… or blandification 2.0
The rise of AI has driven speed and consistency across many facets of marketing and communication.
It’s helped rein in rogue teams that often spit out content that makes brand and PR police (I mean guardians!) shudder.
There’s no doubt brand agents are more than earning their keep.
I personally have separate folders trained for different clients and my own work, depending on the audience and objective.
That said, feeding everything through an agent and taking what comes out the other side as gospel can be a dangerous game.
Sometimes they nail it. Great.
Other times, every flavour somehow comes out tasting like vanilla. Technically right. Perfectly consistent. Utterly forgettable.
So, what’s the answer?
Treat a brand agent the same way you’d treat feedback from a colleague, manager or editor. Take on board their feedback, accept what makes sense and nuance or discuss points that don’t gel.
The human essence lives on.
Be brave enough to sometimes sacrifice consistency for personality, especially with content that lends itself to a personal tone.
Like any other form of editing and refining, don’t assume every suggestion is the right one.
Ask yourself, “Does every single piece of content need to go through a brand agent?”
Sometimes consistency is exactly what’s required. Other times, keeping personality over perfection is more impactful.
This is the balancing act organisations and spokespeople need to manage: staying on brand without losing the little bits of imperfection and informality that make much content engaging and enjoyable.
The brands that win will master the art of combining the brilliance of AI with the irreplaceable spark of good judgement and personality.