Progressive’s Former CMO has Two Words for You
This is part of a series of independent blogs about the impact of AI on our world, especially in the field of writing and marketing.
Progressive’s former Chief Marketing Officer reminds today’s marketers to: Be Relevant.
Jeff Charney spoke at last week’s second annual FutureLAND conference in Cleveland, and I had the opportunity to listen. Charney, a key creative behind the success of the Flo and Dr. Rick ad campaigns for Progressive, spoke a lot about generative artificial intelligence and how it will upend the advertising and marketing world.
He thinks that’s a good thing. He lamented that these industry models have been the same for decades, and it’s about time they change.
Shaking Up the Marketing World with AI
His new “marketing collective,” MkHstry, aims to disrupt. Just as Uber disrupted transportation and Netflix disrupted entertainment, MkHstry will disrupt the $300 billion advertising and marketing industry, he said.
To do that, he and his team are embracing generative AI and large language models. He said in a brief conversation after his presentation that he’s been all over YouTube learning about AI, its applications and possibilities. He said knowing how to use and leverage AI will be essential to keeping yourself relevant, no matter your age. And relevancy, he said, is key to impactful marketing.
Charney also encouraged his audience to “make history,’’ which is what his new venture is named (minus the vowels). He didn’t reveal any details about what he and his team are working on or identify his clients, a common agency practice he thinks is distasteful. But I suspect when he’s ready to launch his next campaign, we’ll all notice.
A New Age of Writing with AI
A young writer, just a few months out of college, came to me seeking job advice.
I provided counsel I never anticipated giving before: Learn how to effectively use AI’s large language models (LLM) to help you write. As an example, I typed her first name and a few basic facts about her into ChatGPT. A few seconds later, several flowing paragraphs appeared about her.
She practically gasped.
An assistant not a replacement
As a longtime writer, it’s disheartening to see a chatbot churn out content faster than I can turn on my computer. Some of what I’ve seen is junk, for sure. But knowing how to use AI and its LLMs will be necessary in virtually every workplace moving forward, including a writer’s.
We’re all still working on the best way to leverage what generative AI can do, and leverage it effectively, ethically and with enough human input to make it our own.
What will that look like? I’m not sure. Brainstorming, outlining, even penning first drafts – taking written or even verbal notes and arranging them into a story – seem like logical uses of AI.
Brainstorming with AI
In fact, ChatGPT and I had a brainstorming session recently when I was trying to come up with URLs for a new website. For several minutes, I tried unsuccessfully to come up with a URL that isn’t already taken. Finally, I sought help from ChatGPT and it came up with a few available, good ones.
I’m not ready to turn over my blog and book writing to AI. (This blog is NOT written by AI!) Nor do I think we should. But I’m embracing the fact that it could be a very good assistant.
This blog reflects my personal viewpoint and is based on my experiences. I am not an endorser of any AI product, nor do I receive payment for these views.
Note: The image for this blog was generated by AI.