The Ritbot tackles marketers’ deepest fears

First seen at Global Marketer Week in Toronto earlier this year and created in partnership with GenAI solutions company Intentful, the Ritbot has now been to both Pakistan and Greece, travelling alongside WFA President Emeritus and Better Marketing podcast host David Wheldon.

The Ritbot answered questions in Ritson's inimitable style on the key issues that many marketers around the world are finding challenging at this time.

On AI, it told marketers to focus on AI's ability to personalise content, automate processes, and make predictions. But he warned that even the most advanced AI was only as good as the data that powered it.

"Look, I'm not going to sit here and tell you AI isn't a big deal. It's as big as a whale and just as hard to ignore. But this notion that 80% of marketing will be done with AI? That's like saying 80% of cooking will be done with a blender. It's a tool, not a bloody replacement for everything we do," said the Ritbot.

When it came to the vexed question of whether the CMO role is dead, the Ritbot really got on its high horse, warning that marketers needed to stop behaving like creative divas and start being proper business leaders, talking the language of the boardroom and demonstrating returns.

"The problem is, too many marketers are happy to sit in their little silos, churning out pretty pictures and catchy slogans, while the rest of the business is focused on the real shit - profits, growth, shareholder value. It's like we're playing a game of football and the marketers are off in the corner, practicing their ballet moves. No wonder the rest of the team doesn't take us seriously," it said.

And the Ritbot argued that it was time to be clear that marketing was about more than social media posts and the real wins came from applying the fundamentals. Education was key and experienced marketers had a duty to step up and reclaim the profession from "charlatans and the snake oil salesmen".

"We've let the tech bros, the buzzword spouters, and the 'growth hackers' redefine what marketing is. It's time we took it back. Marketing isn't just about social media, SEO or whatever godforsaken acronym is trending this week. It's about understanding the customer, creating value and building strong brands. It's a blend of art and science. It's a critical business function, not a bloody afterthought," said the Ritbot.

The Ritbot then turned to the issue of sustainability and how marketing required a new focus to play its part in advocating for meaningful change. Nevertheless, it couldn't solve the whole problem.

"Look, let's cut the bullshit. The idea that marketing alone can drive the kind of massive behavioural change needed to tackle the climate crisis is about as realistic as a Kardashian winning a Nobel Prize in Physics. Sure, marketing has a role to play, but let's not get carried away and start thinking we're the bloody saviours of the planet," it said.

Finally, the Ritbot demonstrated that it even offers an upgrade on the real thing, answering questions in Urdu for the audience in Pakistan and in Greek in Athens.

Wheldon reported on LinkedIn that RitBot's Urdu performance in Pakistan went down a treat.

The AI model of Mark Ritson, "The Ritbot", was created by Marina Petrova, CEO of Intentful, a GenAI solutions company (now part of GMS), and her team.

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