CRC 2023: Finding Cadence with AI

Last Thursday morning I had my hotel room TV on as background noise while I got ready for the second day of the Insights Association’s Corporate Researchers Conference in Chicago. I had probably fallen asleep to some sitcom, because I woke up to The Today Show and figured I would get some easy recipes or fun new products as a takeaway. What I didn’t expect was a feature segment on something that both tugs on our nostalgic heartstrings and showcases the forefront of technology: the newly released Beatles track, “Now and Then,” finally released thanks to none other than AI.

They told the story of how Peter Jackson's innovative use of AI technology helped lift audio exchanges buried in studio chaos, allowing the track to be properly mixed, edited, and produced for the first time. This groundbreaking approach stripped John Lennon's vocals from an old demo tape, infusing life into a piece of musical history. After the segment, Carson Daly observed how this positive and sanctioned use of AI was a breath of fresh air compared to the usual conversations about how it’ll all end with the Terminator taking our jobs or another world war–perspectives a lot of us can either relate to or have at least heard others share.

Now, let’s take a look at how presenters at CRC discussed the advantages as well as concerns around AI, specifically within marketing and research…

1. AI as a Catalyst for Growth: Balancing Technology and Human Insight

Michele Gansle of McDonald’s knew exactly how to draw attendees into their session about making McDonald’s famous for chicken

Renee Richardson Gosline's keynote address highlighted the capacity of AI to streamline and enhance market research. She explained how AI can deconstruct choices, describe them with data, prescribe friction strategies, and encourage a culture of experimentation. It has the ability to process vast amounts of data and offer valuable insights that could be challenging to unearth manually.

However, it’s also important to remember that AI comes with inherent biases–it is influenced by historical data and the people who create it. This is where our insight as humans becomes essential. Our capacity to guide AI and infuse it with diverse perspectives ensures it serves as a tool for growth and not division. In this context, the human element remains the moral compass, ensuring AI's applications align with ethical and inclusive principles.

2. Bridging the Gap with Empathy: Connecting with Consumers in a Digital Age

J&J Vision's presentation emphasized the importance of empathy in marketing and, by extension, market research. Empathy is the key to understanding consumers on a deeper level, transcending data and analytics and it is also the number two concern of general consumers surrounding AI, following job loss at number one, as we heard in Glimpse and HubSpot’s session about customer centricity in the age of generative AI.

Actively listening to diverse voices and immersing ourselves in consumer experiences is essential for building meaningful connections. In a world increasingly shaped by technology, the human element and our capacity to relate to and understand consumers are paramount.

AI can assist in data analysis and pattern recognition, but it is human empathy that enables us to interpret the emotional and contextual nuances of consumer behavior. It ensures that market research remains a people-centric endeavor, preserving the essential connection between brands and their audiences.

3. The Power to Simplify: Enhancing Data Accessibility through Visualization with the Human Touch

Emily Shepherd with Directions Research and Jacci Webber from Mars Petcare presented about the power of Visual Communication

AI can be instrumental in processing and generating data visualizations that can simplify complexity. Mars Petcare and Directions Research demonstrated the transformative paw-tential of visual communication (I had to throw a pupper pun in there for Mars Petcare’s Jacci Weber, who made too many great ones to count during the session. Everyone thought they were so fetch.)

An earlier presentation by Glimpse and HubSpot showed us how AI can take, for example, a long list of open-ends and derive their primary themes and messages, eliminating the time-consuming manual process. Utilizing visual communication to share these results, though, is what can make the ultimate difference in presenting these themes in a more digestible and appropriate way for end users, using a creative tool that allows the human element to shine through.

Personal touch is essential in building influential deliverables, where research partners ensure visual representations and narratives align with desired messages and insights, and for each individual audience. While AI can streamline data visualization, it is human expertise that influences the narrative and ensures the visuals effectively convey complex information. In this context, AI and human collaboration result in a more powerful and relatable data dissemination approach.

To wrap it up…

In a world where AI conversation often appears as two sides of a cassette tape, the Insights Association's Corporate Researchers Conference shed light on the harmony that can be achieved between technology and human insight when applied in the right way and for a customer-centric purpose.

My lucky encounter with AI's role in resurrecting a Beatles classic was a fitting overture to a conference that explored the myriad ways AI can enhance our lives. Presenters showcased how AI can be a catalyst for growth, amplify our capacity for empathy, and simplify data visualization, all while preserving the essential human touch. By embracing AI's potential and pairing it with our human sensibilities, we navigate a future where technology uplifts rather than replaces, providing solutions to age-old problems and bringing us closer to the harmonious notes of progress and understanding.

To top it all off, W5’s Amy Castelda and I got to enjoy the snow when we arrived on Tuesday! Our southern roots were struggling, but it was a blast.

Couldn’t forget to showcase Yoshi, the most popular member of the Ipsos team!