Marketing was overwhelming before AI. Now it’s just bonkers.
A couple months ago, the Cookson team met with an AI consultant for a Q&A. Although we strongly believe creative and copy is at its best when produced by highly trained humans, we understand the many ways AI can add value to our company and work. As a result, we have adopted several uses into our day-to-day operations. The engaging discussion helped clarify appropriate AI use, current and future direction and ethical debates among the team.
One key observation from a member of our staff had nothing to do with AI. It had everything to do about delivering value to our clients. The broad answer from our consultant was “you are delivering outcomes.”
Great creative and impactful messaging is a result of a focused exploratory process. Many of today’s business leaders and marketing executives are on the hamster wheel running organizations while navigating massive change and determining how and where to adopt new tech and tools, including a myriad of AI-drive options. Some of us may even be asking AI how we should use AI!
That focused exploratory process requires human input and strategy. Everyone is really craving clarity so that they know where to focus their marketing efforts. Without the human element and a clear process, outcomes will be muddy and we will have confusion instead of clarity.
The lightbulbs went on – we need to deliver clarity first.
Clarity versus chaos
As an agency of experienced human pros in PR, creative, branding, marketing and digital strategies, we offer something unique and have a 16-year track record to back it up.
We’ve already done the work to wade through the endless platforms, opinions, messages and tools, and we continue to do it daily. Over years of experience across trends that come and go, we can spot the fluff and stickiness quicker than a marketing manager inside an organization pummeled with requests for support, questions, and a need to meet KPIs and benchmarks.
Clarity can’t come in an instant, which is hard to hear in a landscape of instantaneousness. That’s why we developed the Clarity Review – a streamlined look at your channels, touchpoints and tools backed by our team of human experts.
How it works
Over 2-4 weeks, the Cookson team will:
- Ask a set of focused questions based on your business or org and walk through your answers in discovery.
- Research and weigh in on organizational model, mission and focus, target audiences, current tone, style, messaging priorities, calls to action, current marketing campaign results and online reputation (AI search, domain authority, online reviews).
- Deliver and present the final report in a clear, structured format that’s yours to keep and reference.
Why it works
- Human subject matter experts, working as one integrated team: input on your brand, product or business from every possible angle.
- Accurate quoting: Complex projects can fall victim to scope-creep. We get the real answers based on data and needs, minimizing blown budgets and timelines.
- Dating before we get engaged: Let’s see if the partnership is a fit before jumping into a full-blown project.
- Everyone saves time: The Clarity Review can be applied across branding, website messaging, marketing, communications and more — reducing unknowns and accelerating every subsequent project we take on together.
- Everyone saves money: We expect to deduct 50-100% of the Clarity Review cost from the cost of your first project with us.
Who it’s for:
It is for your business/org if you:
- Are planning a large project like a rebrand, website design, product launch or similar and want to make sure everything is in line before starting
- Are unhappy with your current agency and need a low-cost entry point to a new partner
- Are using a gazillion different tools and are in tech overload
- Went a little nuts with AI and now your brand message is all over the place
- Are looking for an outside marketing opinion from humans
- Are in a strategic planning phase
It’s not for your business/org if you are:
- In panic mode about marketing and looking for an instant fix
- Have your ducks in a row and are ready to start a project (in which case we’re ready to roll on that too!)
If you need clarity, we’re ready to help.
