AI has been the dominant subject among communication and marketing experts for the past two years. This past year, more of our industry colleagues began moving from experimentation to implementation.
As part of our AI implementation journey at Grubhub, we integrated a robust suite of tools to shape and refine a campaign called “Special Delivery.” This multi-channel campaign aimed to help moms get the one thing they’ve been craving for nine months: their post-delivery meal.
After months of dietary restrictions, we discovered that the postpartum meal was highly anticipated, with 75% of moms planning it during pregnancy. To celebrate this, Grubhub sponsored moms’ first meal post-delivery during August, the peak birth month in the U.S.
Throughout this campaign, AI addressed many relevant needs and use cases. Here are my three biggest takeaways.
Harness Human Emotions with AI
Creating emotional connections with consumers is paramount to building our brand and driving the business forward. When consumers feel emotionally connected, they develop a sense of belonging and attachment, which can enhance their satisfaction and likelihood to advocate for that brand. Especially when we operate in a commoditized industry with not much differentiation between competitors.
The “Special Delivery” campaign was all about zeroing in on that very personal, emotionally charged moment in a new parent’s life. Therefore, it was essential our creative content conveyed that in the most authentic and compelling way possible.
Given this, one of the most exciting aspects of our AI campaign integration was leveraging AI-powered Emotive Content Testing. With this tool, the team was able to test the effectiveness of creative content using real-time facial recognition technology. Real-time facial recognition technology allowed us to understand consumers’ subconscious reactions to our hero video - before we even launched it. Through this, we learned what elements of the video were strongest at capturing attention, driving emotional engagement, and inspiring action. And perhaps more importantly, what aspects of the video were driving the opposite emotions.
The power of Emotive Content Testing lies in its ability to monitor real-time facial cues, unlike traditional testing methods that rely on written surveys. This approach helps eliminate the various biases often present in traditional testing environments. It’s a lot easier to hide behind a written response than it is your facial expressions. If you’ve been doing opinion research long enough you understand that people aren’t always honest with what they say compared to their actual behaviors.
Artificial Intelligence Can’t Replace Emotional Intelligence
One of the biggest concerns with AI is the potential elimination of jobs. However, we implemented nearly 20 A/B tests throughout the “Special Delivery” campaign to understand if AI-led (A) or human-led (B) development of campaign communications was more effective.
What we discovered is that it isn’t about A versus B. The winning formula is A+B. Artificial Intelligence can’t replace emotional intelligence. But what it can replace are the rote tasks that prevent us from spending more time on what’s really important - and that’s effective storytelling.
An easy example is press release writing. Think about the amount of time it can take to get an initial draft on paper. Maybe 2-3 hours, which can be more if you have writer’s block. With AI, those 2-3 hours can be done in 2-3 seconds, giving back valuable time to focus on making the storytelling more creative, compelling, and, ultimately, more effective.
The biggest risk for PR practitioners is NOT embracing and adopting AI as a critical tool in the toolbelt.
Don’t Be Afraid to Play the “Newbie Card”
New AI technology and tools are emerging at an astonishing rate. What’s cutting edge today might be outdated by COB tomorrow.
Because of this, it’s critical both clients and agency partners embark on their AI journey together with full transparency. There has never been a time when playing the ‘newbie card’ was more valuable than trying to be the ‘expert in the room.’
At the start of the Special Delivery campaign, only 37.5% of our in-house and agency teams had experience using AI. We embraced this fact and committed to complete transparency throughout the AI integration process. By regularly examining what was working, identifying areas for improvement, and sharing new insights, both teams rapidly expanded their AI knowledge.
Adopting a learner’s mindset rather than pretending to be an expert is crucial for thriving in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.
Dave Tovar is the senior vice president of communications and government relations at Grubhub where he drives brand positioning, stakeholder engagement, and shareholder value. Previously, he served as vice president of U.S. communications for McDonald’s, overseeing brand engagement and system communications, and was senior vice president of corporate
communications at Sprint, managing executive communications and corporate reputation. He is a member of the USC Center for PR board of advisers.