In an era where Artificial Intelligence creates anxiety for the future amongst marketers, we ask ourselves two questions. How far have we come today and what will the market look like in a couple of years? To find out more, we attended IBM’s Swedish Watson Tour which is aimed at marketers. First on stage is Sebastian Thostrup, Regional Sales Manager at IBM, and he paints an image of how IT systems become more integrated and adapt to the users.
“You will talk more to bots than your partner”
According to Sebastian Thostrup, 30% of our web browsing by 2020 will not include a screen which means we will talk more to bots than with our partner. On the subject of partners, he also challenges the audience with the question: Can Artificial Intelligence find your prospective partner? A movie starts showing on stage. Expectant singles sit down at a dining table and get a creative taste of what brands can do with AI in Knorr’s campaign #Loveatfirsttaste. What do you make of this?
During the day’s second session, Fiwe Systems & Consultings Ralf Seimertz presents a picture of what the e-commerce market looks like today and swiftly moves onto the challenge of optimising all stages of purchase throughout the customer journey.
“Many companies do not have the time or the power to bring in pictures and other materials for their product launches.”
Artificial Intelligence will initially be a complement to the tools that e-commerce already uses and facilitate, for example, tagging content related to products. But there is a long way to go for many companies, according to Ralf Seimertz.
“Content system and E-commerce platforms grow together through product information.”
The mini-conference finishes with Ralf receiving a book of food recipes created by Watson’s AI in collaboration with top chefs (IBM Chef Watson), an example of how humans and machines can co-operate. Chef Watson is part of IBM’s mission to develop cognitive computer programs that can help people discover new ideas, from creating surprising new recipes to improving medical research.
A brief summary
IBM’s collaboration with Knorr showed how AI, together with creativity, can create memorable moments and many of the technological solutions have enormous potential.
The researcher and author of ”Köprevolutionen” Malin Sundström’s comment from the event Forward Thinking last year demonstrates how to think in a more digital and intelligent way during the purchase journey:
“It’s no longer enough to claim you have the world’s best product; instead it is the customers who are the brand ambassadors. Future marketing is therefore more about personal guidance and genuine interest”
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