Bonni Burns and Jordan Longhi of BAM Marketing Agency presented an eye-opening discussion on February 13, 2025, about using artificial intelligence (AI) when developing and executing marketing strategies. Bonni is president and CEO of BAM Marketing, and Jordan is the agency’s vice president, digital marketing.
They provided insights on the current benefits, potential pitfalls and anticipated future capabilities of AI. When used properly, AI is an incredible tool that helps with productivity and time management, they said. Bonni and Jordan also encouraged everyone to experiment with using AI and to keep learning about advancements in the technology.
Introduction
AI has been around for a long time, making great strides that have caused it to “explode” recently. “We have to embrace it,” Bonni advised, adding that AI is only going to get bigger. People shouldn’t feel guilty about using it, she said, pointing out that “it’s a great time saver.”
Jordan noted that it’s important to understand that AI isn’t perfect. Bonni explained that AI can help us with analyzing data, automating processes, predicting trends, and making smarter and faster decisions. It also:
Plays a pivotal role in enabling personalized customer experiences;
Allows for optimizing campaigns in real time;
Provides content recommendations.
In short, using AI can enhance the efficiency and impact of marketing. To implement Ai in your marketing strategy: assess your needs, choose the right tools, integrate with existing systems, and continuously learn and optimize.
Benefits of AI
Benefits include efficiency, personalization, and data-driven decisions. Yet, you still need humans; AI can’t – or shouldn’t – be making decisions without humans being involved. Effective use of AI leads to better return on investment (ROI).
Key Applications of AI in Marketing
Predictive analytics
Customer segmentation. When you target more effectively, you save money. Remember that traditional media plays a role in enhancing digital media.
Personalized content creation
AI in customer service, such as chatbots
Programmatic advertising: automated ad buying, real-time bidding, improved ad targeting and ROI
Favorite Tools
ChatGPT
Gemini (from Google)
Zapier (for automation)
Meta/Google Ads (for advertising)
Grammarly
Perplexity
Pitfalls, Challenges and Considerations about Using AI in Marketing
Potential pitfalls include over-reliance on automation, lack of human creativity, bias in AI algorithms, and poor data quality leading to flawed insights.
Challenges and considerations include data privacy concerns, ethical implications, and the need for human oversight.
Free AI options have lower-quality content. Paid AI options have advanced features, better-quality content, and more security.
Wrapping Up and Looking Ahead
Bonni encouraged everyone to regularly spend time learning about AI advancements. Even a commitment of 15 minutes a week will be helpful. Jordan added that YouTube offers many good AI tutorials.
The future of AI in marketing will focus on emerging trends, continuous evolution, and staying competitive. Jordan noted that within the past couple of weeks, Chat GPT has released two new products: Operator and Deep Research.
Jordan also briefly discussed “prompt engineering,” which is how you communicate with ChatGPT or another AI tool. Areas of Concern. He offered some tips about aspects to consider when crafting prompts. One of these aspects is tone. Think about what kind of tone you want AI to output – serious, witty, sarcastic, etc.
The main takeaway from Bonni and Jordan’s presentation: AI is here to stay, and it is to our benefit to learn how to use it in the right way because it can greatly enhance our marketing and communication efforts. So we should try to keep up to date on advancements in the field, and we shouldn’t be afraid of (or guilty about) using AI.