On the Edge of Something Wild: AI, Art, and What Comes Next

Last week, industry colleague Scott Powell shared a long-format thought piece around the impant of AI and how it might affect the Advertising & Marketing industries.

Reading The Paradox of Creativity felt like watching a mirror form mid-air reflecting both our hunger for innovation and a deep nostalgia for something we’re quietly losing. Some of it is hard to face. The idea that human-made art might soon be the exception, not the norm, isn’t just a shift in medium, it’s a shift in meaning.

I agree with the central thread: society is already starting to look backward, grasping for the raw, imperfect beauty that only human hands and minds can create. We’re beginning to crave authenticity again. In a world soon to be flooded with hyper-efficient, AI-generated content, it’s the flawed, the deeply personal, the soul-bearing work that will stand out.

That’s why AI should remain a tool. One that tightens up repetitive tasks, handles drudgery, helps with project management. But it shouldn’t be the artist. It shouldn’t replace the spark that comes from lived experience, pain, joy, risk the things that feed real creativity.

We’re on the precipice of something wild. What that something is, only time will tell. But it’s clear we need to decide, collectively and consciously, what kind of creative future we’re building and who gets to build it.

Thanks, Scott, for the reflection. It’s one we all need to sit with.

Looming Recession and Consumer Spending Trends 2023: Reducing Excess Ad Spend

There is a big public argument right now whether or not we will go into a recession. We don’t have the answers but we can say that inflation is at an extreme high and that is affecting the way that consumers are spending. HubSpot conducted a survey to see how people are responding to the spending habits and 30% are spending less than they previously were. 34% said that if a recession is officially declared then they will decrease their home budget. This survey also included things that consumers spent their money on during financially uncertain times. It’s not surprising that it included: essential groceries, rent/mortgage, house bills, medication/healthcare, and essential personal care products. These are all necessities, and no money was spent on luxury items. It will be important during these times for brands to market their affordability and value. For marketing purposes, reducing excess spending and refocusing on essential marketing is key. Here are some tips to help!

1.     Know your audience. Campaigns that fail due to lack of knowledge on your audience is, is just throwing your money away. Who is using your product the most and where do they hang out? What are their interests? Narrowing down your customer will keep you from essentially wasting your brand’s budget. Quality over quantity here.

2.     Focus on your brand. How does your brand make people feel? Do they connect with you on an emotional level? Your branding should be authentic, transparent and most of all, consistent. Use found content in your campaigns to connect with them in this way. People should be able to know it’s your brand without even seeing the name.

3.     Accurate measurements. Try to use data that is highest quality if you can. First-party you can collect yourself from your website, email subscribers and social media accounts.

4.     Right place, right time. This goes back to knowing your audience as well. What times to advertise are important. Knowing where is even more crucial. What is the age group? This may determine which social channel they spend more time on. Are you targeting those who typically work a 9-5 job? Then run your streaming service ads in the evening when they are most likely to be watching T.V.

5.     Keywords. Knowing what people are actually searching will help them find your brand more efficiently. Explore competitors’ sites to see what they are targeting if you aren’t sure.

In uncertain times the best way to handle your brand is through focusing your efforts on things that you can control. Decreasing excess marketing spend is one of those things. There will always be things out of our control in business. This is where we can choose to thrive through shifting our efforts to improving new areas of focus. Good businesses are able to adapt and shift to new circumstances within their field.

Tips for Writing a Good Blog

There are so many different types of blogs out there from how-to guides, news article reviews, interviews, explanatory and even personal.  If you’re a vet or just getting started there are a few things to consider when trying to write a great blog. Here are some of our tips to writing something that grabs your audience’s attention and keeps it.

1.     Trim the nonsense. Make sure your writing is concise. This isn’t a college paper where you’re trying to make it to 7 pages of information and adding unnecessary sentences and words. People want something that is easy to read and clear!

2.     “The hook brings them back.” Blues Traveler wasn’t wrong. A good hook will grab your reader’s attention. There are so many ways to do this. Start with something startling, form an emotional connection, ask a question… you get the idea. Do some research on how to write great hooks.

3.     Use the senses. Taste, smell, audio, touch and even taste. Be descriptive with your writing to make the reader’s imagination go wild.

4.     Connect your sentences. A powerful sentence is connected to the ones around it but make sure to vary your words and say the same things in different ways.

5.     Proofread! I’ll be honest here. I’m the run-on sentence queen. I always have someone double check my writing for errors and mistakes.

6.     Keep it conversational. Write as if you’re talking to a good friend on a Sunday evening sitting on the couch. They should be fun to read as well as informative. I speak directly to the reader sometimes. I love being able to do this coming from an academic science background of formal writing. Use it to your advantage and have fun with it.

Writing blog aren’t only fun, they’re good for your business! They improve your SEO on your website if you have one. We’re gonna’ assume that if you’re reading this, that you do. It will also help drive traffic to your website and reinforce your brand. In turn, it can help increase sales. Hopefully this added some tools to your writing tool box that may have not been there before. Happy writing 

Small Business Advantage

In our world today, we likely think of big conglomerates owning markets. However, in the U.S., small businesses comprise of 99.9% of all firms according to the SBA. Strategies between large and small brands are going to be different, due to their specific marketing niches. While larger companies can offer more to a wider variety of consumers, small businesses do have their advantages. As a small business ourselves we pride ourselves on these unique traits that make us stand out in our area of expertise. Here are some ways that small businesses have an upper hand from large firms.  

1. Specific niches. Just as we are here at Locomotive most small businesses focus on a very concise skill set. This means that people will know where to go when they need specific products or services. For us, it’s our expertise in the area of sourced content for advertising campaigns. Big brands may not even know what their particular niches are. 

2. Faster decision making and flexibility. While large companies focus on consistency, it will take longer for approvals for just about anything they do. Small business has more flexibility to make their own decisions and less chain of command when it comes to thinking on their feet. This makes for quick decisions and changes when sometimes going with the flow can help your clients and consumers. 

3. Personalized service. Small brands can offer more personalization and treats each client or customer as a human. They can take time to get to know their audience or clients to develop a real relationship with them. people inherently want to connect with others. You will understand what they want and need from you. This will also ensure loyalty and word of mouth recommendations. 

4. Innovation. The innovative aspect of small business can be due in part to lack of this service or product from larger companies. This already makes you a stand out company. Make sure to highlight what it is that makes your brand innovative. 

5. Adaptability. Because of the personalized experiences and flexibility that your small business can offer adaptability is the result. Since they know their audience personally, they can adapt to any changes in their needs quickly. 

These are only some of the benefits of owning a small business. There are so many reasons that your small brand has advantages over the “Big Guys.” Highlight your uniqueness and share your passions for what you do with confidence. Others will see this spark and be drawn to your brand.

Key Performance Indicators

What is a KPI and why do they matter? We keep seeing this thrown around the advertising and marketing world so we thought it would be good to touch base on what they are exactly and why they are important. KPI’s are quantifiable measures of performance in order to gauge progress and insights in particular areas of your business. KPI’s are target that should be tracked because they support the overall goals of the brand through keeping the team aligned, checks on the organization to spot problems, helps allot for adjustments that need to be made if something isn’t working by analyzing patterns and it will hold the whole company accountable. KPI’s are found in every area of a business from finance to advertising campaigns. There are literally so many to list we couldn’t do it all in one article. However, we will list a few for example that pertain to marketing.

1.     Qualified leads. This can be done as marketing qualified leads or sales qualified leads. Either way, it shows the marketing team how many leads are coming in and how many are talking to the sales team.

2.     ROI. You’ve heard this one a lot in our articles. It’s insanely important. This is the amount of revenue in versus how much is spent.

3.     Funnel conversion rates. This is the percentage of visitors who complete some desired action. Examples would be signing up for a newsletter or purchasing a product.

4.     Customer acquisition costs. This is a measure of the amount of money to convert a lead into a customer.

5.     Customer engagement. This can be tracked very well in social media through likes, shares, saves, mentions and comments.

6.     Customer retention. Helps you better understand your audience. Your “turnover” rate for your customers can give your brand insight into what may or may not be working.

KPI’s can help your brand make more informed and better decisions within the company. Choose the KPI’s that will matter most in your marketing department and that will align with the brand’s overall vision. Tracking your progress is the best way to secure a well-founded marketing strategy for your brand!