The best quote I’ve ever read.
And it couldn’t be more relevant in the age of AI.
Yesterday I said we should treat LLMs like a real human audience.
Just like with people, advertising can influence what LLMs “think” of our brand.
But here’s the problem:
we can’t see who they “are.”
We can’t target audience segments, like we do with real people.
So performance marketing, just like a laser in a pitch-black room, won’t be effective.
Brand building then becomes the smarter play to create "mental availability" inside LLMs.
The goal is to make sure you’re known, salient, and more “popular” than competitors. So will you come to “mind” when users ask about your space.
Performance marketing has massively risen in relevance in the last 20 years.
But now it's losing ground:
-> GDPR and the cookie collapse
-> AI chat disintermediating search
-> AI "stealing" traffic from websites and display ads impressions
The foundations of data-driven performance are being questioned.
That’s why brand is back!
But it’s shouldn't be brand versus performance. It never should have in fact.
They work together, now more than ever.
Brand lights up the room.
Performance laser targets once the lights are on.
Brian Chesky couldn’t have said it better.
🔔 Stay tuned!
More AI Marketing pills next Wednesday.
