人工智能市场营销的蓝图

TheBlueprintfor

AI-PoweredMarketing

December2024

ByDerekRodenhausen,RayYu,TrevorSponseller,PaolaScarpa,HenryLeon,JavierPerezMoiño,ValElbert,andJordanBaker

TheBlueprintfor

AI-PoweredMarketing

AIisreshapingthemarketinglandscape,offeringbreakthrough

capabilitieslikeunlimitedpermutationsofpersonalizedmarketingformodernconsumerjourneys,predictiveinsights,andreal-time

decisionmaking.Butformostmarketers,thewholeideaofAIfeelsoverwhelming.

Marketersareconstantlybombardedwithpitchesfrom

techprovidersandplatforms,eachclaimingthattheirAI

solutionwillrevolutionizethewaytheirbrandengageswithcustomers.Theywonder:WheredoIstart?Whichareas

shouldIprioritize?

Toaddressthesequestions,weconductedoneofthelarg-eststudiesofitskind,surveyingmorethan2,000market-ersgloballyandspeakingwithover50marketingleaders.

(See“AbouttheStudy.”)

Throughourresearch,wedevel-opedaclearframeworktohelpmarketerscutthroughthenoise,pinpointwhereAIcandrivethemostimpact,and

buildaroadmapforgrowth.Inthisarticle,wesharein-

sightsfromthestudy.WethenoutlinetheessentialstepsformakingAIanintegralelementofthemarketingfunc-

tiontocreateanAIflywheelthatseamlesslyintegrates

capabilitiesacrossmediaplanning,creative,activation,andmeasurementtoboostefficiency,deliverresults,andkeepbrandsaheadofthecurve.

WhatAIExcellenceLooksLike

MostbrandsarestillintheearlyinningswithAI:more

than80%ofoursurveyrespondentsareexploringoff-the-shelfsolutions,adoptingusecases,orexperimenting.

Two-thirdsclaimtheyarestymiedbyeitheralackofknowl-edgeorthesheernumberofoptions.Butaselectfewhavestartedtofigureitout:about20%ofrespondentshave

integratedAItoolsdeeplyintotheirmarketingworkflows.TheyaretestingAI-assisteddecisionsandpersonalizationapproachesinsuchareasascontentcreation,predictive

analytics,andsyntheticresearchmethodologies.Inthe

past12months,theseleadershaveachievedpowerful

results:theyreport60%greaterrevenuegrowththantheirpeersandareadaptingtoconsumertrendstwiceasfastastheirpeers.

Sowhatarethe20%doingright?We’veidentifiedsixkeyactions.

(SeeExhibit1.)

2THEBLUEPRINTFORAI-POWEREDMARKETING

AbouttheStudy

InAugust2024,BCGpartneredwithGoogletoresearch

howleadingmarketersareusingAI,leveragingGoogle’s

globalscaleandexpertiseinAI-enabledadvertisingsolu-

tions.Ourgoal:tobuildagloballyconsistentframeworkformarketerstouseontheirAIadoptionjourney.Wesurveyed2,000marketingexecutivesacross10keyglobalmarkets

andmorethanadozenindustries,fromretailandconsum-erpackagedgoodstobankingandpharmaceuticals.Com-panysizerangedfromsmallandmedium-sizedbusinessestomultinationals.

Thesurveyconsistedofmorethan50questionsaboutcompanies’maturitylevel,AIcapabilitiesandpractices,andtheextenttowhichtheirAI-basedmarketingwas

integratedacrosstheenterprise.Weaskedaboutsuchissuesas:

•TheiruseofAIfordevelopingconsumerinsights(for

example,automatingtraditionalaudienceresearchandcreatingsyntheticinsighttoolssuchasconversationalpersonasthatrepresentdifferenttargetaudienceseg-mentsandtheirpreferences)

•Theiraudiencesegmentationandmedia-biddingstrat-

egies(e.g.,settinginputsforAImodelstoconductauto-

matedbiddingandusingpredictiveAItobuildaudiences)

•TheiruseofGenAIacrosscreativeandcontenttasks

(suchasdevelopingcreativeconcepts,auto-populatingbriefs,anddesigningassets)

•Theirpeopleandprocessstrategy(includingtalent

development,governance,decisionmaking,andtheirenterprisestrategyforAI)

Togaindeeperqualitativeinsights,wealsoconducted

morethan50interviewswithmarketingdecisionmakers,inquiringabouttheimpactoftheirAIprogramonROIandoverallperformanceovertheprevious12months.Correlat-ingpracticeswithperformance,wethendistilledthecapa-bilitieslistdowntotheessentialsixandidentifiedthe

mostimportantactionsmarketerscantakeateachstagetoforgeapathtoAIexcellence.

BOSTONCONSULTINGGROUP3

Exhibit1-WithTheseSixActions,LeadersAchieve60%HigherRevenueGrowth

Media&Personalization

35%

Media

Budgeting

Run

outcomes-basedmediaallocation

20%

AudienceStrategy

Generate

real-timeaudiences

Creative&Content

9%

AI-PoweredWorkflows

UseGenAIacrosscreativetasks

People&Process

10%

X-FunctionalAdvocates

Build

cross-functionalAI

advocates

(PercentageofleadingAImarketerswhotakeeachaction)

Measurement&Insights

24%

Data

Foundations

Deriveinsightsusingintegratedcustomerview

24%

RobustTesting

Accelerate

testingwith

GenAI

Thepayoff.

60%higherrevenuegrowththanpeers

Source:Google/BCG,“PathtoAIExcellence,”September2024,Global,n=2,135.

Note:RespondentsincludemarketingAIdecisionmakers/influencersatsmalltolargecompanies.

Theyhaveanintegratedviewofthecustomer.The

modernconsumerjourneyislesslinearandmorevariedthanever.LeadersunderstandthatAIcanhelpthemad-

dressthatcomplexity,startingwithacomprehensiveviewofthecustomer—aviewbuiltonfirst-partydatathatfeedsAImodelsandconnectstomediaactivation.

Take,forexample,thebankthatwantedtopresentperson-alizedoffersbutlackedaunifiedcustomerview.Itintegrat-edfirst-partydatafrombranchinteractions,calllogs,andemailsandthenconnectedsystemswithsegmentation,

rules,andcontentassignments.PredictiveAImodels

poweredcross-sellingcampaignsbasedontheindividualcustomer’shistory.Thebankwasabletocutofferlaunchtimesbymorethan60%andtestasmanyassevenvari-antsfordifferentusecases.

Theyacceleratetestdesign,execution,andanalysis.

Fewerthan25%ofrespondentshavetappedintoAI’s

potentialtosupportalways-ontestingbyaccelerating

insights.Leaders,however,areusingAItocreatenew

campaignideaswithgreaterspeedandvolumethan

traditionalapproaches.ConsumerandB2Bmarketers

alikearecreatingbreakthroughmodelsandaccelerating

theirtesting.Becauseitcanquicklyproducecontentvariants,AIhelpscompaniesscalehigh-impact

strategies—inotherwords,investinwhatworks.

Aninsurancecompany’sexperienceillustratesAI’sdra-

maticimpactonspeed.ThecompanyusedGenAItoana-lyzevariousdatasources,proposetestablehypotheses,

anddesignstructuredexperimentstoreducebias.Testsarenowoutintothemarketinhalfthetime,andthe

companyreduceditsanalysistimefrommorethaneighthoursto30minutes.

Theyshiftbudgetallocationsdynamicallytomax-

imizeoutcomes.Capitalizingonopportunityrequires

fastactionandspendingefficiency—theabilitytoredirectlimitedresourcestowheretheywillhavethegreatest

effect.AI’sabilitytoautomatebudgetshiftsunlocksnewpotentialforbothefficiencyandeffectiveness.Some35%ofcompanieswesurveyedareabletoshiftbudgetsacrossplatformsandchannels,dynamicallyadjustingtheirmar-ketingallocationstotakeadvantageofnewopportunities.

Onee-commercecompanyusedapredictiveAImodeltoforecastoutcomesbasedonchannelallocations(e.g.,paidsearch,socialmedia)andoutreachtiming.Thecompanyappliedtheseforecaststoinformitsdecisionsaboutcou-pons,promotions,andloyaltypointsandtrackedresults

quarterly.Itcutmediabudget-planningtimeby66%andincreasedbrandawarenessby11%.

4THEBLUEPRINTFORAI-POWEREDMARKETING

They’reabletoreachreal-timeaudiencesegmentswithpersonalizedmessages.AIhelpsmarketersdefinethemostvaluableaudiencesbasedonreal-timesignals

andtargetthemwiththerightmessages.Whilemore

thanhalfofthecompaniessurveyeddefinetheirstrategicaudiencesbasedonprecisesignals(suchasproximitytopurchase),only20%haveintegratedreal-time,AI-poweredsegmentationintotheiractivationstrategies.

ConsidertheB2Bsoftwarecompanythatwantedtodevel-opnewaudienceswithoutraisingcosts.Ituseditscustom-erdataplatformtogrouphigh-valuecustomersandpros-pects,creatingaseedaudience.Thisseedaudiencewas

fedintoapredictiveAImodel,whichgeneratednewlook-alikeaudiences—expandingthecompany’soutreachandcuttingleadcostsby25%.

TheyuseAItodevelopcreativethroughoutthewholecreativelifecycle.Although48%ofcompaniessurveyedfrequentlyuseGenAIfortaskslikecopywritingordevelop-ingtaglines,only9%haveadoptedAIfortheirend-to-end

creativeworkflow.Morethanhalflackcontentmanage-

mentsystems,sotheyareunabletoorganizecreativeinawaythatAIcanaccess.Leaders,however,takeadvantageofAI’sabilitytodramaticallyacceleratethecreativeprocess,improvingbothitsspeedandquality.

LeaderstakeadvantageofAI’sabilitytodramati-callyacceleratethecreativeprocess,improvingbothitsspeedandquality.

Anonlineretailer,forexample,usedAItoanalyzeperfor-mancedataonhundredsofcreativeassets,probingthe

effectivenessofsuchelementsascolorandcallstoaction.Theinsightstheygainedimprovedadd-to-cartratesand

conversions,andthenincludedinnewbriefssothecre-

ativeteamcouldusethemtodevelopandtestcampaignsandpredictperformancepre-launch.Developmenttime

fellby75%.

They’rebuildinganAIculturebyenlistingadvocatesacrosscorefunctionalareas.Currently,only26%ofcom-paniesenlistfourormorekeyfunctionalareasintheirAI

initiatives.ButAImarketingleadersunderstandthatscalingAIsuccessfullycallsforbuildingstrongpartnershipswith

virtuallyeverycorefunction.Thesepartnershipsareessen-tialforpromotingnewworkflows,securingfunding,and

implementingtalentstrategies.IT,forexample,overhauls

legacysystems,streamlinesprocesses,andredesignstechinfrastructuretosupportfutureneeds.FinancevalidatesAIbusinesscases,ensuringsustainedresourceallocation.HRsecuresthetalentwiththenecessaryAImarketingskills.

Dataengineeringadvisesonbuy-or-buildtechdecisions,

whilelegalassessesdataprivacy,IP,andcompliancerisks—crucialtasksinarapidlyevolvingenvironment.

Tofostercross-functionalpartnerships,oneglobalconsumerpackagedgoodscompanyadopteda“squad”modelthat

spannedmarketing,finance,demandplanning,andtrade,withsupportfromlegal,R&D,andsales.Thisapproach

reshapeddemandandimprovedbrandpositioning,helpingtounlockpersonalizationacrosstheconsumerjourney.

ChartingthePathfromVisiontoValue

Fromoursurveyanalysisandqualitativefindings,wedevel-opedadata-derivedviewofthepathtoAImarketingsuc-cess.Foreachoffourmaturitystages—essentials,scaling,leading,andtransforming—weidentifythemosthigh-im-pactactionstotake.

(SeeExhibit2.)

Stage1:Essentials—BuildingtheAIFoundation.Atthisstage,companiesaddressgapsinfoundationalcapa-bilities,implementingAI-readydatamanagementtools

andtestingAI-poweredcampaignswithfirst-partydata.

Theyredesigncreativeprocessestotranslateheroassetsintomodular,channel-agnosticcontenttobereadbyAI.Theyusebuilt-inAItoolswithinadplatformstomakefastprogress.Further,theyestablishaviewfromthetopaboutwhereintheorganizationAIcanaddthemostvalueandengagestakeholdersacrossfunctionsforearlysupport.

Stage2:Scaling—ImplementingTop-PriorityUse

Cases.Inthescalingstage,organizationsfocusonex-

pandingAI-poweredusecasesacrossmediaandcreative,ensuringcontentcomplianceandperformancetracking.

TheyexpandthescopeofthedatafedtoAI,improvingthegranularityandspeedofinsightsfordecisionmaking.In

addition,theyintroducebalancedmarketer-AIworkflowsbackedbyresponsibleAIgovernance.

Stage3:Leading—DevelopingLeadingCapabilities

toIntegrateAIWorkflows.Thisstageinvolvesbuilding

real-timeaudiencesandtargetingthembyshiftingfunds

fluidlyacrosschannelsasneeded.Leadersincreasethe

volumeandrelevanceofcreativebyusingAIthroughout

thecreativelifecycle,fromideationtomeasurement.TheyusepredictiveAItoforecastoutcomesandinformmedia

activationefforts.Finally,marketingteamscollaboratewithstakeholderstoimplementanext-generationtalentstrate-gythatsupportsthenewAI-drivenprocesses.

BOSTONCONSULTINGGROUP5

Only9%ofmarketershave

adoptedAIfortheirend-to-endcreativeworkflow.

Exhibit2-TheMostImportantActionsatEachStageofthePathtoAIExcellence

Leading

Criticalnear-termgoal

UsepredictiveAItoforecastoutcomes;experiment,feeding

insightstomediaactivation

Build&targetreal-timeaudiences;makefluidallocationsbasedonAIinsights

Producemore(andmorerelevant)creative;useAIend-to-end

Adjustorganizationalstructureand

upskillpeople

CreateanintegratedAIflywheelthat...

...leveragesAItopredicttrendsandgathersinsightsinrealtime...

...Auto-populates

campaignplansand

high-valueaudiences...

...Generates1:1content

automaticallywithAIbasedonsociallearning...

FullyembedsAIacross

EssentialsScaling

Transforming

Measurement&Insights

Establishfoundationaldatapractices&KPIs

Analyzeabroaderscopeofdata;improveinsight

granularity&speed

Media&

Personalization

Starttesting

AI-poweredcampaigns

ScaleAI-powered

campaigns&personalizewithfirst-partydata

Creative

&Content

Buildmodular,

channel-agnosticcontent

PilotGenAIforcreativeacrosstext,image,

andvideo

People

&Process

Definethemostvalue-addingareas;getC-suiteapproval;

engagefunctionalareas

Introducebalanced

marketer-AIworkflows;identifytalentneeds

re-imaginedmarketer+AIworkflows

Percentageof

respondentsinstage

38%43%19%<1%

Source:Google/BCG,“PathtoAIExcellence,”September2024,Global,n=2,135.

Note:RespondentsincludemarketingAIdecisionmakers/influencersatsmalltolargecompanies.

Stage4:Transforming—CreatingaTransformative

Marketer+AIFlywheel.Nocompanyhastrulyreachedthisstage,astechnicallimitationsstillexist.Butinthe

nextfiveyears,marketersandmachineswillincreasingly

playcomplementaryrolestocreateaflywheelwhereby

AIandmarketerstogetherpowercampaignplanningandexecution.

(SeeExhibit3.)

Marketerswilldrivetransforma-tionbyembeddingAIintoreimaginedworkflows,definingstrategy,priorityaudiences,andbusinessgoals.AIwillplayamuchgreaterroleinanalysisandexecutionandinsup-portingstrategydevelopment.Itwillpredicttrends,gatherinsightsinrealtime,auto-populatecampaignplans,selecthigh-valueaudiencesfor1:1messaging,generatepersonal-izedcontent,andsuggestreal-timeadjustments.Leadingcompaniesbelievetheyaretwiceasclosetoachievingthisfuturevisionthantheirpeers.

Inthenextfiveyears,marketersandmachines

willincreasinglyplaycomplementaryrolesto

createaflywheelthatpowerscampaignplanningandexecution.

Togetstarted,CMOscanfollowafewsimplesteps:

1.ConductanAIexcellenceassessmenttounderstandyourstartingpointrelativetopeers.

2.Identifykeystepsinyourend-to-endworkflowwhereAIcouldplayarole(forexample,inmeasurementandinsights,media,orcreative).

3.SettwotothreeAIgoalsforthequarter(suchasestab-lishingyourdatafoundationsorpilotingthreeusecaseswithkeypartnersusingoff-the-shelftools).

4.Launchacross-functionalAItaskforcethatincludesmarketing,engineering,IT,finance,HR,legal,and

agencypartners.

ReachinghigherlevelsofAIintegrationrequiresmorethanjustdeployingthelatesttechnologiesandtools.Marketersmustrethinktheirrole,shiftingtheiremphasisfromthe

tacticalandexecutionaltothestrategic.Theymustbecomeorchestrators,guidingAItodeliverbetteroutcomeswhile

trustingthemachinetohandlethecomplexityofexecution.

BOSTONCONSULTINGGROUP7

AIleaderssee60%higherrevenuegrowth.

Deriveinsightsusingintegratedcustomerview

Generate

real-timeaudiences

Exhibit3-TheMarketer-AIFlywheelFreesMarketerstoFocusMoreonStrategy

TheMarketer+AIVision

M

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t

arker

Provide

strategic

input&

planto

maximize

outcomes

AI

machine

>

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Run

outcomes-basedmediaallocation

AcceleratetestingwithAI

Measure&

monitor

outcomes

UseGenAIacrosscreativetasks

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Buildingto

thefuture

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Leading

marketersare

2x

closertoachievingthisvision

thanpeers

Source:Google/BCG,“PathtoAIExcellence,”September2024,Global,n=2,135.

What’sontheHorizon?

AlthoughtheAIrevolutioninmarketingisstillinitsearlystages,thesophisticationandqualityofAIoutputisim-provingliterallybytheweek.Astechnologyadvances,thegapbetweenleadersandlaggardswillonlywiden;andatthespeedofchangewe’rewitnessing,thatgapmay—

soonerratherthanlater—becomeunbridgeable.

Overthenext12months,leadersareplanningtoexpandAIusecases:46%willuseGenAIforvideocreative,36%

willlaunchAIchatbots(internal,customer-facing,orboth),and35%willcustomizecreativebyplatform.Asthenum-berofadvancedusecasesgrows,thesystembecomes

moresophisticatedandfaster.

ByharnessingthepowerofAIeffectively,CMOscannotonlyimprovetheefficiencyoftheiroperations;theycan

alsounlocknewavenuesforgrowth.ThepathtoAI

excellence—andtorealizingthepowerofthemarketer-AIflywheel—isclear.Marketerswhotakeboldstepstoday

willbeshapingthefutureoftheirorganizations.

Reachouttotheteam

forinformationonhowtotakeanAIself-assessment.

ThiscontentistheresultofajointresearcheffortbetweenGoogleandBCG.

BOSTONCONSULTINGGROUP9

AbouttheAuthors

DerekRodenhausenisamanagingdirectorandpartnerintheNewYorkCityofficeofBCG.Youmaycontacthimat

Rodenhausen.Derek@

.

TrevorSponsellerisaprincipalinBCG’sNewYorkCityoffice.Youmaycontacthimat

Sponseller.Trevor@

.

HenryLeonisamanagingdirectorandpartnerinthe

maycontacthimbyemailat

firm’sLondonoffice.You

Leon.Henry@

.

ValElbertisamanagingdirectorandpartnerinthefirm’s

NewJerseyoffice.Youmaycontacthimbyemailat

Elbert.Valeriy@

.

RayYuisamanagingdirectorandpartnerinBCG’s

Atlantaoffice.Youmayc