Lucinda Barlow
credit: taken at MFA Ex
Marketers are in a "race to mediocrity" as they embrace AI to save time and money, according to pioneering ride share company Uber.
Lucinda Barlow, the head of international marketing for Uber, spoke at MFA EX in Sydney on the need to break away from an industry-wide dependency on AI tools to solve productivity and imagination problems.
"There is a product dividend from AI, which is time and dollars saved, output increased. And because you can measure this dividend very easily you focus on it more," Barlow said in a session titled AI Without Losing Our Magic.
"And because you get to good enough quickly, you lose sight of the more important goal, which is better than anyone else," said Barlow.
So how can the industry balance its approach to AI use while developing new offerings?
Barlow suggests a "learning agenda" between marketers and their clients to share insights on the effectiveness of AI adoption.
"Every single one of us has got to step outside this process, operate the escape valve and beam when we see average work," Barlow said.
"And that is not just creative work, that is also strategies, that is also your plans. It has got to have the highest possible bar.
"Go beyond AI suggestions and find the genius within them," said Barlow.
Marketers should search for the "why", bringing their own ecosystem of experience and ideas to AI dashboards.
"Volume is not the answer anymore. It is really the depth and the why and you know more insight," she said.
Marketers can use the time saved from AI to re-invest in "marketing mastery" and help the industry keep a pulse on the process.
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