Davos 2025: Can AI Help Brands Address“Fundamental Human Needs”?

(MENAFN- PRovoke) So much of the communications profession's discussion around the impact of artificial intelligence has focused on efficiency-a focus that has excited some observers with the promise of greater efficiency and made others nervous by suggesting that AI might replace them.

But technology public relations firm Hotwire says that by“solely focusing on efficiency as a guiding principle for AI strategy, brands limit themselves from participating in an unprecedented revolution,” and convened a discussion at this year's World Economic Forum to look at ways in which brands can use AI to build different-and potentially deeper-relationships with their stakeholders.

The discussion in Davos built on a report“AI Beyond Efficiency” developed in partnership with House of Beautiful Brands, and was led by Hotwire global CEO Heather Kernahan.

A New Framework for AI

Introducing the discussion, Till Grusche, co-founder and co-CEO at the House of Beautiful Business suggested that as the initial excitement over AI began to fade,“there's been quite a bit of disillusionment or realization that efficiency alone only gets you so far in marketing and communications.”

He quoted Neil Evely , head of innovation at HELO, who said “we will no doubt see a huge influx of really average, very obviously AI made content which will flood every device we have,” and suggested,“If everyone's focusing on running things as efficiently as possible, it really is a race to the lowest common denominator.”

Marketers and communicators, Grusche suggested, need“a new north star” that goes beyond increased efficiency and helps brands focus on“universal human needs.”

In developed a new framework for brands, Hotwire and House of Beautiful Business asked a series of questions:“Should our brand's use of AI help customers and employees feel a greater sense of control over themselves in their circumstances? Should our brand's use of AI help customers and employees be seen and valued for who they are and what they contribute? Should our brand's use of AI empower customers and employees to have a greater social and environmental impact on the world? And should our brand's use of AI foster relationships that are intimate, not just personal?”

As a result, the two organizations came up with a framework based on four values:

• The first value is Agency,“the independent capability or ability to act on one's will. This quadrant considers how AI can give customers and employees a greater sense of control over themselves and their circumstances.
• The second value is Recognition,“the acknowledgement of one's existence and validity. This quadrant considers how AI can help customers and employees feel seen and valued for their contributions, thereby making them feel recognized.”
• The third value is Impact,“which means having a strong effect on someone or something. This quadrant considers how AI can improve customers' lives in social, ethical, and environmental ways, thereby raising the quality of life for everyone.”
• The fourth value is Intimacy,“defined by close emotional familiarity or friendship. This quadrant considers how brands can use AI to foster relationships that are intimate, not just personalized.”

Real World Experiences

“I feel like marketing right now, there's a whole new advent for what's possible,” said Michele Griffith, founder & CEO at Premier GTM, a“go-to-market” consulting firm, and a veteran of Andreessen Horowitz.“I think there's a tremendous opportunity for experimentation, that a lot of it's already happening, and a lot of experimentation is moving very quickly into reality.

“When it comes to personalization, how does somebody want to receive communication, how does somebody want to receive an advertisement. There are a number of startups that can quickly understand the consumer through data online, to help a company target in a way that's never been done before.”

Another area, she said, is content creation.“Not just content creation on the text side. Now it's image and video and everything else. There are companies creating a multimodal content creation platform that anybody can use. You can dream up anything, and it creates it in video with words and with storylines.”

Finally, she pointed to conversational AI,“which I think is a really important area for communications and for marketing. A lot of companies are working to help companies design how they want to have a conversational experience with their customers. Once that code is cracked, you can create a really personal, human-like experience on the conversational side.”

Stacey Jones, chief communications officer at Honeywell, acknowledged that in many instances, corporate communications is not as advanced in its adoption of AI as marketing might be.

“This is a little scary for some people. Because some folks think, if we get this right, it's going to take my job. And I would go back to our starting point, about moving beyond efficiency, and say absolutely not. If we get this right, you are going to have better balance in your job and be able to focus on the things you want.”

Ideally, she said,“AI and humans are real partners in the future.”

In 18 months at Honeywell, Jones said, she has encouraged the communications team to become more sophisticated in its use of AI, developing a framework that guides strategic planning from audience analysis to media planning to measurement.“it's a way to deploy the rigor of thinking and just testing and getting that muscle built because it's not a muscle that many of us started our career with.”

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