Last week, I analyzed a fantastic promotional video from Apple through the lens of Audacious, a book that describes a framework for disruptive and bold marketing. After reading that post, fellow marketer Mandy Edwards sent me another new video — this one from KFC UK — and asked, “What do you think of this one?”

Today, I present a story of audacity that went horribly, horribly wrong! Let’s see what happened when a company tried to create a chicken-based cult …

Why we need to disrupt our marketing

Before I get to this ad fail, let’s back up one step and discern why companies need to focus on bold marketing today. Some of the main points in the book:

• About two-thirds of ads register no emotional reaction with their audience. If there were a CMO for the ad industry, the person would be fired. We wallow in a marketing pandemic of dull.
• Dull has been normalized in most industries. So if you break a norm, you just might find marketing gold.
• Consumers respond to storytelling that is refreshing and new. Young consumers today love quirky content and offbeat humor.
• Finally, if all you need is marketing “meh,” AI can accomplish that. If you’re only competent, you’re vulnerable to job replacement. Competent is ignorable.

The Audacious book presents a framework anyone can use to do this: disrupt the narrative, the medium, and the storyteller.

Now, let’s get to the heart of our story. KFC created a video that certainly broke industry norms. In this ad, UK agency Mother London urges customers in a busy world to believe in chicken as if it were a new gravy-based religion.

Take a look:

You’ll note that this is “Part 2.” Part 1 involved zombie dancers, who received more favorable reviews.

Audacity and gravy

How did KFC shake things up? Three ways:

1. Obviously, this ad broke industry norms. Perhaps there has never been a promotional video like this in the history of fast food … at least not one featuring a lake of gravy!
2. The company was appealing to GenZ’s penchant for quirky humor.
3. There is a subtle connection to “purpose” here. If you feel lost, you can still believe in chicken. Everything in the world is changing, but KFC has always been there for us.

There are precedents for this offbeat, bold marketing approach that have been wildly successful.

• Liquid Death disrupted a boring water market with cringe-worthy ads
• Nutter Butter tripled its cookie sales with fever dream TikTok videos
• Duolingo stood out in an established, dull market of language education with an unfiltered owl.

So if KFC was following the Audacious playbook like these brands, why would it receive YouTube comments like:

• “I cannot possibly imagine how any person thought this was a good idea.”
• “I’ll never eat at KFC ever again, nor will anyone in my household.”
• “They should fire their entire marketing team.”

This video is an unmitigated disaster. They took a big swing and struck out. Here are three reasons why.

1. Too much to lose

There is a common thread among the three successful case studies I mentioned: They had nothing to lose.

• Liquid Death was a disruptive startup going up against Coke and Pepsi.
• Likewise, Duolingo was a new way to learn that had to attack the industry establishment.
• Nutter Butter is an older brand but had no real meaning to consumers. It had been forgotten, so it had nothing to lose by re-introducing itself to Gen Z.

Should an established brand like Coke advertise like Liquid Death? No. Coke has built a century of goodwill in the consumer’s mind.

Would Oreo ever take a page from the bizarre Nutter Butter playbook? No. Oreo is the number one brand in its category.

KFC is the biggest chicken franchise on earth, by far. It has built decades of memories and thrown them away into a lake full of gravy. Instead of building on its heritage creatively and renewing its deep meaning with a new generation, it’s taking a step backward.

“We are being polarizing because we want conversation,” said Martin Rose, executive creative director of Mother London told Ad Age. “Essentially, we’re creating our own cult of fandom.”

But this seems to me like a desperate attempt to be the new cool kid. And besides …

2. Some taboos can’t be broken

My book is a rallying cry for those who will not be ignored. It urges people to break bad rules for good reasons. But I also caution that being audacious does NOT mean you’re doing something illegal, reckless, or offensive.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the U.K.’s independent advertising regulator, received nearly 600 complaints about KFC’s commercial, a spokesperson told ADWEEK.

The complaints include people saying the ad promotes cannibalism, that it glorifies cults and satanism, and that it mocks Christianity and baptism.

Now, a lot of famous ads receive complaints from the easily-offended. Is this really knocking religion or is it just silly?

Language in the company’s description of the ad reinforces the offense:

“Fear not, for salvation in sauce is near. Trust in the thumping sound of the golden egg. Trust in the liquid gold elixir. Trust in the divine dunk. And whisper the sacred words All Hail Gravy.”

The phrase repeated in the Bible most often is “Fear not.” So of course any Christian would be offended when a company compares their salvation to gravy.

And then there is the gravy dunk, where a person turns into fried chicken. No, no, no. Also, no.

3. It’s just gross

The ad didn’t just offend people who don’t prefer cannabilism; it upset just about everyone in the ad industry.

One commentator on Marketing Beat called the ad “disgraceful,” describing it as “degrading and disturbing.” Others labeled it “vile,” “uncomfortable,” and “horrendous.”

One marketing industry observer noted: “I’ve never complained about an advert before, but this is beyond the pale.”

Getting out of the gravy

I don’t want you to be dissuaded from bold marketing and taking risks because of one bad ad. But we should reflect on how something like this ever sees the light of day. When an ad becomes a public disaster, one of four things has happened:

1. Internal political fear.

This is the biggest problem I observe, by far. When a powerful company executive falls in love with an idea and forcefully champions it, agencies, hungry for that next paycheck, nod along like bobbleheads. Corporate minions, fearing for their cubicles, become a chorus of yes-people.

2. Lack of diversity in the creative process.

If the team behind an ad campaign lacks diverse perspectives and backgrounds, they may miss potential blind spots or fail to anticipate how certain groups could perceive the ad negatively. Having a homogenous team increases the risk of tone-deaf messaging.

3. Overconfidence and lack of external review.

Respected brands can sometimes become overconfident in their marketing abilities and fail to get sufficient external feedback before launching a campaign. Big brands often mistake their logo for a shield of invincibility. This insular approach prevents them from catching potentially offensive or controversial elements.

4. Failure to consider the current cultural context.

Ads that may have been acceptable in the past can become problematic if they fail to account for evolving cultural sensitivities and the social climate around issues like race, gender, body image, etc.

In other words, when executives put egos above common sense, gravy happens.

Being remarkable matters. Bold marketing matters.

But not all risks are created equal.

Keep pushing edges, but remember what you stand for.

Need a keynote speaker? Mark Schaefer is the most trusted voice in marketing. Your conference guests will buzz about his insights long after your event! Mark is the author of some of the world’s bestselling marketing books, a college educator, and an advisor to many of the world’s largest brands. Contact Mark to have him bring a fun, meaningful, and memorable presentation to your company event or conference.

Follow Mark on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram

The post The Thin Line Between Bold Marketing and Brand Suicide appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

I have been going around the world giving two new speeches. One on “Harnessing AI for Your Business” and a new one based on my new book Audacious.

In the AI speech I make an important point — The rate of change will impact us as individuals and businesses as much as the change itself. To thrive we need to adopt a new mindset, a mindset of continuous change at a scale that is unprecedented in the history of our planet.

Think about it. The moment you read this sentence is the slowest rate of technological change you will ever experience.

If you’re in marketing, the problem is doubly difficult. It’s just nuts out there, and we need help coping!

I thought it would be interesting to discuss coping strategies with Jay Acunzo. We are both regarded as thought leaders in our spaces, and there is no halfway. Either you’re keeping pace, or you’re not.

In the new episode of The Marketing Companion we reveal our own strategies and secrets to stay ahead. Fasten your seatbelts! The world of blazing change is ahead. Just click here to listen:

Click here to enjoy Marketing Companion Episode 312

Please support our sponsor, who brings you this fantastic episode.

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This episode is brought to you by Brevo (formerly Sendinblue). Brevo gives you the tools to attract, engage, and nurture customer relationships.

Now, any business can build automated customer experiences, email marketing workflows, and landing pages that guide your customer to your main message. We are here to support businesses successfully navigating their digital presence to strengthen their customer relationships.

Go to https://www.brevo.com/marketingcompanion to sign up for Brevo for free and use the code COMPANION to save 50% on your first three months of Brevo’s Starter & Business plan!

Illustration courtesy MidJourney

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A new Apple ad is a marketing case study taking the world by storm. As I write this — four days after the video’s debut — it has already been viewed 19 million times on YouTube.

The visually stunning, cinematic long-form ad reunites Apple with Oscar-winning filmmaker Spike Jonze, who directed the brand’s lauded “Welcome Home” in 2018. Like its predecessor, the new work—called “Someday”—leans heavily on inventive choreography, catchy music, and lavish sets. And the new video features popular star Pedro Pascal.

Of course that’s going to be a winning formula. But something more subtle is happening in this video. The theory behind my new book Audacious is that by disrupting the story, where the story is told, and/or the storyteller, you’ve got a chance of catching viral magic. I thought it would be fun to dissect this incredible video and unravel the less-obvious, non-Pedro lessons of why it went viral.

Let’s start by watching the video:

OK, let’s tear this marketing case study apart and find the magic.

Never make an ad

While researching my book, I interviewed the great Michael Krivicka, the king of viral videos. He said:

“The first key to success is, never, ever make an ad. Of course, almost every customer wants to make an ad because they think they need an ad. Perhaps that’s all they know. But the moment you start with that mindset, you’re failing.

“We’ll make something so cool, unique, and entertaining that it’s worth sharing. As soon as it pops up in your social media feed, you want to see it immediately, watch it again, and share it. You start with the viral mindset, not an ad mindset. People rarely share ads.

“If people sense they’re watching an ad—the moment they think you’re selling something—they stop watching it, or they’re going to watch the content through a filter, knowing there’s an agenda. So, if you lead with ‘Nike presents …’ Boom. People stop watching it.”

As the ad begins, we know that Pedro Pascal is sad. And if he is sad, the whole world is sad. And dreary, and frigid, and hopeless. But the beloved internet daddy doesn’t stay blue for long, as the magic of music turns a frigid wasteland into a raucous dance party.

We don’t know for sure who sponsored the ad until the final moments.

Disrupt the medium

How did this marketing case study disrupt the medium (where the story is told)? It was just a YouTube video, right? Nope.

First, this breaks the mold because it’s an ad that’s nearly six minutes long. Next time somebody tells you that people have a short attention span, call B.S. on it. People don’t have a short attention span. Your marketing has a short interesting span. This epic video is worth every second.

Next, it’s literally a music video. Think about it. What ad format will AirPod fans love? A music video. Smart marketers don’t fight for attention—they earn it by respecting their audience enough to create something worth their time.

Apple is “leaning into the signal” because it understands that remarkable marketing doesn’t interrupt what people care about — it becomes what people care about.

Disrupt the story format

This is paradoxical, but sometimes, to be disruptive, your story should be the radically non-disruptive. Research shows that ads following a classic dramatic story arc create a heightened physiological response. Let’s dissect it into five parts:

• Exposition—Pedro has girl problems. He’s depressed.
• Rising action—In a lonely, frigid existence, he recalls a happier musical memory.
• Climax— Pedro is a joyful dancing machine! He goes from forlorn to fabulous.
• Falling action—The dance sequence ends and the “old Pedro” gives an encouraging glance.
• Denouement—Pedro’s problems aren’t over, but a small smile crosses his face as he trudges on.

This is an example of Freytag’s Pyramid, a classical dramatic model developed by German novelist Gustav Freytag. There is something magical about this sequence that taps deeply into the human psyche. Professor Keith Quesenberry and his research team discovered that this classic format and advertising success are so closely connected that they could predict which Super Bowl ads would go viral before they aired.

“Beyond any other technique like sex appeal, animals, humor, or celebrities, telling a full, five-part story made the difference between a great marketing narrative and an unremarkable one,” Keith told me. “And the likability of this story format can be tied to word-of-mouth buzz, purchase intent, recall, and other success factors.”

This insight doesn’t just apply to big-budget ads. Keith discovered that storytelling success holds true for YouTube videos and other social content. On average, four- and five-act videos were shared over 400% more compared to product-based or informational videos.

Beyond Vanilla Valley

There’s something unexpected that makes this video memorable: It’s sad.

Marketing has conditioned us to expect the emotional arc of a children’s birthday party—everything must end with smiles, high-fives, and neat resolutions. But real human connection doesn’t work that way, and neither does this video. This story starts sad and ends … well, a little less sad, but still sad.

Research by Dr. Jonah Berger shows memorable marketing doesn’t just come from “happy.” Something that makes you feel anxiety, sadness, and even fear can trigger a strong emotional connection. This video breaks an emotional norm — an Apple ad that ends with unresolved pain.

The genius here is in the emotional tension. The lingering pain isn’t a mistake; it’s the point. It signals trust in the audience’s emotional maturity and creates space for a deeper, more authentic connection.

Most brands are terrified of negative emotions. The remarkable ones understand that emotional authenticity—even when uncomfortable—is what separates the signal from noise.

Grab ’em fast

More advice from the great Michael Krivicka: “You have to grab the viewer in two seconds. You can have the greatest video in the world, but if you don’t hook them in the first two seconds, it’s over. It’s a sad reality, but that’s all you’ve got. Open with something incredible that people haven’t seen before. Surprise them immediately.”

The opening seconds of this video are profound. Not a word is said, but the pain is thick, and we need to know, “What is happening here?” This is not an ad. It’s high drama.

Disrupt the storyteller

This six-minute video is being sliced and diced into television-sized ads but the true success lies in the fact that fans are sharing the long-form video like crazy. It’s a beloved story. Apple isn’t promoting the product’s functionality, price, or durability. It’s promoting a feeling. Brand marketing at its best.

Today, the successful marketer isn’t holding the microphone, shouting about their product. They’re writing a script and handing the mic to their customers. This is the essence of modern brand building: create something so meaningful, so resonant, so worth talking about that your customers eagerly do your marketing for you.

The audacity story

Everyone reading this post has one goal for their business: You want to be seen, heard, and discovered. You want to be the signal against the noise.

And the noise is worse than ever.

To stand out, competent doesn’t cut it. Competent is the new invisible. Competent is what gets replaced. The middle of the road is where roadkill happens.

In a world drowning in meh, disruption isn’t just an option—it’s survival. The AI revolution isn’t coming for the remarkable; it’s coming for the replaceable, and most marketing today is precisely that.

Yes, this Apple video has advantages—a recognizable star, a visionary director, a budget with breathing room. But those aren’t prerequisites for standing out. In fact, as I demonstrate throughout my book, constraints often fuel creativity while abundance breeds complacency.

The barrier isn’t resources. It’s courage—the courage to stand for something, the courage to make something that might not work, and the courage to create marketing that feels nothing like marketing.

The choice is simple: disrupt or be disrupted. Make waves or drown in the noise. What will you choose?

Keep an eye on the marketing stories that break through the noise. Like the Apple video, you’ll see a pattern—the narrative, medium, and storyteller are disrupted. I urge you to climb aboard the Audacity train and take advantage of the hundreds of ideas in my new book, Audacious: How Humans Win in an AI Marketing World.

Need a keynote speaker? Mark Schaefer is the most trusted voice in marketing. Your conference guests will buzz about his insights long after your event! Mark is the author of some of the world’s bestselling marketing books, a college educator, and an advisor to many of the world’s largest brands. Contact Mark to have him bring a fun, meaningful, and memorable presentation to your company event or conference.

Follow Mark on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram

The post Dissecting Apple’s disruptive marketing case study appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

I think everyone should work on having an effective online presence — a personal brand. It’s like an insurance policy for your career. If you’re “known,” more doors will open, more calls will be returned, you’ll have more choices in your career.

Like most people I know, Amanda Russell barrelled into her brand without a clear plan. When her career as an elite athlete was upended by injury, she took her re-hab exercises online and became one of the first YouTube fitness influencers.

She leveraged this experience into business ventures, starting and selling a couple businesses. Her next venture was in academia, creating pioneering programs at Northwestern University and the Univerisity of Texas. Along the way she’s consulted to some of the biggest brands in the world.

Sounds like a dream, right? But something was missing. Amanda realized she wasn’t practicing what she had been preaching — authenticity, human connection, and taking risks. She spent months working through her next step and she discusses this journey in the next episode of The Marketing Companion.

I think this is an interesting point in time to look at this issue. Some of us have been working on personal brands for years … 15 for me! But many are out-growing their skin and it’s time to evolve. Amanda provides a case study on personal brand evolution.

Click here to enjoy Marketing Companion Episode 311

Please support our sponsor, who brings you this fantastic episode.

Bravo for Brevo!

This episode is brought to you by Brevo (formerly Sendinblue). Brevo gives you the tools to attract, engage, and nurture customer relationships.

Now, any business can build automated customer experiences, email marketing workflows, and landing pages that guide your customer to your main message. We are here to support businesses successfully navigating their digital presence to strengthen their customer relationships.

Go to https://www.brevo.com/marketingcompanion to sign up for Brevo for free and use the code COMPANION to save 50% on your first three months of Brevo’s Starter & Business plan!

The post Exploring the personal branding pivot appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

Are you tired of reading about AI? Me too.

There’s a whole world of marketing disruption and opportunity to talk about, so let’s put GPT on pause for a moment and consider the State of the Nation and the 10 biggest marketing challenges.

One of the best parts of my job is interacting with business leaders of all types. I get a broad, global perspective of marketing issues from the very largest companies to solopreneurs and startups. And I certainly hear some common themes when it comes to the biggest marketing challenges.

Surprisingly, they have nothing to do with AI, at least not directly. Here’s what’s going on in the world from my perspective. These are NOT in any particular order.

1) Awareness

OK, I lied. This one IS in order — probably the biggest challenge we face today.

Marketers create customers. And to create customers, we must create awareness for our products. Rising above the noise to earn attention has never been more challenging. Media channels are fragmented and, as we see with TikTok, tentative!

Consumers have become their own streaming media entities. How do we get into those earbuds? And then you have AI swarming the media landscape. Sheesh. Marketing is hard. This is the time for audacity! 

2) From big campaigns to small acts of cultural relevance

A few years ago, Pepsi announced that the big brand “bonfires” were over. Brands had to connect to moments of cultural relevance. At the time, I wondered what that meant. But it became clear as brands became part of music, sports, fashion and leaned into emerging consumer signals.

Certainly, that is the direction of the marketing world right now, as brands try to capitalize on memes and trends instead of planning massive campaigns months in advance. A focus on cultural relevance requires an obsession with …

3) The Need for Speed

At 8:48 p.m. on February 03, 2013, a milestone event occurred that changed the face of marketing forever. The power went out at the Super Bowl. and in 10 minutes, Oreo launched an ad:

I remember being at a Super Bowl party  — there was a gasp in the room when the commercial ended. How did they do that?

The ad transcended all norms of advertising. The brilliance lay not only in the imagery but in the blazing speed of execution. This wasn’t a meticulously planned campaign — it was marketing at the speed of culture. The ad wasn’t just broadcast on TV; it also became a social media viral sensation and the company’s all-time most tweeted content. It was a global showcase of the potential of real-time marketing.

In the TikTok Era, a brand might have an hour to be relevant. There’s no time for planning or measurement. Many brands live in a reaction culture. This has massive implications for creative, resources, and legal approvals!

If the need for speed hasn’t transformed your marketing department, it will soon.

4) The Disconnected Customer

Many people, especially those under the age of 25, experience their entire media world by themselves through earbuds. They binge music, video, movies, and podcasts in an ad-free streaming environment. They play their games and socialize in Discord groups. They’re not visible to brands, and they don’t see the brands either, at least not like they used to.

A few years ago, I wrote a book about one solution to this dilemma: Belonging to the Brand: Why Community is the Last Great Marketing Strategy. I was absolutely right about this trend. As I am writing this post, I’m attending the global thought leadership conference SXSW. The sessions on brands and communities are so hot that they had to create extra sessions. In the current marketing environment, this might be a hotter topic than AI.

Community is certainly one of the few options to earn your way past those earbuds!

5) Adjusting the marketing/advertising infrastructure

Quiz time.

You know without a doubt that word-of-mouth marketing (WOMM) is the purest, most trusted form of marketing, right? It’s been around forever … but how much of your budget is devoted to WOMM? My guess is: ZERO.

How about brand community? How about experiential marketing? Also, probably zero.

There are lots of marketing options beyond Facebook ads and SEO but we’ve stayed in the familiar marketing trenches. If you have a contract with an ad agency they are probably resisting alternative forms of marketing because, well, they’re not ads. There is a legacy infrastructure in place that keeps us less effective and boring.

6) Navigating a world where one person can alter brand strategy

Life used to be so easy. A brand was what we said it was. Today, a brand is what we tell each other. And that can spin out of control.

The problem with our social media world today isn’t a matter of free speech, it’s a matter of amplification. A hundred years ago, if somebody spread a conspiracy theory, it would be unlikely to get any further than the boundaries of a neighborhood. But today, false information and deep fakes can reach millions if it comes from an influencer.

Our favorite brands have spent decades and millions of dollars building consumer connections. And all that can be ruined by somebody who is out to get you. It is certainly a weird world where our hard-earned brand marketing can be tarnished in a single post.

7) Activating influencer marketing

I was sitting at a table of brand managers, and one of them said, “Influencers are everything.” That’s a profound statement. But if you’ve followed this post so far, you can see how influencers fit into this new marketing world.

Influencers have massive, loyal audiences, and their message can cut through the earbud blockade. They can be counted on to react with speed, in the moment. In fact, day-to-day relevance is what makes them great. They are more than trusted — Their biggest fans consider them family.

I’ve been following the influencer marketing trend since its beginning, and I think the momentum will pick up going forward. While this is mainstream media for the biggest brands, most companies are just getting started.

8) Talent Acquisition and Skill Gaps

The rapid evolution of digital/influencer/meme marketing requires new skills in AI, analytics, and content creation. Finding and retaining top talent is increasingly difficult. Something I hear all the time: “There is no shortage of marketing jobs. There is a shortage of the right skills for those jobs.”

9) Proving ROI and Justifying Budgets

Marketing teams face increasing pressure to demonstrate clear ROI on campaigns. With long sales cycles and brand-building efforts, attributing revenue directly to marketing initiatives has always been challenging.

I think this is the greatest source of marketing stress. Your boss expects marketing to be coin-operated. Put coins in, get more coins out. But customers don’t operate that way and they don’t care about your quarterly revenue goals. Marketing takes patience and that is not a popular trait these days.

10) Global de-population

I bet you didn’t see that one coming. But this mega-trend will put a lot of pressure on marketers and their brands.

The global birthrate is nowhere near the replacement average of 2.1 births per family. In the U.S., for example, the rate is about 1.4 births per family. Almost every business depends on population growth for incremental annual sales gains. However, the population will inexorably decline in most developed nations, which has massive implications for sales and marketing.

The latest UN numbers show that 2040 will be the peak population on earth, just 15 years away. So, it’s coming at us quickly.

Well, on that happy note, I’ll conclude this post on non-AI marketing issues. You might be thinking, “Whew … that’s a lot.” But that’s exactly why I love marketing. It’s a field that is endlessly changing and endlessly fascinating.

I love solving hard problems and marketing has no lack of them!

Need a keynote speaker? Mark Schaefer is the most trusted voice in marketing. Your conference guests will buzz about his insights long after your event! Mark is the author of some of the world’s bestselling marketing books, a college educator, and an advisor to many of the world’s largest brands. Contact Mark to have him bring a fun, meaningful, and memorable presentation to your company event or conference.

Follow Mark on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram

Image courtesy Mid Journey

The post The 10 biggest marketing challenges have nothing to do with AI appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

I am a fan of internet pioneer Kevin Kelly. His futuristic projections and books have informed much of my work. And while I don’t always agree with him, I pay close attention to his writing.

Last week, Kevin wrote a blog post titled The Handoff to Bots, which thinks through the implications of two colliding megatrends: global de-population due to a rapidly declining birthrate and the inevitable rise of AI bots taking over human jobs.

This collision seems calamitous — how many businesses depend on steady population growth for their economic progress? The specter of the population and job market simultaneously crashing in a freefall seems horrifying.

But Kevin is optimistic, even in the face of this probability. His thesis is that AI is not only capable of manufacturing and innovation but also driving consumption and economic growth. He contends this “handoff” from human labor to machine efficiency is essential for sustaining and improving living standards despite a declining human workforce.

What AI Utopia?

Kevin’s article repeats a familiar futurist theme: When the bots come, we’ll be able to do whatever we want to do! No more careers, no more toil. We will be living in Leisure World.

Go play. Or volunteer. Or write poetry. Hurray!

When will a transition to a dreamy AI Utopia arrive? Job loss is already occurring in some sectors, like customer service, where thousands of jobs have been replaced by AI agents.

But the initial tendency for these displaced workers isn’t to start watercolor painting or gardening. They’re looking for another job because there is no safety net for AI-replaced workers. There is no AI Utopia, at least not for the foreseeable future. There are bills to pay.

When will we see job displacement at scale? Many AI advocates say it’s soon, but I think it will be at least two to three years away. Why? Because every time a big tech shift seems imminent, it’s not. Tech moves fast, culture moves slowly, so there will be an adjustment period.

But, it’s coming. And when it does, there will be no mass migration to AI Utopia, as the futurists like to say. Most displaced people will be looking for jobs, not fishing trips. This is what’s nagging at me. What are the plans to help people navigate to a world without work? Who is planning for this?

Our smartest visionaries, like Kevin Kelly, think it’s inevitable.

But how?

Surviving AI Utopia

To get to the next step in my thought process, let’s assume we figure this transition out. The AI bots and humanoid bots arrive. They take millions of jobs. Somehow, the government extracts bot-created wealth from the technocrats, and re-distributes it equitably to the unemployed, and we indeed enter a new era of AI Utopia for humanity.

So we’ve arrived. But there is another aspect of this “do whatever we want” vision of Leisure World that’s unsettling. What exactly will we be doing with all this free time? Take endless vacations? Sit around writing poetry? Plant flowers?

If many careers go away, realistically, how will people fill their time? How many flowers can a person plant? My mind is boggled by the prospect that billions of work hours could suddenly be shifted to … what?

If and when we get through this transition to AI Utopia (5-10 years away?), there will be significant business opportunities ahead. Think about what businesses could thrive if they focus on 1) occupying all this vacant time and 2) creating meaning in our lives.

Occupying time

Part of the new AI Utopia will indeed be leisure. Follow your dreams! Thinking this through, there could be a huge surge for any products and services that serve these areas:

• Creative Industries: Art, music, literature, and design could experience a renaissance as more individuals pursue creative expression and innovation. Lessons, art supplies, crafts.
• Entertainment and Media: Immersive virtual reality experiences, gaming, and digital content production would evolve to offer personalized, high-quality entertainment. High-end electronics, gaming, gambling.
• Travel and Experiential Tourism: As disposable time increases, tourism may shift toward experiential and culturally rich travel, emphasizing unique, transformative journeys. Hunting, fishing, premium travel.
• Wellness and Personal Development: Sectors focused on physical health, mental well-being, and self-improvement—such as fitness, mindfulness, and holistic health services—are likely to expand. Trainers, studios, fitness apps, gear.
• Lifelong Learning and Education: Education could transform into an ongoing, enrichment-focused experience rather than a strict career path, fostering personal growth and new skill development. It could be a niche for universities or, more likely, community colleges.

Not an exhaustive list. But if you’re looking at a transitional career, these areas might be good bets.

Creating meaning

When the bots come, some people will just drop out, take the government replacement income, and sit on the beach all day. But I think most people will want something more than a hobby to occupy their time. They’ll need to replace the meaning and personal value that comes with having a job.

This will be a significant problem: Creating personal meaning for millions of unemployed people! So if you figure out a way to do that when AI Utopia arrives, you’re probably on a path to success. How might people find new meaning?

• Community and Social Engagement: Social clubs, local cultural events, and artisan markets might thrive. Might be an opportunity for a fresh approach to local service clubs.
• Spiritual Pursuits: I think there will be a renaissance in religion and religious studies. Joining a church community can provide meaning as well as companionship.
• Volunteerism. Perhaps the greatest benefit of Leisure World will be a passionate workforce ready to solve problems, protect our planet, and lift up the needy.

Another interesting side note on volunteerism. A recent experiment with a universal basic income found that when people had a stable monthly flow of money, their charitable giving increased. So the AI Utopia future might mean more volunteers and also more funding.

The asteroid we’re ignoring

There was news recently about an asteroid that might hit Earth in 2032. The probability is less than 1%, but scientists have already tested processes to alter its path. Cool.

What are the chances that AI and robots will displace millions of jobs by that same year? Far higher than 1%. Yet we have no deflection plan. No preparation strategy. No safety systems.

As we move closer to this inevitable collision of depopulation and unemployment, you’ll hear this refrain about humans being “free to pursue anything they want” over and over again. That’s not a solution. That’s the beginning of the real problem.

The next time the AI experts claim how we’ll all be free to do whatever we want in this AI future, ask them what that actually means.

Ask them who’s building the bridge.

Ask them who’s creating the safety nets.

And, ask yourself, what are our business plans for preparing for both the problems and opportunities of a drastically changing world?

Need a keynote speaker? Mark Schaefer is the most trusted voice in marketing. Your conference guests will buzz about his insights long after your event! Mark is the author of some of the world’s bestselling marketing books, a college educator, and an advisor to many of the world’s largest brands. Contact Mark to have him bring a fun, meaningful, and memorable presentation to your company event or conference.

Follow Mark on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram

Image courtesy Mid Journey

The post From Work to What? Surviving the AI Utopia Narrative appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

“The most human company wins.”

If I ever had something close to a “catch phrase,” it’s probably this. I use these words to end most of my speeches. It is the central theme of my Marketing Rebellion book. Of the millions of words I have written, this is the only phrase I have trademarked.

But I had to pause this week and wonder if it’s still true. The data is in, and it’s startling. AI isn’t just matching human empathy—it’s now exceeding it. What happens when the AI bots are more human than humans?

The empathetic bots

If you’ve immersed yourself in the world of AI (and I hope you have), you’ve witnessed the inexorable and explosive improvement of these systems on every level.

Recent breakthroughs show that AI can now reason through problems instead of just collating web data, demonstrating human-like logic. And now, AI can express empathy and understanding in a way that is more human than humans.

New research (first reported by Mike Kaput of the Artificial Intelligence Show) suggests that AI may not just match human empathy but, in some cases, exceed it. A team of researchers tested whether people could tell the difference between responses from GPT 4 versus licensed therapists when presented with therapy challenges. The participants struggled to tell AI from human responses, and when they were asked to rate them, they preferred the AI responses in key areas like empathy, therapeutic alliance, and cultural competence.

This doesn’t necessarily mean the AI therapist was more effective in producing results in a patient. In fact, there is evidence of harm coming from bot-therapists. However, the breakthrough idea is that AI can produce empathetic responses that are preferred over highly skilled professionals, and there are some interesting implications for that.

Is it real human emotion? No. But it doesn’t seem to matter.

The leap to the business world

It doesn’t take much imagination to see how scaling soft skills like this could provide immediate value in the corporate world.

Allstate, one of the largest insurers in the U. S., is using AI to generate nearly all its emails for communications about claims. The reason — responses from bots are less accusatory, use clearer language, and express more empathy than humans, according to the company.

Allstate is using ChatGPT to fuel the customer replies, while grounding them in company-specific terminology.

Implications for our human work

Some people have soothed themselves by hoping that we could never take real human empathy out of our jobs. But these developments show that extracting humans from a process can produce results that are more empathetic,  patient, kind … and profitable.

AI might represent perfect empathy. It never tires. It never judges. It maintains unwavering patience and understanding, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It can instantaneously access and process vast databases of human psychology, cultural contexts, and communication strategies. It can read micro-expressions better than humans, understand vocal tone with greater accuracy, and predict emotional responses with superior precision.

If a customer receives better care, feels more understood, and achieves better outcomes with AI, what possible value is there in knowing their customer service rep or account manager is a human who has “real” feelings?

The harsh truth is that in many cases, human empathy will become a liability. Organizations that cling to human-delivered empathy will find themselves at a competitive disadvantage, unable to match the consistent, scalable, and superior emotional intelligence offered by AI.

Right?

Does human empathy matter?

About 20 years ago, I went through the darkest time of my life, an episode I describe in Chapter 1 of my book KNOWN. I would not wish that experience on anyone, but I emerged with a new superpower.

When I meet somebody who is “below zero” in their life, I can look them in the eye and express empathy based on my own experience. It’s not perfect. I’m not a trained psychotherapist. But sometimes, the perfect empathy isn’t based on a database or interpreting micro-expressions. It’s messy. It comes from a hard, lived experience. It comes from scars.

When you’re just trying to get through life hour to hour, you need something more than a bot.

It’s a paradox. While AI can demonstrate behaviors that appear more consistently empathetic than humans, this very fact illuminates something profound about human nature and our future role in an AI-dominant world.

The human advantage isn’t in flawlessly executing empathetic responses — it’s in our capacity for genuine connection, especially when we’re imperfect. We can relate to others precisely because we share the messy reality of being human: we know what it means to struggle, to doubt, to sit in a dark corner and sob. Our empathy comes from going through an existential war, not AI pattern recognition.

What emerges isn’t a story of replacement for human empathy, but of evolution.

The most human company

Yes, the most human company still wins. But the most human company will be the one that thoughtfully blends AI’s reliable, empathetic responses with unique moments when we need our messy, vulnerable, beautiful, authentically human selves.

Those companies will recognize that while AI can handle the day-to-day empathetic heavy lifting, breakthrough human connections — those moments of real understanding, creativity, and growth — still require human hearts and minds.

One time, I had a coaching call with a young man who had a resume-writing service. This is a pretty boring product that has been commoditized. I struggled to help him find a meaningful niche where he could stand out.

“Why do you do this job?” I asked.

He became emotional and animated. “I see people every day who have not looked for a job in 20 or 30 years,” he said. “They are terrified. I know I can help them. I will hold their hand through this process. I will not let them down.”

I told him to record a video of himself saying exactly that and post it on the front of his website immediately. His humanity was his niche.

Sometimes, true human empathy is everything.

The most human company wins. Now and forever.

Need a keynote speaker? Mark Schaefer is the most trusted voice in marketing. Your conference guests will buzz about his insights long after your event! Mark is the author of some of the world’s bestselling marketing books, a college educator, and an advisor to many of the world’s largest brands. Contact Mark to have him bring a fun, meaningful, and memorable presentation to your company event or conference.

Follow Mark on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram

Image courtesy Mid Journey

The post When Robots Care More: The Evolution of Human Empathy appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

A few months ago, I viewed a demonstration of a new ad agency “operating system” that showed how AI could take one piece of blog content and distort it endlessly into a nearly infinite number of variations to serve every platform and every language. It made me feel ill as the copy of a copy of a copy gradually lost any connection to its human origins.

An AWS study showed that already a shocking 57.1% of all the content on the web is an AI-garbled dumpster of poor quality re-purposed content. And as AI inexorably scans the web for more information to learn and grow, it’s now training on its own crappy content.

In one respect, this ocean of meh might seem intimidating. Wasn’t it hard enough to stand out in this world — and now we have bots flooding our niches with so much crap that we’ll never be found?

But this is also an opportunity because the real, the human, the content that is surprising and even a little crazy, will feel like an oasis. The content that approaches the level of human art will stand out. The marketing activations that bring people together in shared experiences will be remembered and even celebrated.

But we simply can’t keep doing what we’ve always been doing. Competent doesn’t cut it. Competence doesn’t create conversations. Competent is ignorable.

This new AI marketing reality demands human audacity. So let’s get to it.

The place for humans in a pandemic of dull

Last week, I was given an incredible gift that I want to share with you.

Douglas Burdett, the legendary host of The Marketing Book podcast, came out of retirement to interview me about these topics — the core of my new book Audacious: How Humans Win in an AI Marketing World. The interview was part of a global livestream (you can see it here).

This discussion was so wonderful that I turned the recording into a special podcast episode for you. We cover:

• What are the strategies for human-based marketing in an AI-dominant world?
• How do humans unleash the revolutionary power of “everyday awe” in our businesses?
• Why AI creates a “pandemic of dull” that can only be overcome by human ingenuity.

… and much more.

It’s an incredibly fascinating show, and I hope you’ll join in by clicking here:

Click here to enjoy Marketing Companion Episode 309

Please support our sponsor, who brings you this fantastic episode.

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This episode is brought to you by Brevo (formerly Sendinblue). Brevo gives you the tools to attract, engage, and nurture customer relationships.

Now, any business can build automated customer experiences, email marketing workflows, and landing pages that guide your customer to your main message. We are here to support businesses successfully navigating their digital presence to strengthen their customer relationships.

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Illustration courtesy MidJourney

The post How AI is creating a pandemic of dull (and what to do about it!) appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

My new book is called Audacious: How Humans Win in an AI Marketing World. It’s a call to action for those who refuse to be left behind, as AI infringes on our work and our careers.

I knew the book itself had to demonstrate the norm-bending path I outlined in the book … but how? The publishing industry is so boring, built on processes that have existed for more than 200 years. There’s not a lot of room for breaking rules in a business like that.

But I did it. The cover of Audacious is a first-in-the-world AI-driven Augmented Reality experience — a book cover that’s never the same twice. Some have compared the cover to an art show or a video game. Click the video to see what it looks like:

This is the story of the “infinity cover” and how the most audacious book cover in history came to life.

The Spoonshot

Over the years, I’ve developed an admiration, and then a friendship, with the founders of Giant Spoon, a marketing agency recently named by Fast Company as one of the most creative companies in the world. Their quirky, norm-busting approach has won them award after award, and of course, that’s fascinating to a marketing geek like me.

I first mentioned Giant Spoon in my book Marketing Rebellion when I described the new momentum toward experiential marketing — a characteristic of much of their work. One of their activations was actually the catalytic idea that started me down the path for Audacious!

I knew I had to knock this new book out of the park. I was confident in my research and writing (my best work!), but I needed to create an experience that would push the boundaries of what a book could be. When I mentioned this to Marc Simons, a Giant Spoon co-founder, he said, “We can help.”

We were about to get a little crazy and launch what the agency calls a “Spoonshot.”

The creative process

It was a lot of fun going through the brainstorming process with Giant Spoon. Early ideas involved my naked body (the world is not ready for that one) and a pen that literally contained a sample of my sweat and blood (representing the work that went into the book).

The idea that rose to the top was an extreme version of the book — something that nobody had seen before. So we scoured the world for ideas and focused on an embossed leather cover. That proved to be far too expensive, and as we explored other techniques like foil embossing, we couldn’t find any idea that was an “oh wow” for a reasonable price.

I wasn’t against spending money, but the margin on book sales is so low so I had to watch the budget. One of the lessons in Audacious is that a big budget can hinder creativity. So we rolled up our sleeves and pursued new concepts.

I had the idea of creating a provocative book cover with nothing but a QR code — but where would the QR code lead?

The original Giant Spoon idea was that it would open a portal to another world populated by the stories and characters of the book — a quest. But this was also going to be complicated and costly.

And then, Giant Spoon Creative Director Ian Grody tossed out an idea that made my heart skip a beat. What if the cover kept changing? What if the book was never the same way twice?

If we could pull that off, we would achieve something that had never been done before! We had our path — on a reasonable budget!

The AI activated book

I did some tests to see how a QR code could be used in various circumstances. Would it work if it was as small as a thumbnail on Amazon? If it was presented on an angle? Would it even be legal within Amazon guidelines for me to publish a cover that was nothing but a QR code?

I determined that it could theoretically work and now we had to figure out HOW! This had never been done before, and it required ingenuity and determination.

Our concept was to upload the completed manuscript into an AI large language model and generate art based on stories in the book. The AI was also “fed” sample art to help us attain a unique, consistent output of abstract images.

It worked — sort of. The early versions were far too abstract and weird!

We learned that we needed to be more descriptive with our prompts for the AI to create something that resembled something from the book. The final results are still abstract but more connected to the stories in the book. You might even see abstract art of me on the cover!

The biggest technical challenge was linking the art to the QR code in a seamless reader experience. The Giant Spoon team found a creative solution — design a custom Snapchat filter that led to the AR experience. This was a breakthrough idea because it didn’t require any special download or passcode for the reader. Just point your smartphone camera at the cover, click to approve the experience, and go!

After a few months of work, we had a system in place!

The cover design

Now that we had an AI activated AR experience, we had to design the actual cover. It had to have a background with enough contrast to accurately display the code and bold enough to stand out as a small thumbnail image on Amazon.

Here’s an early version:

I loved the bold blue design, but it was inconsistent with the color palette of the abstract art in the AR experience. We wanted the cover-to-AR experience to seem seamless. We tried a lot of crazy combinations, including a photo of a plaster wall I took while visiting Italy:

I actually liked this idea … there was a story behind the cover art! But it was too pale to make the QR code stand out. We needed something bolder. I took a photo of a cool color pattern in an architectural magazine and asked the designer to see how it would look as a cover. We were getting close:

This is a great cover and it really popped. But there was one more iteration. Giant Spoon finalized the morphing AI images and suggested a more subtle gradient design that mimicked the tone of the new abstract art:

Voila! This is the final version, and it has the working QR code, so go ahead and give it a try if you haven’t purchased the book yet!

There was one other significant change to this cover: The subtitle. Some of the beta readers (people who provide feedback on the book before it is finalized) didn’t like the original subtitle, “The Rebel’s Guide to Disruptive Marketing.” They didn’t think it encompassed the bold promise of the book.

I kept thinking about one of the lines in the book — “This is a rallying cry for those who refuse to be ignored.” That’s the spirit I wanted to capture. We all need to rally and find a way forward in a world where the bots are creeping in on us. So I landed on: “How Humans Win in an AI Marketing World.”

Beyond the AI activated cover

In addition to the standard AR cover, I also created AR experiences for:

• An alternative cover for ads where the QR code leads to the promotional video instead of the art
• A unique AR experience that aligns with the square audiobook cover
• Custom AR experiences for foreign publishers.

As you see, the cover took months of work and innovation. Some times it was nerve-wracking as we pioneered a new concept. But the cover is just the beginning of the book’s surprises. You’ll also find a puzzle within the book, QR codes leading to case study videos, and “Easter egg” surprises.

I hope you’ll buy my book and experience this unique work first-hand!

Need a keynote speaker? Mark Schaefer is the most trusted voice in marketing. Your conference guests will buzz about his insights long after your event! Mark is the author of some of the world’s bestselling marketing books, a college educator, and an advisor to many of the world’s largest brands. Contact Mark to have him bring a fun, meaningful, and memorable presentation to your company event or conference.

Follow Mark on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram

Top photo courtesy of Peggy Bodinaku

The post The story behind the world’s first AI activated book appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.