Using AI to Create and Deliver Personalized Content

Emerging technologies, including the rapid development of artificial intelligence-driven tools, are driving some of the most creative campaigns in the marketing industry’s history. The options for personalizing content based on customer preferences, behaviors and buying history are evolving before our eyes.

These tools are giving marketing teams the ability to enhance and grow loyalty programs through personalized communications and immersive experiences to help brands advance their overall image and perception.

Here are a few insights and inspiring examples of how to use AI to create and deliver more personalized content to your target audiences.

AI-Created Imagery and Videos

Real magic can happen with generative AI image and video creation. These platforms can unlock the potential of visual content, which is a crucial aspect of modern marketing. By leveraging cutting-edge computer vision algorithms, brands can now analyze images, better understand preferences, and deliver personalized offers and rewards that resonate with individual customers. This level of personalization creates a more immersive and emotionally compelling loyalty experience, solidifying the brand-customer bond.

Carvana is one brand doing interesting things in this space. Using AI and generative adversarial networks (GAN), the brand team creates and sends each customer an AI-generated video featuring details about their new car, when they purchased it, and any cultural events surrounding that time period. This customized post-purchase communication is a way to surprise and delight customers, and it’s been a huge marketing success. To date, Carvana has created more than 1.3 million personalized videos, showcasing the huge opportunity to connect with its audience in unique ways.

AI-Powered Predictive Personalization

Another layer to creating customized content is AI-powered predictive personalization, which uses algorithms and machine learning to anticipate customer preferences and behaviors. By analyzing customer data, browsing patterns and past interactions, brands can deliver personalized content, product recommendations and offers in real time. This level of personalization strengths customer relationships and encourages repeat purchases.

For example, Starbucks aimed to provide customized experiences for its diverse customer base. It tackled this challenge by implementing AI in its marketing strategy. Using an AI-driven marketing tool called Deep Brew, Starbucks used machine learning to predict customer orders based on factors like past orders, time of day, location, and even weather conditions. This approach significantly increased customer engagement as their needs were anticipated, resulting in higher sales and increased brand loyalty. Having a deep understanding of customer behavior patterns, the precision of AI predictive technology, and the seamless integration of predictive ordering into customers' daily routines significantly helped enhance the customer experience.

The Path Ahead

These examples are just the beginning of the AI innovation on the horizon. While the future for brand and loyalty marketing programs is bright and exciting, it will be important for brands to strike the right balance of individualized content that's engaging and authentic but not overly personalized that consumers feel their privacy is being invaded or compromised. Ethical data management and privacy is of utmost importance to consumers. Without it, brands will quickly lose customers and their loyalty.

The AI pathway is limitless, and it’s here to help marketers make recommendations, drive efficiency, and level up ad campaigns. And yet, the human imagination is what’s really driving the tools to color outside the lines and create breakthrough programs and experiences that hit home at a personal level for customers.

Todd Hedberg is director, digital strategy, and Claire Cilip is an account supervisor for The Lacek Group, a loyalty, CRM and branding agency.