AI is a Valuable Tool. But It Shouldn't Be Your Head of Brand Strategy.
Chris Langathianos • March 13, 2025

AI is a Valuable Tool.

But It Shouldn't Be Your Head of Brand Strategy.

AI is a powerful tool for marketing, but it shouldn't replace human creativity in brand positioning. 

Here's why:


•   AI lacks emotional depth : 95% of purchasing decisions are driven by emotion, which AI struggles to replicate.

•   Cultural blind spots : AI often misses local nuances, leading to missteps in global campaigns.

•   Over-reliance risks sameness : Brands using identical AI tools can produce generic, unoriginal content.

•   Bias in AI systems : Historical data can introduce ethical issues, harming brand trust.

•   AI focuses on the past : It struggles to predict future trends or innovate beyond existing patterns.


Where AI Falls Short in Brand Identity

AI is great at crunching numbers and generating content, but it struggles when tasked with defining a brand's unique identity. These weaknesses highlight why AI alone can't shape effective brand positioning strategies.


Missing the Human Element


One major drawback of AI is its inability to replicate genuine human emotion or empathy. Considering that 95% of purchasing decisions are driven by emotion , this is a big gap. AI simply can't create the emotional connections that inspire people to buy.


"Relying only on AI-generated content risks generic or formulaic branding, lacking uniqueness and emotional resonance. Branding should evoke emotion; this human touch is still vital in the creative process." 

- Ian Maskell, founder of Pecorino Group and ex-vice president of marketing at Unilever [ 3 ]


While AI can analyze data patterns, it doesn't grasp the emotional nuances of customer experiences. For example, 80% of consumers are more likely to purchase from brands offering personalized experiences [2]. This shows that data alone isn't enough to craft compelling brand narratives.


Market Context and Local Differences


AI's inability to fully understand cultural and market-specific nuances can lead to big missteps. In 2019, a beauty brand faced backlash after an AI-translated campaign ignored cultural beauty standards, offending several target markets [ 4 ].


"Localization is not just about translating words; it's about understanding the cultural context and adapting the content accordingly." 

- Anna Schlegel, Head of Globalization at NetApp [ 4 ]


It's not just translation errors. A University of Sydney study found that large language models often default to U.S. cultural values when discussing topics like gun control and immigration [ 5 ]. Failing to account for these cultural differences can alienate diverse audiences, weakening a brand's identity.


Past Data vs. Future Trends


While the AI market is expected to grow from $108 billion in 2020 to $738 billion by 2030 [ 7 ], AI's reliance on historical data presents a major limitation: it reflects the past rather than predicting the future.


This backward focus creates challenges for brand positioning:

Because AI often overlooks major societal shifts, brands risk being stuck in outdated strategies that don't resonate with modern audiences. These limitations highlight the importance of blending AI with human creativity and insight to shape effective brand strategies.


Problems with Too Much AI in Branding


Reduced Original Thinking

Relying too heavily on AI can suppress creativity. According to McKinsey's 2021 Global AI Survey, 40% of companies using AI encounter unintended bias, underscoring AI's limitations in producing genuinely new ideas [11]. While AI is great at spotting patterns, it struggles to deliver the kind of creative solutions that set brands apart. This often leads to a sea of sameness across industries.

Relying too heavily on AI can suppress creativity. According to McKinsey[11]. While AI is great at spotting patterns, it struggles to deliver the kind of creative solutions that set brands apart. This often leads to a sea of sameness across industries.'s 2021 Global AI Survey, 40% of companies using AI encounter unintended bias, underscoring AI's limitations in producing genuinely new ideas 


"ChatGPT is here to make us all the same… The Great Same-ening is upon us… ChatGPT, Jasper and all the rest are powerful conformity machines, giving you the ability to churn out Bible-length material about yourself and your business that's exactly the same as your competitors."        – Ian Whitworth [9]


Similar-Looking Brands

When companies in the same industry lean on identical AI tools, the result is predictable: cookie-cutter branding that fails to stand out. This lack of originality weakens brands' ability to connect with their audiences. Marketing expert Anthony Gaenzle warns:


"If you rely solely on AI, you'll end up wasting time publishing content that people ignore."    – Anthony Gaenzle [10]


Here’s how overusing AI can hurt branding:

This uniformity doesn’t just harm creativity; it also amplifies the risks of biased practices, which introduces ethical challenges.


AI Bias and Ethics

AI systems can introduce bias, posing risks to both brand reputation and effectiveness. A striking 47% of executives admit they lack the tools to properly detect and address this issue [11]. Some high-profile examples include:

  1. Amazon's AI recruitment tool, which showed a preference for male candidates due to biased historical data [13].
  2. Twitter's image-cropping algorithm, which disproportionately favored white faces in previews [13].
  3. Financial services AI systems, which denied loans to borrowers of color at rates 40-80% higher than others [13].

With 42% of organizations expressing serious concerns about the reputational harm caused by biased AI, brands must prioritize strict oversight [12].


"Companies are acknowledging there's huge reputational harm and risks that can come from these systems."
                                                             – Genevieve Smith, Associate Director at UC Berkeley's Center for Equity, Gender & Leadership [12]


The key takeaway? AI should enhance a brand's identity - not dictate it [8].


Combining AI Tools with Human Expertise


AI's Role in Market Analysis

AI can process massive datasets and uncover patterns that might escape human notice. For instance, tools like Fathom and Grain turn interviews into actionable insights, while platforms like Essense.io dive into competitor reviews to highlight market gaps and opportunities [14]. These capabilities provide a foundation for informed strategy shifts driven by human expertise.

When to Use Human Judgment

AI excels at crunching numbers and spotting trends, but it’s up to people to interpret those insights. While teams often see productivity boosts with AI, success hinges on knowing when to rely on human judgment.


"AI can improve efficiency in tasks like writing web copy but should be seen as a tool to enhance human creativity, not replace it. Marketers should focus on strategic decisions that AI cannot replicate, such as brand positioning and long-term planning."         - Seth Godin [16]


Key areas where human judgment remains irreplaceable include:


  • Understanding cultural subtleties
  • Crafting emotionally resonant messages
  • Making ethical decisions


These factors highlight the importance of blending data with strategic insight.


Success Stories: AI + Human Teams

Real-world examples show how combining AI data with human creativity can overcome common challenges:


Coca-Cola's Create Real Magic: Using tools like DALL-E 2 and ChatGPT, Coca-Cola empowered users to create over 120,000 pieces of content. With an average visit time of over 7 minutes, the platform demonstrated high engagement [17].


"AI helps you perfect your craftsmanship. That's what you saw when we created Masterpiece – it wasn't 100% created by AI, but AI helped us as a technology to make our craftsmanship better."               - Pratik Thakar, Global Head of Generative AI, Coca-Cola [17]


Ben & Jerry's Flavor Innovation: Ben & Jerry's used AI to analyze social media, music, and movie data. Human teams then interpreted these insights to craft breakfast-themed ice cream flavors that resonated with consumers [17].


Nike's AI-Enhanced Design: Nike worked with Obvious artists to develop new Air Max designs. AI generated initial concepts, which human designers refined to align with brand identity and trends. The limited-edition shoes sold out within 10 days [15].

These cases show how AI can amplify human expertise. By 2025, it’s predicted that 30% of marketing messages from large organizations will be AI-generated [16].


Steps to Better AI Brand Strategy


To prevent AI from making your brand feel generic, focus on striking the right balance between data-driven insights and human creativity. Here's how to do it.


Set Clear AI vs. Human Tasks

Assign specific roles to AI and humans to maintain your brand's unique identity.

For example, a Southeast Asian bank combined AI-powered trend analysis with human strategists to uncover opportunities in digital finance and microcredit [18].


Quality Control Methods

A strong review system is critical to ensuring AI doesn’t compromise your brand.


"Human judgment remains essential to crafting the strategic vision, which combines the organization's ambition with a view of how to realize it." [18]


  • Human Review Protocol: Set up teams to thoroughly check AI-generated outputs for accuracy and brand alignment [19].
  • Source Validation: Double-check AI insights against reliable industry data and sources [19].
  • Brand Voice Verification: Make sure AI-created content sticks to your brand's established style and tone [19].


Regular reviews will help keep your processes sharp and aligned with your goals.


Regular Process Reviews

Consistent evaluations are key to maintaining alignment between AI efforts and your brand's overall strategy.


T3 Services Group, for instance, cut their website launch time from 8 weeks to under a month while improving content quality through well-structured AI use [21].


Key elements of process reviews include:


  • Quarterly Assessment: Set up feedback loops and regular reviews to measure AI's impact on your brand [20].
  • Performance Tracking: Keep an eye on metrics from AI tools. For example, Just Mad used AI to turn 100,000 pieces of customer feedback into actionable insights almost instantly [20].
  • Team Training: Offer ongoing training on ethical AI practices to ensure your team can confidently manage AI while safeguarding your brand [20].


Conclusion


Main Points

Striking the right balance between AI's capabilities and human creativity is key to effective brand positioning. Research shows that well-positioned brands can achieve up to 9x more volume share and charge twice as much as their competitors [23]. For example, The North Face used an AI-powered shopping assistant to analyze data, while human marketers ensured the recommendations aligned with their brand identity [22]. The takeaway? AI excels at data processing, but human creativity is irreplaceable.


"Marketing is fundamentally about understanding and influencing complex and often irrational human behavior. Despite its advanced algorithms and data-processing power, AI still struggles to grasp the subtleties of human emotions and cultural nuances."

                                                           - Natalie Slyman, Content Marketing Manager [1]

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DS Smith Website Case Study How do we unite and excite our employees post M&A under one unified brand? Challenge London based DS Smith, one of the world’s largest publicly traded packaging companies with revenues topping £8 Billion, headquartered in London, came to Brandigo to help define their brand’s core value proposition, purpose, and visual representation. This had particularly become a challenge as much of DS Smith’s growth had come from acquisitions around the globe so many brand silos, differing company cultures and brand value propositions existed. Brandigo was charged with creating a new purpose, essence, and positioning that could unify the company under one singularly focused brand. Solutions Following the format of 1) Who does the brand need to convince? 2) What do they currently think, feel and do? 3) What do we need then to think, feel, and do? 4) What moves them, what are the points of differentiation we can keep returning to and build upon? And 5) How can we get those points of difference out into real-world actions and behaviors? We started with understanding that much of the challenge was about the internal culture and employee brand. With that in mind, we interviewed dozens of employees across the different global locations, particularly those that had more recently been acquired by DS Smith and rebranded. From this, we were able to find the common, emotional thread that tied it all together, and that was wanting and needing to be not only the world’s top packaging company, but also the most environmentally forward brand in the space. A new brand purpose reflecting this was created as Redefining Packaging for a Changing World and crafted to a new brand essence and tagline: The Power of Less. Brandigo then create a new visual way to express this positioning, creating a brand icon called the D Window. The D Window is expressed as seeing the what’s possible, what’s new, what can change the world by looking through the window. We used the existing logomark to create this standard that became the focal part of the new brand. To ensure that the new brand essence, positioning and visual representation was used consistently by dozens of marketing teams across the globe, Brandigo created extensive Brand Guidelines that addressed every possible scenario, from marketing asset design templates, fleet signage, in-airport advertising, social, video, pitch decks to all things digital, the new Guidelines covered 215 pages. To launch the new brand strategy, Brandigo helped create a global employee event across dozens of offices and facilities in 9 countries and languages, including engagement events, contests, entertainment, training events and employee swag.
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