Westminster hosts industry guest lecture on Artificial Intelligence in Marketing

On 24 October, students from the Digital Marketing BA Honours, International Marketing BA Honours and Marketing Communication with AI Integration BA Honours courses had the opportunity to attend an insightful guest lecture on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Marketing on Marylebone Campus. The lecture was delivered by Andrew Bruce Smith, an AI digital communications expert and Chair of the AI in Public Relations Panel at the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR).

As the founder of Escherman, an AI-driven digital communications agency, Smith shared his expertise with the students, having consulted with and trained employees of over 3,000 organisations, including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the NHS, Specsavers, Sky and the Wellcome Trust.

Smith's lecture provided students with a clear understanding of AI terminology and common misconceptions about it. He talked about the uses of generative AI, highlighting applications such as content generation, extraction, summarisation, rewriting, question answering, and information synthesis. Students explored these AI capabilities in the context of market research and how they can enhance marketing strategies through data analysis.

One of the key parts of the session was the introduction of the Task, Role, Audience, Create and Intent (TRACI) framework which provides a structured approach for creating more effective prompts when using tools like ChatGPT for AI-driven market research.

In addition to the technical insights, Smith discussed the wide range of AI applications in research and data analysis that could be used in identifying trends for strategic planning, automating reporting and enhancing data visualisation. He emphasised the growing role of AI in helping businesses stay ahead in a data-driven world and addressed critical concerns around the ethical and legal considerations of using AI in marketing.

Smith highlighted that AI is significantly impacting marketing by enabling the creation of content more easily and effectively, and by extracting insights from large amounts of data, allowing marketers to make more data-driven decisions. He added that using AI for market research offers significant value as it allows for the creation of synthetic audiences that can replicate real human responses with a high degree of accuracy, leading to faster and more cost-effective insights.

Among the students that were involved was Bruno Parra Mendez, a second-year Digital Marketing BA Honours student, who said: "When Mr Smith spoke about Artificial Intelligence, it reminded me that progress can be revolutionary, but he did not refer to technological advancements, he referred to the revolution of human creativity."

Hugo Vazquez, a second-year International Marketing BA Honours student, said: "Attending Andrew Bruce Smith's lecture helped me to understand how Artificial Intelligence is transforming the field of digital communication. It was an invaluable opportunity to get a practical insight into current trends in the industry."

Gustavo Figueira, a second-year Marketing Communications with AI Integration BA Honours student, said: "Guest speakers like Andrew Bruce Smith enrich our learning by connecting academic knowledge with industry realities, making each lecture more relevant and impactful."

Lecturer Maria Bortnovskaya, Module Lead for the Consumer Insights module, added: "The lecture was an invaluable learning experience for the students, offering them practical knowledge on how to leverage AI tools in marketing while being mindful of the ethical implications. With AI becoming increasingly integral to the marketing field, Andrew Bruce Smith's session provided students with the insights and tools necessary to navigate this rapidly evolving landscape."

This industry guest lecture directly contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.

Learn more about the Marketing courses at the University of Westminster.

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