Branding Artificial Intelligence: A Missed Opportunity?
If I Had a Seat at the AI Table
When I was part of the corporate world, one of my favorite job responsibilities was teaming up with others to brainstorm ideas on how to communicate internal projects and programs. We’d develop a concept and create a plan that included branding, messaging and distribution. These campaigns often promoted safety initiatives, reinforced workplace education or supported software roll outs. It was managing change and when we had flexibility to take a non-traditional, trendy approach, it made the task at hand fun and got the creative juices flowing.
Because of that, I often view branding and marketing through a creative lens. Sometimes I think, “Well played!” For example, Instacart pairing Ben Stiller and Benson Boone in concert singing, “Instacart lets you choose your bananas!” Or the Jake from State Farm spots with well-thought-out scenarios and subtle wardrobe changes. Have you ever noticed that Jake rarely wears the same State Farm-branded shirt twice? Polo, tee or three-quarter zip, short sleeves or long, he’s dressed appropriately for each situation.
Conversely, when I think something has missed the mark, I imagine the suggestions and pitches I would have made if I had a seat at the creative planning table. One example of this is Artificial Intelligence, or AI. Here’s the problem: whenever I see an “AI” graphic or read about it in an article, my brain (powered by non-artificial intelligence) stumbles. Two individual letters don’t smoothly fly through my mind. I immediately read “AL,” the person’s name. My brother’s name was Al, short for Alfonso. So, I always think of him, which isn’t a bad thing. The branding just seems off to me. Am I the only one?
Now, what would I have done? My approach would’ve been to simply follow the lead set by Apple, who named their virtual assistant Siri, and Amazon, who named theirs Alexa. I realize that this field of computer science is much deeper and complex than virtual assistants, but I’d still advocate to give it a name. I would call this ambassador of artificial intelligence…Artie!
Hey Siri! Meet Artie.
Visually, Artie would be an AI-generated (of course) intelligent-looking character. Like Instacart, Artie would perform in concert with others. He’d team up with a Frozen Princess asking, “Do You Want to Build a Dashboard?” Millennials and Gen Ys could be introduced to Artie Styles and his new album, “Artie all the Time. Google, Occasionally.”
Like Jake from State Farm, Artie’s look and feel could be adapted and marketed for different applications:
Need a workout plan? Artie’s the GOAT!
Need help organizing notes or streamlining a schedule? Artie for the Assist!
For the older crowd, a suave Artie with a milk mustache could simply ask, “Got Prompts?”
Clearly, I’ve gotten carried away with this imaginary branding experiment, but it helped keep this retiree’s brain fresh and challenged. I hope, at a minimum, it made you chuckle. And, at most, got you thinking about other missed branding opportunities.