditional research, the speed and effectiveness of this tool was just, I mind blowing for me. Chat GBT even summarized the results. They provided the top lines, you know, that I could share with my client.<\/p>\nAnd look, I know what many of you listeners are probably thinking. Wait, these are not real consumers and you\u2019re right. These are AI generated consumers, but the model is trained on so much consumer data that it\u2019s able to simulate consumer sentiment and beliefs very, very quickly. accurately. And look, AI research or should never be a replacement for traditional research, but it\u2019s an incredible tool for early stage brainstorming, ideation, or gaining even initial feedback as you think about how to shape your research plans.<\/p>\nThe next example, you know, it\u2019s not always the traditional consumer. Sometimes the consumer is the person that we\u2019re selling to. So maybe for you, it\u2019s the buyer or someone at your retail partner or someone like that. So LLMs also offer a powerful way to ensure that you are listening to those key stakeholders.<\/p>\nSo one of the things I like to do with many of my friends in sales is we create a detailed buyer persona. In that persona, we include things like the buyer\u2019s background, their goals, their objections their maybe personal things that they\u2019re interested. And if possible, I also like to incorporate any sort of call notes or previous communication<\/svg><\/span><\/a> back and forth with the buyer.<\/p>\nOnce we have that persona, it\u2019s an incredibly valuable tool. So imagine the scenario where you say, act as my buyer and provide me feedback on this business plan, or act as my buyer, or and provide me feedback on this new brand artwork. It allows you to get insight and allows you to optimize what you\u2019re working on by really listening to the voice of the person that matters most in the discussion.<\/p>\nAnd then last, you know, sometimes the quote consumer is just our client or a key leader in the organization. In these cases, I like to use Chat GBT to perform what I call tone of voice analysis. So this really helps you ensure that the content<\/a> or the tool or whatever you\u2019re developing really reflects the style and preferences of that person.<\/p>\nIn order to do this, I gather tons of documents, videos. anything that you might have and organize it in AI and create a tone of voice analysis, then I use ChatGBT to refine content in that, in that tone. So for example, I\u2019ll say, Hey, ChatGBT, act as John and write this update this document as if it\u2019s in John\u2019s writing, or how could this sound more like me?<\/p>\nAnd honestly, this has been a game changer for anyone who is creating content on behalf of someone else or has a leader that wants something written in a certain way, or is writing on behalf of a brand<\/a>, having a tone of voice analysis and using it in Chat GPT is an absolute must.<\/p>\n[00:11:40] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love that approach.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve even used it for myself on a copy that I had previously written. And when I went back and I looked at, I\u2019m like, I obviously just kind of mailed that one in. I really didn\u2019t pay attention or pay a lot of time because again, it\u2019s for the social media hat, my personal side hustle. So sometimes I\u2019m doing things really, really rapidly because maybe I have 20 minutes on a Thursday night to put up a contact page or landing page or something like that.<\/p>\nSo I can feed all that into. Check GPT and get a much better, you know, several paragraphs or whatever of copy cause I\u2019ve taken the time to develop a Mike Allton\u2019s voice, custom GPT<\/a>. And in fact, I think I\u2019m going to do a whole episode just on, on how to do that for you folks. But I also loved your point about simulated data is something we\u2019ve talked about a couple of times on the show and a friend of the show and former guest. Chris Penn has spoken at length about how to create simulated audiences and simulated data. So I\u2019ll link to some of those in the show, because I think that\u2019s a really powerful use case.<\/p>\n[00:12:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\nHe has a great tool to create an ICP persona. He does.<\/p>\n[00:12:46] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
And I wanted AI\u2019s help addressing those comments and integrating them into this larger four page piece of text. So I basically duplicated it in canvas and got AI to weigh in and help me address these colleagues concerns. And I could not have done that without canvas, which is super cool. But you talked about.<\/p>\n
Yeah. You talked about your consumer insights background at PNG. And I\u2019m wondering how that\u2019s kind of influenced your approach to AI implementation and marketing strategies<\/a>.<\/p>\n[00:07:38] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So at PNG, we believe that consumer is boss and that belief really shapes a lot of the work that I do. And I want the consumer to be at the forefront of every strategy and every piece of work that I\u2019m working on.<\/p>\nAnd AI really is an incredible tool to allow us to uncover consumer insights. Thanks. Not just more quickly and deeply but in a more real time way than traditional methods. So I\u2019ll share with you a few examples of how this comes to life for me across a couple different, you know, quote, consumer groups.<\/p>\nSo the first example highlights how you might use a tool like ChatGBT to gain consumer insights. So I was actually working with a client who wanted to understand consumer insights related to the different service offerings that they had. The client needed quick insights, right? So I use Chat GBT to draft consumer personas and develop a discussion guide based on our business questions.<\/p>\nAnd then at Chat GBT simulate a focus group. This part blew my mind because as someone who has spent hours in the backroom of traditional research, the speed and effectiveness of this tool was just, I mind blowing for me. Chat GBT even summarized the results. They provided the top lines, you know, that I could share with my client.<\/p>\nAnd look, I know what many of you listeners are probably thinking. Wait, these are not real consumers and you\u2019re right. These are AI generated consumers, but the model is trained on so much consumer data that it\u2019s able to simulate consumer sentiment and beliefs very, very quickly. accurately. And look, AI research or should never be a replacement for traditional research, but it\u2019s an incredible tool for early stage brainstorming, ideation, or gaining even initial feedback as you think about how to shape your research plans.<\/p>\nThe next example, you know, it\u2019s not always the traditional consumer. Sometimes the consumer is the person that we\u2019re selling to. So maybe for you, it\u2019s the buyer or someone at your retail partner or someone like that. So LLMs also offer a powerful way to ensure that you are listening to those key stakeholders.<\/p>\nSo one of the things I like to do with many of my friends in sales is we create a detailed buyer persona. In that persona, we include things like the buyer\u2019s background, their goals, their objections their maybe personal things that they\u2019re interested. And if possible, I also like to incorporate any sort of call notes or previous communication<\/svg><\/span><\/a> back and forth with the buyer.<\/p>\nOnce we have that persona, it\u2019s an incredibly valuable tool. So imagine the scenario where you say, act as my buyer and provide me feedback on this business plan, or act as my buyer, or and provide me feedback on this new brand artwork. It allows you to get insight and allows you to optimize what you\u2019re working on by really listening to the voice of the person that matters most in the discussion.<\/p>\nAnd then last, you know, sometimes the quote consumer is just our client or a key leader in the organization. In these cases, I like to use Chat GBT to perform what I call tone of voice analysis. So this really helps you ensure that the content<\/a> or the tool or whatever you\u2019re developing really reflects the style and preferences of that person.<\/p>\nIn order to do this, I gather tons of documents, videos. anything that you might have and organize it in AI and create a tone of voice analysis, then I use ChatGBT to refine content in that, in that tone. So for example, I\u2019ll say, Hey, ChatGBT, act as John and write this update this document as if it\u2019s in John\u2019s writing, or how could this sound more like me?<\/p>\nAnd honestly, this has been a game changer for anyone who is creating content on behalf of someone else or has a leader that wants something written in a certain way, or is writing on behalf of a brand<\/a>, having a tone of voice analysis and using it in Chat GPT is an absolute must.<\/p>\n[00:11:40] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love that approach.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve even used it for myself on a copy that I had previously written. And when I went back and I looked at, I\u2019m like, I obviously just kind of mailed that one in. I really didn\u2019t pay attention or pay a lot of time because again, it\u2019s for the social media hat, my personal side hustle. So sometimes I\u2019m doing things really, really rapidly because maybe I have 20 minutes on a Thursday night to put up a contact page or landing page or something like that.<\/p>\nSo I can feed all that into. Check GPT and get a much better, you know, several paragraphs or whatever of copy cause I\u2019ve taken the time to develop a Mike Allton\u2019s voice, custom GPT<\/a>. And in fact, I think I\u2019m going to do a whole episode just on, on how to do that for you folks. But I also loved your point about simulated data is something we\u2019ve talked about a couple of times on the show and a friend of the show and former guest. Chris Penn has spoken at length about how to create simulated audiences and simulated data. So I\u2019ll link to some of those in the show, because I think that\u2019s a really powerful use case.<\/p>\n[00:12:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\nHe has a great tool to create an ICP persona. He does.<\/p>\n[00:12:46] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
[00:07:38] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So at PNG, we believe that consumer is boss and that belief really shapes a lot of the work that I do. And I want the consumer to be at the forefront of every strategy and every piece of work that I\u2019m working on.<\/p>\nAnd AI really is an incredible tool to allow us to uncover consumer insights. Thanks. Not just more quickly and deeply but in a more real time way than traditional methods. So I\u2019ll share with you a few examples of how this comes to life for me across a couple different, you know, quote, consumer groups.<\/p>\nSo the first example highlights how you might use a tool like ChatGBT to gain consumer insights. So I was actually working with a client who wanted to understand consumer insights related to the different service offerings that they had. The client needed quick insights, right? So I use Chat GBT to draft consumer personas and develop a discussion guide based on our business questions.<\/p>\nAnd then at Chat GBT simulate a focus group. This part blew my mind because as someone who has spent hours in the backroom of traditional research, the speed and effectiveness of this tool was just, I mind blowing for me. Chat GBT even summarized the results. They provided the top lines, you know, that I could share with my client.<\/p>\nAnd look, I know what many of you listeners are probably thinking. Wait, these are not real consumers and you\u2019re right. These are AI generated consumers, but the model is trained on so much consumer data that it\u2019s able to simulate consumer sentiment and beliefs very, very quickly. accurately. And look, AI research or should never be a replacement for traditional research, but it\u2019s an incredible tool for early stage brainstorming, ideation, or gaining even initial feedback as you think about how to shape your research plans.<\/p>\nThe next example, you know, it\u2019s not always the traditional consumer. Sometimes the consumer is the person that we\u2019re selling to. So maybe for you, it\u2019s the buyer or someone at your retail partner or someone like that. So LLMs also offer a powerful way to ensure that you are listening to those key stakeholders.<\/p>\nSo one of the things I like to do with many of my friends in sales is we create a detailed buyer persona. In that persona, we include things like the buyer\u2019s background, their goals, their objections their maybe personal things that they\u2019re interested. And if possible, I also like to incorporate any sort of call notes or previous communication<\/svg><\/span><\/a> back and forth with the buyer.<\/p>\nOnce we have that persona, it\u2019s an incredibly valuable tool. So imagine the scenario where you say, act as my buyer and provide me feedback on this business plan, or act as my buyer, or and provide me feedback on this new brand artwork. It allows you to get insight and allows you to optimize what you\u2019re working on by really listening to the voice of the person that matters most in the discussion.<\/p>\nAnd then last, you know, sometimes the quote consumer is just our client or a key leader in the organization. In these cases, I like to use Chat GBT to perform what I call tone of voice analysis. So this really helps you ensure that the content<\/a> or the tool or whatever you\u2019re developing really reflects the style and preferences of that person.<\/p>\nIn order to do this, I gather tons of documents, videos. anything that you might have and organize it in AI and create a tone of voice analysis, then I use ChatGBT to refine content in that, in that tone. So for example, I\u2019ll say, Hey, ChatGBT, act as John and write this update this document as if it\u2019s in John\u2019s writing, or how could this sound more like me?<\/p>\nAnd honestly, this has been a game changer for anyone who is creating content on behalf of someone else or has a leader that wants something written in a certain way, or is writing on behalf of a brand<\/a>, having a tone of voice analysis and using it in Chat GPT is an absolute must.<\/p>\n[00:11:40] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love that approach.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve even used it for myself on a copy that I had previously written. And when I went back and I looked at, I\u2019m like, I obviously just kind of mailed that one in. I really didn\u2019t pay attention or pay a lot of time because again, it\u2019s for the social media hat, my personal side hustle. So sometimes I\u2019m doing things really, really rapidly because maybe I have 20 minutes on a Thursday night to put up a contact page or landing page or something like that.<\/p>\nSo I can feed all that into. Check GPT and get a much better, you know, several paragraphs or whatever of copy cause I\u2019ve taken the time to develop a Mike Allton\u2019s voice, custom GPT<\/a>. And in fact, I think I\u2019m going to do a whole episode just on, on how to do that for you folks. But I also loved your point about simulated data is something we\u2019ve talked about a couple of times on the show and a friend of the show and former guest. Chris Penn has spoken at length about how to create simulated audiences and simulated data. So I\u2019ll link to some of those in the show, because I think that\u2019s a really powerful use case.<\/p>\n[00:12:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\nHe has a great tool to create an ICP persona. He does.<\/p>\n[00:12:46] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
And AI really is an incredible tool to allow us to uncover consumer insights. Thanks. Not just more quickly and deeply but in a more real time way than traditional methods. So I\u2019ll share with you a few examples of how this comes to life for me across a couple different, you know, quote, consumer groups.<\/p>\n
So the first example highlights how you might use a tool like ChatGBT to gain consumer insights. So I was actually working with a client who wanted to understand consumer insights related to the different service offerings that they had. The client needed quick insights, right? So I use Chat GBT to draft consumer personas and develop a discussion guide based on our business questions.<\/p>\n
And then at Chat GBT simulate a focus group. This part blew my mind because as someone who has spent hours in the backroom of traditional research, the speed and effectiveness of this tool was just, I mind blowing for me. Chat GBT even summarized the results. They provided the top lines, you know, that I could share with my client.<\/p>\n
And look, I know what many of you listeners are probably thinking. Wait, these are not real consumers and you\u2019re right. These are AI generated consumers, but the model is trained on so much consumer data that it\u2019s able to simulate consumer sentiment and beliefs very, very quickly. accurately. And look, AI research or should never be a replacement for traditional research, but it\u2019s an incredible tool for early stage brainstorming, ideation, or gaining even initial feedback as you think about how to shape your research plans.<\/p>\n
The next example, you know, it\u2019s not always the traditional consumer. Sometimes the consumer is the person that we\u2019re selling to. So maybe for you, it\u2019s the buyer or someone at your retail partner or someone like that. So LLMs also offer a powerful way to ensure that you are listening to those key stakeholders.<\/p>\n
So one of the things I like to do with many of my friends in sales is we create a detailed buyer persona. In that persona, we include things like the buyer\u2019s background, their goals, their objections their maybe personal things that they\u2019re interested. And if possible, I also like to incorporate any sort of call notes or previous communication<\/svg><\/span><\/a> back and forth with the buyer.<\/p>\nOnce we have that persona, it\u2019s an incredibly valuable tool. So imagine the scenario where you say, act as my buyer and provide me feedback on this business plan, or act as my buyer, or and provide me feedback on this new brand artwork. It allows you to get insight and allows you to optimize what you\u2019re working on by really listening to the voice of the person that matters most in the discussion.<\/p>\nAnd then last, you know, sometimes the quote consumer is just our client or a key leader in the organization. In these cases, I like to use Chat GBT to perform what I call tone of voice analysis. So this really helps you ensure that the content<\/a> or the tool or whatever you\u2019re developing really reflects the style and preferences of that person.<\/p>\nIn order to do this, I gather tons of documents, videos. anything that you might have and organize it in AI and create a tone of voice analysis, then I use ChatGBT to refine content in that, in that tone. So for example, I\u2019ll say, Hey, ChatGBT, act as John and write this update this document as if it\u2019s in John\u2019s writing, or how could this sound more like me?<\/p>\nAnd honestly, this has been a game changer for anyone who is creating content on behalf of someone else or has a leader that wants something written in a certain way, or is writing on behalf of a brand<\/a>, having a tone of voice analysis and using it in Chat GPT is an absolute must.<\/p>\n[00:11:40] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love that approach.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve even used it for myself on a copy that I had previously written. And when I went back and I looked at, I\u2019m like, I obviously just kind of mailed that one in. I really didn\u2019t pay attention or pay a lot of time because again, it\u2019s for the social media hat, my personal side hustle. So sometimes I\u2019m doing things really, really rapidly because maybe I have 20 minutes on a Thursday night to put up a contact page or landing page or something like that.<\/p>\nSo I can feed all that into. Check GPT and get a much better, you know, several paragraphs or whatever of copy cause I\u2019ve taken the time to develop a Mike Allton\u2019s voice, custom GPT<\/a>. And in fact, I think I\u2019m going to do a whole episode just on, on how to do that for you folks. But I also loved your point about simulated data is something we\u2019ve talked about a couple of times on the show and a friend of the show and former guest. Chris Penn has spoken at length about how to create simulated audiences and simulated data. So I\u2019ll link to some of those in the show, because I think that\u2019s a really powerful use case.<\/p>\n[00:12:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\nHe has a great tool to create an ICP persona. He does.<\/p>\n[00:12:46] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
Once we have that persona, it\u2019s an incredibly valuable tool. So imagine the scenario where you say, act as my buyer and provide me feedback on this business plan, or act as my buyer, or and provide me feedback on this new brand artwork. It allows you to get insight and allows you to optimize what you\u2019re working on by really listening to the voice of the person that matters most in the discussion.<\/p>\n
And then last, you know, sometimes the quote consumer is just our client or a key leader in the organization. In these cases, I like to use Chat GBT to perform what I call tone of voice analysis. So this really helps you ensure that the content<\/a> or the tool or whatever you\u2019re developing really reflects the style and preferences of that person.<\/p>\nIn order to do this, I gather tons of documents, videos. anything that you might have and organize it in AI and create a tone of voice analysis, then I use ChatGBT to refine content in that, in that tone. So for example, I\u2019ll say, Hey, ChatGBT, act as John and write this update this document as if it\u2019s in John\u2019s writing, or how could this sound more like me?<\/p>\nAnd honestly, this has been a game changer for anyone who is creating content on behalf of someone else or has a leader that wants something written in a certain way, or is writing on behalf of a brand<\/a>, having a tone of voice analysis and using it in Chat GPT is an absolute must.<\/p>\n[00:11:40] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love that approach.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve even used it for myself on a copy that I had previously written. And when I went back and I looked at, I\u2019m like, I obviously just kind of mailed that one in. I really didn\u2019t pay attention or pay a lot of time because again, it\u2019s for the social media hat, my personal side hustle. So sometimes I\u2019m doing things really, really rapidly because maybe I have 20 minutes on a Thursday night to put up a contact page or landing page or something like that.<\/p>\nSo I can feed all that into. Check GPT and get a much better, you know, several paragraphs or whatever of copy cause I\u2019ve taken the time to develop a Mike Allton\u2019s voice, custom GPT<\/a>. And in fact, I think I\u2019m going to do a whole episode just on, on how to do that for you folks. But I also loved your point about simulated data is something we\u2019ve talked about a couple of times on the show and a friend of the show and former guest. Chris Penn has spoken at length about how to create simulated audiences and simulated data. So I\u2019ll link to some of those in the show, because I think that\u2019s a really powerful use case.<\/p>\n[00:12:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\nHe has a great tool to create an ICP persona. He does.<\/p>\n[00:12:46] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
In order to do this, I gather tons of documents, videos. anything that you might have and organize it in AI and create a tone of voice analysis, then I use ChatGBT to refine content in that, in that tone. So for example, I\u2019ll say, Hey, ChatGBT, act as John and write this update this document as if it\u2019s in John\u2019s writing, or how could this sound more like me?<\/p>\n
And honestly, this has been a game changer for anyone who is creating content on behalf of someone else or has a leader that wants something written in a certain way, or is writing on behalf of a brand<\/a>, having a tone of voice analysis and using it in Chat GPT is an absolute must.<\/p>\n[00:11:40] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love that approach.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve even used it for myself on a copy that I had previously written. And when I went back and I looked at, I\u2019m like, I obviously just kind of mailed that one in. I really didn\u2019t pay attention or pay a lot of time because again, it\u2019s for the social media hat, my personal side hustle. So sometimes I\u2019m doing things really, really rapidly because maybe I have 20 minutes on a Thursday night to put up a contact page or landing page or something like that.<\/p>\nSo I can feed all that into. Check GPT and get a much better, you know, several paragraphs or whatever of copy cause I\u2019ve taken the time to develop a Mike Allton\u2019s voice, custom GPT<\/a>. And in fact, I think I\u2019m going to do a whole episode just on, on how to do that for you folks. But I also loved your point about simulated data is something we\u2019ve talked about a couple of times on the show and a friend of the show and former guest. Chris Penn has spoken at length about how to create simulated audiences and simulated data. So I\u2019ll link to some of those in the show, because I think that\u2019s a really powerful use case.<\/p>\n[00:12:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\nHe has a great tool to create an ICP persona. He does.<\/p>\n[00:12:46] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
[00:11:40] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love that approach.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve even used it for myself on a copy that I had previously written. And when I went back and I looked at, I\u2019m like, I obviously just kind of mailed that one in. I really didn\u2019t pay attention or pay a lot of time because again, it\u2019s for the social media hat, my personal side hustle. So sometimes I\u2019m doing things really, really rapidly because maybe I have 20 minutes on a Thursday night to put up a contact page or landing page or something like that.<\/p>\nSo I can feed all that into. Check GPT and get a much better, you know, several paragraphs or whatever of copy cause I\u2019ve taken the time to develop a Mike Allton\u2019s voice, custom GPT<\/a>. And in fact, I think I\u2019m going to do a whole episode just on, on how to do that for you folks. But I also loved your point about simulated data is something we\u2019ve talked about a couple of times on the show and a friend of the show and former guest. Chris Penn has spoken at length about how to create simulated audiences and simulated data. So I\u2019ll link to some of those in the show, because I think that\u2019s a really powerful use case.<\/p>\n[00:12:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\nHe has a great tool to create an ICP persona. He does.<\/p>\n[00:12:46] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
I\u2019ve even used it for myself on a copy that I had previously written. And when I went back and I looked at, I\u2019m like, I obviously just kind of mailed that one in. I really didn\u2019t pay attention or pay a lot of time because again, it\u2019s for the social media hat, my personal side hustle. So sometimes I\u2019m doing things really, really rapidly because maybe I have 20 minutes on a Thursday night to put up a contact page or landing page or something like that.<\/p>\n
So I can feed all that into. Check GPT and get a much better, you know, several paragraphs or whatever of copy cause I\u2019ve taken the time to develop a Mike Allton\u2019s voice, custom GPT<\/a>. And in fact, I think I\u2019m going to do a whole episode just on, on how to do that for you folks. But I also loved your point about simulated data is something we\u2019ve talked about a couple of times on the show and a friend of the show and former guest. Chris Penn has spoken at length about how to create simulated audiences and simulated data. So I\u2019ll link to some of those in the show, because I think that\u2019s a really powerful use case.<\/p>\n[00:12:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\nHe has a great tool to create an ICP persona. He does.<\/p>\n[00:12:46] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
[00:12:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\nHe has a great tool to create an ICP persona. He does.<\/p>\n[00:12:46] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
He has a great tool to create an ICP persona. He does.<\/p>\n
[00:12:46] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
[00:12:47] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> The, just one to add on to one of your points, Mike, and you know, you talking about how valuable it is to have your tone of voice or a clear persona, you know, where people get a little bit tripped up, I think is like, it takes some time to do that.<\/p>\nYou know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
You know, maybe it takes 30 minutes or an hour to organize your content and go through it. So, yeah. Mike. And some people are like, oh, that\u2019s a little time consuming. But you cannot imagine you guys, the amount of time that you\u2019ll save if you just, you know, put a little bit of time in in the upfront.<\/p>\n
[00:13:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Oh yeah.<\/p>\nAnd then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\nAnd so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\nI mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
And then everything else is better stuff again, that you would\u2019ve just, you know, like thrown away is not important pieces of copy. Yeah. A tweet, you know, a reply to an email, something like that when all of a sudden you can feed it through. And really just punch up the language because I\u2019ve trained it, for example, to know that I like science fiction and fantasy and I love historical analogies and references.<\/p>\n
And so now, and I can tell it, Hey, for this one, let\u2019s not do any sci fi, it\u2019s not really appropriate here, but if you find an historical analogy, by all means, weave that in. And that last example, it woven perfectly this Lewis and Clark. Reference of expanding westward and taking leadership and being an uncharted.<\/p>\n
I mean, it was just brilliant. And I\u2019m like, this is the way I talk. I love it. So that\u2019s awesome. I love uncovering those little surprises, those little gifts like, wow, okay, this is, this is really cool. What are some of the other bigger surprises or maybe even challenges that you\u2019ve encountered diving into AI after being in corporate for so long?<\/p>\n
[00:14:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> So the first surprise is really what I\u2019ll call the power of a LLM or a tool like Chat GBT. So it is so easy to get overwhelmed by AI, right? There\u2019s a new tool every day, but mastering an LLM combined with your own experience or expertise. expertise can really give you superpowers. I find that today most leaders are only scratching the surface of what is possible like chat GP with a tool like chat GPT.<\/p>\nYou know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\nSo first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\nSo a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
You know, many are writing, using it simply to write an email. You guys, that\u2019s just the beginning. The possibilities with the tool like chat GPT are really endless. I think the biggest challenge Mike is one that we touched on. It\u2019s just hard to keep up with AI and how quickly things are changing. But I\u2019ll give a couple of tips on sort of how I like to stay up to date and informed.<\/p>\n
So first is podcasts You know, great ones like this one are a great way to stay informed while I\u2019m doing things like this. driving my kids to school, right? So find one that you, you like and listen to it when you have a little bit of downtime. The next thing I like to do is just integrate these tools into my life, into my personal habits.<\/p>\n
So a tip I always give my friends is download Chat GBT on your phone. And the next time you reach for Google, go to chat, GBT. Instead, it\u2019ll help you start to understand what are the use cases. And I\u2019ll start you to get, get in the habit of using a tool like Chat GBT. And then finally, I found that LinkedIn is an incredible tool.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s so many thought leaders sharing tips, tricks, et cetera, online. So I\u2019ve given up a little bit of my social media like Instagram. And instead I take those, you know, a couple of minutes of downtime here and there, and I open up LinkedIn so that I can learn from, you know, some of the incredible folks that I get to follow there.<\/p>\n
[00:16:01] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Those are, those are great tips. LinkedIn is a fantastic piece of advice because there\u2019s so many of us to your point that we\u2019re all learning together. We\u2019re sharing what we\u2019ve learned. We\u2019re sharing our challenges. We\u2019re sharing our questions, and then other people are answering them in the comments. So there\u2019s a wealth of knowledge out there, and I love your examples of just, you know, jumping into ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nI\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\nYou don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\nAnd the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
I\u2019m using more and more often when I\u2019ve got just general questions and research and that sort of thing. And these are all great use cases. The other thing that I also wanted to mention is if you are in marketing. You don\u2019t necessarily need to know the latest and greatest things that are happening with the LLMs.<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t have to know how they\u2019re being made, where they\u2019re developing, what\u2019s, what\u2019s going on with funding and all these kinds of things. It\u2019s enough to have just a high level understanding. I often think for many of us, that\u2019s why I usually recommend The Artificial Intelligence Show that Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput put on, you know, that\u2019s my one hour a week of research and awareness into what\u2019s happening in the overall world of AI.<\/p>\n
And the rest of my time spent playing with the tools.<\/p>\n
[00:17:09] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
[00:17:09] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Finding new use cases and, and researching examples of how other people are using AI and how I could potentially adopt that myself. So to that point, I\u2019d love if you could share an example or two of how you\u2019ve kind of translated what we might call the traditional marketing principles and strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a> from your, your P and G days into some AI driven strategies or tactics.<\/p>\n[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
[00:17:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yes, definitely. So let\u2019s talk about the path to purchase and how AI is, is transforming this. So AI, as we\u2019ve talked, is going to transform everything and commerce is no exception. I think there\u2019s three things that leaders need to be prepared for or aware of. So first is shoppers are trusting<\/svg><\/span><\/a> AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, et cetera, for product recommendations. So today we see that up to 60 percent of consumers are actually trusting those tools. And even we see right platforms like Perplexity already connecting AI searches directly to links. So Mr. Brand being recommended, right? And are your consumers being directed to links at your retailer?<\/p>\nThings to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
Things to think about. The second area is that retailers are integrating AI solutions into their platforms for shoppers. So I really believe that what once we call the e comm search will really evolve to what I call AI driven answers. So consumers will no longer type in and search. They\u2019ll just go straight to the AI assistant<\/a> shopping assistant on that platform and ask for a product recommendation.<\/p>\nSo there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\nThe last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
So there are tools like this out there today. Rufus is Amazon\u2019s. AI shopping assistant, and it really helps you break down any purchase barriers you have and also provides recommendations. This is going to shift how shoppers shop. You want to ask yourself, is your product being recommended? And are you having conversations with your retailers about these tools?<\/p>\n
The last area is that AI is supercharging commerce trends. So for a long time, we\u2019ve talked about trends like personalization, omnichannel, customer experiences, but AI is going to supercharge this with speed, precision, scalability, And interactivity.<\/p>\n
[00:19:16] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That\u2019s absolutely true. Our previous episode, we had Michael Nevsky.<\/p>\nHe was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\nFrom perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
He was the Director of Global Insights from Visa who spoke at length about the changes that AI is having on consumers and how they\u2019re buying and they\u2019re purchasing. And in fact, all of you marketers listen today, I would be paying attention to your Google analytics and be watching how much traffic is increasingly coming.<\/p>\n
From perplexity and chat GPT. I\u2019ve been seeing it in my referral traffic now for six to 12 months, and it\u2019s going up and up and up every single day. Now, my next question, Lauren, is kind of funny because I\u2019m very transparent about the fact that we were talking in the green room about how I have a custom GPT that helps me prepare for these podcast interviews<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right?<\/p>\nAnd it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\nHow do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
And it suggests a lot of questions and it always likes to ask, how do you see the AI landscape changing in the next five to 10 years? And I always laugh because. And a human knows that five to 10 years out and AI is ridiculous. Question can\u2019t possibly know five to 10 months alone years. But I\u2019d love your take from that consumer goods and retail sectors perspective.<\/p>\n
How do you see AI kind of reshaping those industries specifically?<\/p>\n
[00:20:24] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think it\u2019ll reshape the industry in a lot of different ways. I think one is. AI driven commerce, right? Which we just talked about. I also think the pace of innovation will accelerate. So as my time as a marketer, I spent months and months and months on things like unlocking insights, claim development, concept development, brief development, and now all of those things can be done much faster and maybe even better with AI.<\/p>\nI think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\nParticularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\nSo maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\nLiza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
I think consumer expectations will continue to rise in terms of personalization, custom experiences As well as custom products and as well as speed I also think that I\u2019m starting to see right the traditional manufacturer and agency model. It\u2019s going to evolve it. It has to And I think within that with ai there\u2019ll be a lot of content out there It\u2019ll be very easy to create content, but I think good content and creative will still really matter, right?<\/p>\n
Particularly in that sea of AI generated content. And then the last thing is, look, organizations are going to look different, right? We know that in an interview, Sam Altman said that, you know, essentially with AGI, 95 percent of what marketers do will be easily done instantly and at no cost by AI, right?<\/p>\n
So maybe you\u2019re listening to this podcast and you\u2019re in sales or you\u2019re in HR and you think, Oh, I\u2019m good. Like that\u2019s just the marketers, but you got to keep in mind that he was asked about marketing. Right. So he could probably answer that question with any profession. And you know, so organizational designs are going to have to look differently.<\/p>\n
Liza Adams, who I love in the AI space, you know, talks about chatbots<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, you know, potentially reporting to you. And I think that\u2019s likely a scenario that\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
[00:22:07] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Couldn\u2019t agree more. Liza Adams is fantastic. And it was, I think that quote from Sam Altman and then some commentary from Paul Roetzer that kind of jarred me into realizing, all right, then I need to change how I\u2019m approaching this.<\/p>\nAnd I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
And I love your point about writing. Cause the writer and me and, and, and friend, like, Ann Handley really appreciate the fact that good writing will still continue to matter. It\u2019s, it\u2019s that. Not really important kind of transactional writing that\u2019s easily replaced by AI. So you want to make sure that you\u2019re focused on that focus folks.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re talking with Lauren Schiavone about her experiences working for corporate and how that\u2019s applied to today\u2019s AI technology<\/a>. And I\u2019ve got seven more questions. You\u2019re not going to want to miss, but first a word from our sponsor.<\/p>\nThis episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
This episode of AI and Marketing Unpacked is brought to you by Magai, your gateway to making generative AI incredibly simple and accessible. Wondering how to seamlessly integrate AI into your marketing strategy<\/svg><\/span><\/a> without getting bogged down by complexities? That\u2019s exactly where Magai shines. It provides user friendly AI solutions that empower marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> just like you to innovate and elevate your campaigns without needing a degree in science.<\/p>\nImagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
Imagine having the power to generate creative content, insightful marketing data<\/svg><\/span><\/a> analysis, Or even personalized customer communications, all at the touch of a button. Magai isn\u2019t just about providing tools. It\u2019s about transforming your approach to marketing<\/svg><\/span><\/a> with AI that\u2019s tailor made to be straightforward and effective.<\/p>\nSo, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
So, whether you\u2019re looking to boost your content creation<\/svg><\/span><\/a> process, or want deeper insights into your marketing performance, Magai makes it all possible with a few clicks. No fuss, no gain. No hassle, just results. Ready to simplify your AI journey? Visit Magai today to learn how their solutions can revolutionize the way you engage with your audience<\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\nSo Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\nWhat advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
Don\u2019t just market, market smarter with Magai. Tap the link in the show notes.<\/p>\n
So Lauren, we\u2019re talking about some pretty frightening statements, I think on behalf of AI and marketers and yet there are marketing leaders out there who are hesitant to integrate AI, or even think about how they can potentially use AI in their departments.<\/p>\n
What advice do you have for people in those kinds of situations?<\/p>\n
[00:24:18] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> My first advice is, reflect a little and understand what is your barrier. I think oftentimes the barrier is simply people just don\u2019t understand and they don\u2019t have the time to upskill, which is hard, right? We all spend a lot of times time at our jobs.<\/p>\nSo take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\nAnd maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\nAnd it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\nMaybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\nLook, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
So take some of those tips of how you can just take a couple minutes of downtime start to integrate it into your life, whether that\u2019s a podcast or using Chat GBT or Perplexity or Claude and instead of Google for some use cases. And also, you know, follow a couple of people on LinkedIn that you can learn from and spend some downtime doing that.<\/p>\n
And maybe a little less time. on Instagram, right? The next I like to encourage all of my friends and clients to use what I call an AI first mindset. So anytime you\u2019re working on anything, think to yourself, how might I be able to leverage AI for this to maybe make it better or faster? And if you don\u2019t know how to use AI, the most amazing thing about AI is you can just simply ask it.<\/p>\n
And it will tell you, so you can say, I\u2019m working on client outreach. You know, how might you be able to help me Okay, great. Can you share a couple different ideas? Right. So it\u2019s a great way to just start building that habit. I would also recommend don\u2019t do it alone. You know, maybe it\u2019s your team you go on this learning journey with.<\/p>\n
Maybe it\u2019s a group of peers or maybe it\u2019s a learning circle. I am part of a women\u2019s learning circle. learning circle, and it\u2019s honestly a highlight of my week every week. And then finally, I\u2019ll conclude with a concept from Paul Roetzer that I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard Mike and Paul\u2019s right, the CEO of the Marketing AI Institute.<\/p>\n
Look, there are going to be three types of companies in the future, AI emergent, AI native, and obsolete. You get to decide, but not adopting AI<\/svg><\/span><\/a> will have big implications.<\/p>\n[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
[00:26:08] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is fantastic advice, and I loved your point about working with clients about trying to take that AI mindset of AI first mindset.<\/p>\nSo talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
So talk to me a little bit more about that. Have you worked with clients? What kinds of success have you seen where your corporate experience in particular helped with implementing that kind of an AI solution?<\/p>\n
[00:26:31] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah, definitely. So having worked at P& G, I, you know, really understand well, the relationship between manufacturers and their agency partners, which can be complicated, especially when transformation is needed, like what\u2019s needed with AI.<\/p>\nAnd I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\nSo to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\nThe next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\nAnd the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\nAnd so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
And I think many brand leaders out there, Mike, to your point, they, they know they should be thinking about AI. They know they should be leveraging AI. They know they should be having AI discussions with our agencies, but they\u2019re not really sure how to, to start and how to have that conversation. One of my clients was exactly in this position.<\/p>\n
So to help them, I developed this four step framework to outline how to navigate this. It starts with Assess. Here, we\u2019re going to conduct a comprehensive audit of the agency\u2019s capabilities, their technology, their skills, their literacy. Scorecard to help brands do this. And this just helps to provide a clear, measurable way to understand sort of where your agency partners are at in their AI journey.<\/p>\n
The next is Establish. Here we identify what the opportunities are for AI Define goals, KPIs and really start to select the pilots. That that align with the business goals, and then we get to Experimentation, right? And this involves AI pilots, make sure you iterate quickly and, and most importantly, there needs to be feedback loops to understand the impact, refine the approach and probably even decide on a new pilots to do.<\/p>\n
And the last phase is the Scaling phase where we scale successful pilots. It\u2019s also important to develop a roadmap here to ensure that AI continues to be integrated. And I think really important if you\u2019re a brand partner working with an agency, it\u2019s important that you outline how you can continue to drive accountability with your partners, whether that\u2019s regular updates or, you know, quarterly analysis of has the agency improved on the scorecard.<\/p>\n
And so with this tool, my client was able to have a great discussion with our agency and develop a clear plan on how the relationship couldn\u2019t improve their AI capabilities.<\/p>\n
[00:28:30] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I love the use of frameworks. In fact, folks, I\u2019ll make sure that I spell out exactly what what Lauren just said in the show notes.<\/p>\nYou can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\nBut of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
You can go back and you can read it or just listen to that segment. I\u2019ve got a human framework that I use for a I integration, which which a I this is so genius. It helped me come up with that you know, acronym of human to, you know, replace the different words. Framework. But I think that\u2019s helpful for us as consultants to keep us on track and focus.<\/p>\n
But of course, it\u2019s helpful for the client to understand, okay, this is the roadmap of where we\u2019re going and how we\u2019re going to get there. But when you\u2019re talking to, let\u2019s say, non technical executives, are there any techniques that you\u2019re using with them specifically that kind of help them understand or even demystify artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n
[00:29:17] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Definitely. AI tools, right? Instead, learn and master an LLM, like a Chat GBT or a Claude, right? Because it can give you superpowers. Like we talked about when you combine it with your own experience and expertise. And then I spent almost 10 years at P and G trying to teach people about e commerce and through that journey, I learned a lot and how to drive not just upskilling, but also habit adoption of, of using a new skill. And from that, I talk about three principles that are really important. One, it\u2019s got to be integrated into your processes, whatever your key processes are, marketing plan<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, sales plan, joint business plan. It has to be integrated. We have to move away from just random acts of AI to true integration.<\/p>\nIt has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
It has to be simple. So people need to know. No, what is exactly the prompt<\/a> I should use? Like, can you please just tell me and I can get started there. Please make it as simple as possible for me. And then finally it has to be personalized. So tell me in this exact role, at this exact level, at this exact time, how might I use a tool like Chat GBT?<\/p>\nSo I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\nSo are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
So I think those three principles are super important. And then the last component is I like to link concepts to things that they already understand. So right in the world of marketing. We are very well aware of share, market share, share of voice, share of shelf, et cetera. So I also start to talk about a concept called share of LLM, right?<\/p>\n
So are the, is this LLM providing your brand when a consumer is asking for a recommendation? And then finally, instead of, you know, creating AI strategies<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, I like to just understand what is, what is your business, what are your business strategies, and how do we integrate AI into that versus building a separate AI strategy?<\/p>\n[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
[00:31:12] Mike Allton:<\/strong> That is such a solid point. Robert Rose has said, you don\u2019t need an AI strategy<\/a> any more than you need an electricity strategy, because it\u2019s just technology that as we\u2019ve been saying from the start of the show, right, it\u2019s underlying every single thing that we\u2019re doing. And I love that approach with executives.<\/p>\nThat\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\nHow do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
That\u2019s, that\u2019s, that\u2019s fantastic. I love how you\u2019re helping them really wrap their brains around these things. But that\u2019s also the challenge, isn\u2019t it too? Because if they\u2019re not working with an A. I. Consultant like yourself, then they\u2019re left to their own devices to try to figure out what is the prompt that I should use?<\/p>\n
How do I personalize it? How do I apply it? Those are some of the other challenges. But what are some other misconceptions that you think maybe some of these marketing executives<\/svg><\/span><\/a> might have when it comes to A. I. Marketing at least once that you\u2019ve come up and come up against and how have you addressed them?<\/p>\n[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
[00:32:00] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> I think the first one is it doesn\u2019t work. You know, oftentimes people use these tools and they\u2019re not pleased with the outcome. Maybe that sounds generic, or it doesn\u2019t sound like me, or it\u2019s not what I was looking for. And I think oftentimes people get frustrated and maybe turn away from the tool.<\/p>\nInstead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\nAnother misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\nSo I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\nAnd then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
Instead, you should have the mindset of imagine if this was a direct report coming to you with this, what would you do? Well, you\u2019d provide it. More guidance, more direction. Maybe you show an example, you\u2019d say it a different way, right? And think about that the next time you get something back from the tool that maybe isn\u2019t exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\n
Another misconception is AI is in the future, right? Like, Oh, that\u2019s something in the future. It doesn\u2019t impact my work right now. Like, no, it\u2019s impacting your work. Now is the time to act. The next misconception I, I hear a lot, particularly from women, and that\u2019s using AI is. This is cheating. This is cheating.<\/p>\n
So I hear this from women, women will be more impacted by AI in their careers, but they\u2019re actually less likely to use it. High achieving women for high achieving women, there\u2019s this theory called the good girl theory, right? They see it AI as a cheating or a shortcut. It\u2019s not cheating. It\u2019s not a shortcut.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a help, a tool to help us work better. Right. Just like a calculator was, or like Excel was, or like the internet was. And just remember that AI does not have superpowers on its own, right? It\u2019s your experience and knowledge combined with its abilities that is really going to give you the superpowers.<\/p>\n
And then the last misconception I hear often is that AI is a productivity tool. And look, AI is a productivity tool, but if applied correctly, it\u2019s a growth tool. So we need to shift our mindset to AI being a growth<\/svg><\/span><\/a> accelerator, AI driving innovation, unlocking new strategies, and accelerating new ideas.<\/p>\n[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
[00:33:54] Mike Allton:<\/strong> I can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate you bringing up the point about women and the perceptions they have about ai technology in general.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\nI want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
It\u2019s not something i\u2019ve said explicitly On this show, but implicitly i\u2019m doing everything I can to shine a stronger light on the women who are already you know just doing incredible things in in this role Folks, if you look at my guest list, you\u2019ll see the predominance is women and people of color because there\u2019s just so much opportunity out there.<\/p>\n
I want to help them have a stronger voice in this community. And it\u2019s really important to your point because they have those misconceptions so we can help combat that. I\u2019d love if you could, as we wrap up, just kind of look ahead because we\u2019ve spent a lot of time a little bit more than usual on this show talking about some of the risks for marketers who are complacent or even in denial about where AI is heading and where this technology might potentially take their roles and marketing in the future. So how do you envision the role of human marketers<\/svg><\/span><\/a> evolving alongside these AI technologies that we\u2019ve been talking about all day?<\/p>\n[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
[00:34:57] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Look, the future of marketing is going to be a partnership between humans and AI, right? AI will likely take many of the repetitive time consuming tasks, you know, that marketers have typically done, which by the way, like Awesome. I like what marketers want to spend their time on that. And with AI, it\u2019s going to free up marketers to focus on things where they bring incredible value, creativity, strategic thinking, building human connections.<\/p>\nAnd with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\nAnd so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
And with that, marketers are going to have the opportunity to push more boundaries, innovate more, grow their brands. Because when you combine human, human creativity It\u2019s going to let those marketers deliver better ideas, better stories, better innovations, and that\u2019s going to lead to more deeply connecting the consumer and ultimately, you know, driving unprecedented growth in the, in the industry.<\/p>\n
And so I know it\u2019s a little overwhelming or maybe a little frightening for, for marketers, but imagine that future where you just get to, you know, to use your strengths and to use your strengths to build your brand. You know, and not have to spend time on the things that maybe, you know, are just kind of tedious and not as much on building the brand.<\/p>\n
And so to this, I say like, isn\u2019t this so exciting? Like it\u2019s an incredibly exciting future for marketers where you can really just focus on the things that are going to deliver the business. And like, Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s do it.<\/p>\n
[00:36:21] Mike Allton:<\/strong> It\u2019s it\u2019s hard, but but to your point there are things that we\u2019re doing today that we won\u2019t have to do which frees up our time. There\u2019s also things that we\u2019re not doing today because we don\u2019t have that kind of time. Whether it\u2019s repetitive stuff that could simply inform us like running reports like much more exhaustive reports and analysis that we just don\u2019t have that kind of time to do or you know things that we could be doing that takes less time and therefore freezes up.<\/p>\nLike I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
Like I mentioned, you know, the podcast custom GPT<\/svg><\/span><\/a>, right. That\u2019s allowed me to have five different shows at my full time job at Agorapulse. Plus the shot got six podcasts. Who has six podcasts? No one\u2019s got that kind of time, except I have, I\u2019ve been able to use. Chat GPT and AI to really condense the amount of time that I\u2019m spending preparing for each show.<\/p>\nI still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
I still prepare. I still spend a lot of time reading and obviously networking with guests to bring them on the show, but you know, it\u2019s really streamlined that process. And now I\u2019m able to start to use AI and other creative ways<\/svg><\/span><\/a> for analysis. Well, what, what shows are performing best? What topics are really resonating, right?<\/p>\nThings that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
Things that we could not do easily.<\/p>\n
[00:37:27] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> And talking to your data, like amazing, right? Like you, when you have a question, you just. The answer comes back to you versus, you know, digging around through all your Dashboards, right?<\/p>\n[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
[00:37:37] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Right. You\u2019ve got a custom GPT set up finally for your audience. We\u2019ll talk to the audience.<\/p>\n[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
[00:37:41] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
[00:37:42] Mike Allton:<\/strong> you know, will they appreciate this this topic or that topic better? Which do you think which guests might resonate more?<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
[00:37:48] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> Yeah,<\/p>\n[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
[00:37:48] Mike Allton:<\/strong> So much possibility on the horizon. Lauren, you have been absolutely phenomenal. Thank you so much for those who want to connect with you. They want to learn more. Maybe they want to reach out and use you to help them in their AI journey.<\/p>\nWhere should they go?<\/p>\n[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
Where should they go?<\/p>\n
[00:38:04] Lauren Schiavone:<\/strong> You can find me on LinkedIn. It\u2019s Lauren Morgenstein Schiavone, or you can definitely send me an email. It\u2019s Lauren at wonder consulting LLC. com.<\/p>\n[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
[00:38:15] Mike Allton:<\/strong> Thank you, Lauren. Thank you all of you for listening today. Don\u2019t forget if you\u2019re relatively new in this AI journey and you want a little bit of help, check out the AI Marketing Primer<\/a> I\u2019ve got linked in the show notes below, it\u2019s a really easy read ebook, but I\u2019ll help you understand what is an LLM.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\nI\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\nThanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
What\u2019s the difference between Claude and Gemini and Chat GPT and all the other things that are being floated around in terms of jargon and concepts that you need to know in order to get ahead tomorrow, check that out. And don\u2019t forget to find the AI Marketing Unpacked podcast on Apple and leave us a review.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d love to know what you think until next time, welcome to the grid.<\/p>\n
Thanks for joining us on AI and Marketing Unpacked. I hope today\u2019s episode has inspired you and given you actionable insights to integrate AI into your marketing strategies<\/a>. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and consider leaving a review. We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you might have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n\n
Don\u2019t forget to join us next time as we continue to simplify AI and help you make a real impact in your marketing efforts. Until then keep innovating and see just how far AI can take your marketing. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic day.<\/p>\n