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Marketing Transformation in the AI Era

Aug 12-2025   



*This article is based on a lecture given by Du Xiaomeng, Ph.D. in Marketing from Peking University, Assistant Research Fellow at the National School of Development, Peking University, and Deputy Director of the Management Innovation Lab.

 

In the field of marketing, there has always been a debate about whether marketing is a science or an art. Ten years ago, the rise of big data technology continuously enhanced the scientific nature of marketing, enabling precise measurement of advertising ROI and prediction of consumer purchasing intentions. Nowadays, the emergence of generative AI has further boosted marketing creativity, highlighting the artistry of marketing. It is evident that both digital technology and AI technology have had a profound impact on marketing.

 

Simply put, AI is a technology that enables machines to think, reason, and work like humans. It is not actually a new concept. AI was proposed at the Dartmouth Conference in 1956, and its development has experienced ups and downs. The current AI technology revolution, centered around deep learning, has achieved innovative breakthroughs in natural language processing and large language models. ChatGPT and ERNIE Bot are typical examples.

 

For marketing, AI is bringing significant changes in the following five areas:

 

Improving marketing efficiency: In the past, it took 4A companies several months to produce TV or magazine advertisements. In the computer era, this was shortened to a few weeks, and in the mobile Internet era, it only took a few days. AI significantly improves marketing efficiency.

 

Empowering marketing strategies: A study by the Wharton School found that ChatGPT outperformed Wharton MBA students in terms of new product creativity, marketing strategy, and tactics. With the support of AI, human performance also improves. As AI continues to learn, it may surpass humans in the field of marketing in the future, helping businesses achieve more breakthroughs.

 

Assisting in product innovation: Nowadays, consumers have increasingly high requirements for the product innovation cycle. Using AI to mine Internet data can quickly analyze consumer demand and facilitate product innovation.

 

Transforming the advertising model: BMW advertisements are created by humans, while Volvo uses pure AI to create advertisements. AI-generated images can effectively convey environmental protection concepts. AI excels at creating unexpected effects and utilizing video generation tools to produce advertisements efficiently and at low cost.

 

Inspiring content creativity: The copywriting and character images for Midea’s World Boredom Day campaign were generated by AI, which can also convey emotional value. As long as the prompt words are set appropriately, AI can play an important role in content innovation such as graphics and videos.

 

Due to time constraints, only a portion of the content on AI and big data marketing has been introduced. In our offline CMO course, we will provide a detailed explanation of how AI can transform various modules of marketing implementation, including advertising, content, social media, and e-commerce. We will also help participants choose appropriate AI technologies and tools based on their own needs.

 

The course I teach mainly uses data and technological tools to assist enterprises in building a scientific marketing decision-making system, covering the application of STP (Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning) centered on consumer operations in the digital age. Through the combination of big and small data, we conduct consumer insights, profiling, precision marketing, and loyalty management. It also includes product innovation combined with lifecycle management models to reduce risks, scientific pricing models and price testing, brand building (such as brand strategy and health management), public domain marketing, private domain operations, and the introduction of data tools for major marketing platforms.

 

In short, big data and AI in marketing run throughout the process, using data and technological tools to make scientific marketing decisions and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of all aspects of marketing.

Marketing Transformation in the AI Era

Aug 12-2025   



*This article is based on a lecture given by Du Xiaomeng, Ph.D. in Marketing from Peking University, Assistant Research Fellow at the National School of Development, Peking University, and Deputy Director of the Management Innovation Lab.

 

In the field of marketing, there has always been a debate about whether marketing is a science or an art. Ten years ago, the rise of big data technology continuously enhanced the scientific nature of marketing, enabling precise measurement of advertising ROI and prediction of consumer purchasing intentions. Nowadays, the emergence of generative AI has further boosted marketing creativity, highlighting the artistry of marketing. It is evident that both digital technology and AI technology have had a profound impact on marketing.

 

Simply put, AI is a technology that enables machines to think, reason, and work like humans. It is not actually a new concept. AI was proposed at the Dartmouth Conference in 1956, and its development has experienced ups and downs. The current AI technology revolution, centered around deep learning, has achieved innovative breakthroughs in natural language processing and large language models. ChatGPT and ERNIE Bot are typical examples.

 

For marketing, AI is bringing significant changes in the following five areas:

 

Improving marketing efficiency: In the past, it took 4A companies several months to produce TV or magazine advertisements. In the computer era, this was shortened to a few weeks, and in the mobile Internet era, it only took a few days. AI significantly improves marketing efficiency.

 

Empowering marketing strategies: A study by the Wharton School found that ChatGPT outperformed Wharton MBA students in terms of new product creativity, marketing strategy, and tactics. With the support of AI, human performance also improves. As AI continues to learn, it may surpass humans in the field of marketing in the future, helping businesses achieve more breakthroughs.

 

Assisting in product innovation: Nowadays, consumers have increasingly high requirements for the product innovation cycle. Using AI to mine Internet data can quickly analyze consumer demand and facilitate product innovation.

 

Transforming the advertising model: BMW advertisements are created by humans, while Volvo uses pure AI to create advertisements. AI-generated images can effectively convey environmental protection concepts. AI excels at creating unexpected effects and utilizing video generation tools to produce advertisements efficiently and at low cost.

 

Inspiring content creativity: The copywriting and character images for Midea’s World Boredom Day campaign were generated by AI, which can also convey emotional value. As long as the prompt words are set appropriately, AI can play an important role in content innovation such as graphics and videos.

 

Due to time constraints, only a portion of the content on AI and big data marketing has been introduced. In our offline CMO course, we will provide a detailed explanation of how AI can transform various modules of marketing implementation, including advertising, content, social media, and e-commerce. We will also help participants choose appropriate AI technologies and tools based on their own needs.

 

The course I teach mainly uses data and technological tools to assist enterprises in building a scientific marketing decision-making system, covering the application of STP (Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning) centered on consumer operations in the digital age. Through the combination of big and small data, we conduct consumer insights, profiling, precision marketing, and loyalty management. It also includes product innovation combined with lifecycle management models to reduce risks, scientific pricing models and price testing, brand building (such as brand strategy and health management), public domain marketing, private domain operations, and the introduction of data tools for major marketing platforms.

 

In short, big data and AI in marketing run throughout the process, using data and technological tools to make scientific marketing decisions and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of all aspects of marketing.