Developing professionals for the digital era

In the discussion about the paper “A Heteronomous Consumer Romance”, for the Tell Me a Story podcast, Mike Molesworth (who authored that paper) reflected on how the job of a marketer has changed as a result of the digitalisation of consumption. It’s a topic that Lee Quinn, Sally Dibb, Lyndon Simkin, Mathew Analogbei and I also discussed in the paper “Troubled Waters: The … Continue reading Developing professionals for the digital era

AI in Marketing – slide set from introductory workshop

About a year ago, I delivered an introductory workshop to students of the MSc AI Strategy, about the role of Artificial Intelligence in Marketing. Recently, a colleague (from a different field) was asking me for an overview on this topic, and I shared this slide set with her. She said that it had been really … Continue reading AI in Marketing – slide set from introductory workshop

ChatGPT and university education – the opportunity, the challenge and the breakthrough

Image created using Dall-E Like it or not, ChatGPT and other forms of generative conversational AI are here to stay. Last weekend, John Naughton, writing in the Guardian, compared ChatGPT to Excel*, noting that “[Excel] went from being an intriguing but useful augmentation of human capabilities to being a mundane accessory”. It would never occur to current … Continue reading ChatGPT and university education – the opportunity, the challenge and the breakthrough

Dear ChatGPT, your answer is convincing but it is a complete fabrication

I have been spending some time exploring ChatGPT, the new AI powered, conversational chatbot, which is attracting a lot of attention for the range and the quality of its output. ChatGPT, by OpenAI, was launched at the end of November. It can do things as diverse as writing letters / e-mails, short answers, long articles … Continue reading Dear ChatGPT, your answer is convincing but it is a complete fabrication

AI impact on managerial roles

The jobs most impacted by previous waves of automation tended to be those consisting of repetitive, manual tasks. Think washing clothes, weaving and other blue collar jobs. With Artificial Intelligence (AI) automation, we started talking about the impact of this technology on jobs with repetitive tasks of an analytical nature. Say, translation, radiology, or bookkeeping. … Continue reading AI impact on managerial roles

Guest talk: Jacob Thundil, MBE; Founder & MD Cocofina

The style and appearance of the space where the service is delivered (including online space) is highly consequential for: Facilitating the service encounter and enhancing productivitySignalling quality, and positioning the brandReinforcing the value proposition, andShaping customers’ (and employees’) feelings and behaviours in the space For instance, warm colours are energising, while cool colours are calming. … Continue reading Guest talk: Jacob Thundil, MBE; Founder & MD Cocofina

Balancing the multiple sides of academic life

I recently did a talk about how to balance teaching, research and administrative roles, as part of a career in higher education. As academics, we are expected to excel at three types of tasks: teaching, research, and administrative roles. For teaching, the work is cyclical, done in short, intense bursts; requires strong communication skills; and … Continue reading Balancing the multiple sides of academic life

Guest talk: Yekemi Otaru, B2B Sales & Marketing Strategist

This week, Ms Yekemi Otaru joined my Services Marketing class to talk about how she combats the pricing and competitive pressures faced by her marketing agency. Yekemi is an entrepreneur and owner of Doqaru Limited. She is also a B2B Sales & Marketing Strategist, and a Bestselling Author about social media in the business to … Continue reading Guest talk: Yekemi Otaru, B2B Sales & Marketing Strategist

To be, or not to be humanlike, that is the question for marketing AI

As a concept, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is usually defined in terms of how closely its workings (e.g., ability to hold a conversation) resemble human reasoning. The closer it is to humanlike performance, the better the AI is deemed to be (read about the Turing test, here). But what about the way the AI looks? Or … Continue reading To be, or not to be humanlike, that is the question for marketing AI

[Miscellany] Students these days

Differences between generations Now and then, when I am talking with colleagues who have been teaching in the University environment for... some time (almost 20 years, like me), one of us will end up reminiscing about the “good old days” when we would do X or Y, which worked well with students. We will wonder … Continue reading [Miscellany] Students these days