Jason Miller: Branding in the Age of AI

"In an AI-obsessed world, brand is the key to building trust and authority. Join Jason Miller for a dynamic exploration of branding in the AI era, where authenticity is essential. Miller expertly blends AI with a human touch, ensuring your brand avoids the uncanny valley—a phenomenon where overly perfect AI becomes unsettling.

He calls out superficial tactics and empty promises, emphasising the importance of focusing on your brand's core values. Forget fleeting metrics and quick wins; it's about building a solid foundation for sustained demand and real impact.

Drawing from his experiences at Sony Music, LinkedIn, Microsoft, ActiveCampaign, and Tyk Technologies, Miller provides strategies to measure true brand impact in the B2B world. Learn how to balance human elements with AI enhancements to elevate your brand strategy. Discover the key traits of successful modern brands and position yours for long-term success. Gain insights into evaluating your brand's true impact, focusing on genuine value instead of superficial numbers."

Transcript

1. Jason Miller Head of Marketing, Jigsaw @JasonMillerCA Branding in the Age of AI
2. • Brand & demand • Sony Music, Marketo, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Active Campaign, Tyk • Metal fan • @jasonmillerca (Instagram & Twitter)
5. Part 1: THE RESURGENCE OF BRAND
6. Brand is the sum of all the interactions the customer has with your company Jon Miller @JasonMillerCA
7. HOW WE GOT HERE: 2012 DEMAND GEN Leads, leads, more leads, gate everything BIG DATA We need more data, we can never have too much data 2016 THE AGE OF STORYTELLING Everyone’s a storyteller, oh, and you have to be authentic as well 2018 BRAND STRIKES BACK No one gives a sh*t without trust (and bonus if you have strong opinions) 2024 @JasonMillerCA
9. People don’t buy from companies they don’t trust and they don’t trust companies they’ve never heard of. Tricia Miller, VP of Demand at DeepL @JasonMillerCA
10. Brand building is building your future market @JasonMillerCA
11. Does more investment in brand lead to better growth? Business Impact of Brand Investment % MARKETING BUDGET ON BRAND VS DEMAND Hit growth and revenue goals 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 29% 23% BRAND DEMAND Didn’t hit growth and revenue goals 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 25% 31% BRAND DEMAND Source: Benchmarker jonmiller.com
12. Less brand, weaker demand @JasonMillerCA
13. Part 2: BRANDING AND AI
15. @JasonMillerCA
17. @JasonMillerCA
20. Affinity Human likeness 50% 100% Moving Still Industrial Robot Humanoid Robot Stuffed animal Corpse Zombie Prosthetic hand Bunkaru puppet Healthy person Uncanny valley
22. @JasonMillerCA
24. EMPATHETIC RESPONSE REALISM Pixar Disney Simpsons The Polar Express Real person Robot woman
26. • Distrust and Discomfort: Eeriness leading to brand damage. • Lower Engagement: Content that feels 'off' reduces interactions. • Negative Brand Perception: Impression of prioritizing tech over genuine content. • Loss of Personal Touch: Critical in building B2B relationships. • Ethical and Transparency Issues: Need for clear disclosure of AI use. Risks of AI Content Creation in the Uncanny Valley @JasonMillerCA
27. Lean in to one or the other
28. FIGURE OUT WHERE PEOPLE CARE ABOUT YOUR BRAND THE MOST @JasonMillerCA
29. REACH Test creatives, test messaging, dynamic, segmentation, personalisation Story, positioning, value prop, core messaging CORE SCALE FAQs, support, localisation @JasonMillerCA
30. Strategy summary Brand name Belief A statement of the perspective that drives and guides how the brand creates value for its audiences. It’s enduring. Mission statement A succinct statement of what we do in the world. Not intended for use with outside audiences but instead to inspire us internally. Manifesto Internal long form statement aimed at aligning and motivating team members. Tagline External expression of our brand value, sparking interest and engagement. Value pillars Themes that support the relevant and differentiated value the company delivers. Value Proposition Statements that support the value proposition. The foundation for customer- facing communication.
31. TOOLS TO HELP
32. PROTECT THE CORE AT ALL COSTS @JasonMillerCA
33. CONTENT SHOCK - AI EDITION It’s going to get a lot worse @JasonMillerCA
36. Part 3: YEAH, YOU CAN MEASURE THIS
37. The best marketing that actually drives business results can’t be tracked. Yet the hardest things to get approved are the things you can’t track. - Tim Davison @JasonMillerCA
38. @JasonMillerCA
39. THE PROBLEM WITH SHARE OF VOICE @JasonMillerCA
40. MEASUREMENT A good brand pays back every month in customer referrals, inbound interest, strong funnel conversion, and deep community engagement. It's worth the full-company investment. Andrew Davies, CMO at Paddle @JasonMillerCA
41. PAINT THE PICTURE Brand Awareness Brand Engagement Brand Preference @JasonMillerCA
42. Brand Awareness Direct traffic Branded Search Terms (and clicks relative to increase) Referral Traffic Traffic Source Analysis How did you hear about us? @JasonMillerCA
43. BRAND ENGAGEMENT - BRANDED CHANNELS: Social Youtube - Views LinkedIn - Follower growth, mentions Twitter/ Facebook/ Instagram/ TikTok Email Open Rate Click-Through Rate Engagement over time Community Membership growth rate Active users Engagement rate/ Retention/ Feedback/ Surveys
44. BRAND PREFERENCE
45. WHAT’S LEFT FOR MARKETING TO DO? @JasonMillerCA
47. Opinions Creativity Hybrid Marketers Strategy Big Ideas @JasonMillerCA
48. UPSKILL, UPSKILL, UPSKILL @JasonMillerCA
49. AI HAS AN ACHILLES HEEL It doesn’t understand relevance