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Local companies join MMA's ALC to drive strategic AI utilisation in marketing

18 Nov 2024

Local companies that have joined the AI Leadership Coalition (ALC) in South Africa working groups.

Source: © 123rf Local companies have joined the AI Leadership Coalition in South Africa working groups to drive strategic AI utilisation in marketing

Source: © 123rf 123rf Local companies have joined the AI Leadership Coalition in South Africa working groups to drive strategic AI utilisation in marketing

The industry marketing body, the MMA Global, an industry marketing body, launched the ALC earlier this year, - the largest of its kind, with over 300 marketers from over 160 companies – and now it’s arrived in South Africa.

Formed due to the rapid pace of AI developments which is directly affecting business performance and their sector’s competitiveness, the MMA says the ALC initiative is among the most important marketing coalitions universally available.

“By driving strategic AI utilisation in marketing, the MMA’s ALC is intended as a forum for marketers to come together to explore, experiment, and execute groundbreaking AI initiatives that push the boundaries of what marketing can achieve, explains Sarah Utermark, country director for MMA South Africa.

“It will also enable the MMA to create ethical and impactful marketing strategies and innovative industry advancements that then can be shared as a means of constantly upskilling the South African marketing industry,” she adds.

How it works

Members choose one of four working groups to join:

Content and creative.
Measurement and attribution.
Audience development and media buying.
Responsible AI.

Through these working groups the ALC works to ensure that MMA's members remain leaders in this generation's most important frontier of technological innovation, by equipping them to unlock the power of AI.

Within these groups, they collaborate to apply AI:

To market responsibly and effectively

To drive improved business growth

Deliver personalised experiences

To enhance operational efficiency through strategic AI utilisation in marketing.

Beyond these four groups, the ALC provides members with access to Learning & Skills Development and Comprehensive proprietary new knowledge building.

In the latter, for instance, members are exposed to AI personalisation of ads, AI in market research, the incorporation of GenAi into organisations, a framework to determine if the AI is real or not as well as the decoding of AI for marketers.

It will also place great attention on responsible AI and its usage. This includes risk evaluation, AI governance, policy templates and audit guidelines as a start.

“AI is gaining traction at pace and it’s in every marketer’s interest to get to grips with what AI is and how it will, without doubt, impact their organisations, even themselves as individuals.

“It’s a brave new world out there and the MMA is leading the charge of making AI accessible and available, while new research is continued to be undertaken by those in the MMA global community.

“This is not a static sector; AI is always changing and adapting to new circumstances and thus marketers must be attuned to AI and learn and adopt it as one would learn a new language,” comments Utermark.

Source: © 123rf If you are worried about the dangers of AI taking over the world, the interview with Nobel winner Geoffrey Hinton is chilling and essential viewing

Part 3: AI in Advertising - From the threat of AI to Nobel Prizes for AI

6 Nov 2024

AI becoming ubiquitous

Everyone everywhere has been or will soon be impacted by the sheer volume of radical AI innovations.

Marketers specifically need to grasp this transformative technology, quickly, if their brands and businesses are to retain their market share while onboarding new customers.

This as their competition – through and across their categories – are chasing the same market segment/s and are certain to be significantly enhancing their targeting and engagement strategies using AI tools and techniques.

AI is fast becoming ubiquitous and is changing the marketing landscape, at pace.

Brands and businesses need to adapt and adopt this new tech so that they don’t fall behind on its implementation, while still using it in a responsible and ethical way.

Adoption of AI

Even before the inception of the ALC, MMA Global’s commitment to AI in marketing has manifested through several pioneering endeavours in 2023 such as AI Benchmark Survey Reports and MMA’s AI webinars and presentations and the MMA Academy which offers an array of AI training courses.

“The MMA is also actively reaching out to marketers, agencies, academia, technology companies, and others seeking guides/new processes/frameworks on AI to develop, for marketers, AI use cases to assess, AI technology and applications to research, training & education programmes for marketers, and more,” advises Utermark.

“To get onboard with all things AI we encourage marketers, from those new to the industry to its leaders, to take a serious look at their adoption of AI and if there is room to improve it, it would be in their interest to do so.”