This newsletter comes from the hosts of The Marketing Architects, a research-first show answering your biggest marketing questions. Find us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts!
OpenAI just launched its first global brand campaign. Despite having access to the most advanced AI technology on the planet, they chose traditional TV advertising with human directors, film cameras, and real actors. This decision reveals something important about the future of brand building in an AI-driven world.
—Elena
ChatGPT still represents less than 1% of total search volume.
Despite all the hype around AI search, Google remains the dominant habit. Changing consumer behavior requires more than just superior technology. It demands brand marketing that makes you top-of-mind when people search.
What marketers should learn from OpenAI's TV debut.
The world's most advanced AI company just proved that even cutting-edge technology needs brand building. Here's what that means for your marketing strategy:
- You can't algorithm your way to distinctiveness. Television offers broad reach and emotional storytelling that digital channels struggle to match. OpenAI recognized they needed more than performance marketing to build trust and awareness at scale.
- Brand becomes MORE important with AI, not less. Large language models are learning which brands to recommend right now. Companies that invest in distinctive assets and consistent branding today will have a competitive advantage tomorrow.
- Distinctive assets matter. Good branding isn't about endless debates over guidelines. It's about creating memorable, distinctive assets that help people remember you when they're ready to buy.
- Stay insatiably curious. Technology is evolving faster than ever. Marketers need to experiment daily with new tools while remembering the fundamentals of brand building never change.
“ChatGPT's new ads show even AI can't deny the brand-building power of TV”
Mark Ritson examines OpenAI's first television campaign and what it reveals about the marketing challenges facing AI companies. The article explores why even the most advanced tech companies need emotional storytelling and broad reach to grow.
Great products need great marketing.
“In the modern world of business, it is useless to be a creative, original thinker unless you can also sell what you create.”
— David Ogilvy, Founder of Ogilvy & Mather and “Father of Advertising”
