Welcome to the Health Marketing Collective, where strong leadership meets marketing excellence. On today’s episode, Dale Bertrand joins us to dive into the transformative role of AI in marketing as we look towards 2025. As the founder of Fire and Spark, a digital marketing agency, Dale brings a wealth of expertise in AI, stemming from his grad school studies and extensive experience in consulting and educating marketing professionals on leveraging technology. Dale and our host, Sara Payne, explore the philosophy of using AI to enhance the quality of work rather than simply to replace it. They discuss the pitfalls of over-automation and scenarios where AI can creatively assist in ideation without falling into the trap of lowering output quality. Dale also examines the challenges of adopting AI while maintaining trust, and provides insightful predictions on how AI will reshape the way consumers find products and services. We're diving into:

• The philosophy of enhancing work quality through AI rather than replacement,
• Cautionary tales of AI over-automation,
• Creative versus erroneous utilization of AI hallucinations,
• Trust factors and skepticism in AI adoption,
• Strategic prioritization of marketing channels and budgets in light of evolving AI capabilities.

Thank you for being part of the Health Marketing Collective, where strong leadership meets marketing excellence. The future of healthcare depends on it. Key Takeaways:

1. Quality Over Efficiency: Dale emphasizes the importance of leveraging AI for enhancing the quality of work instead of merely automating tasks to save time. By spending equal time but improving output, marketers can achieve more comprehensive, attuned, and impactful results. This approach defies the conventional productivity-efficiency narrative around AI, highlighting the essence of producing superior work.
2. The Danger of Over-Automation: AI can make significant errors, often referred to as hallucinations. While these can be creatively beneficial in brainstorming scenarios, Dale warns against relying on AI for fact-based tasks, such as generating factual content, due to the risk of misinformation. This distinction between creativity and factual accuracy is crucial for effective AI utilization.
3. Trust in AI Adoption: Skepticism around AI often stems from concerns about data misuse by vendors, unauthorized employee usage, and exaggerated promises from AI solutions. Dale advises marketing leaders to navigate this skepticism by carefully evaluating technologies, fostering the right skill sets, and ensuring responsible deployment of these tools to harness their full potential without falling prey to unrealistic claims.
4. Future of Consumer Search Behavior: Dale predicts a bifurcation in search platforms—traditional searches like Google for decision-making and purchase decisions, and generative AI platforms like ChatGPT for information inquiries. As consumers increasingly use these generative engines for detailed, conversational queries, marketers need to start paying attention to this shift and prepare to adapt their visibility strategies accordingly.
5. Strategic Budget Allocation in 2025: With budgets tightening, Dale recommends that marketing leaders focus on maximizing tangible impacts on business metrics. This involves not only optimizing for measurable channels but also starting to gauge the shift towards generative AI search platforms. By asking relevant questions and preparing for visibility on these platforms, organizations can stay ahead as consumer behaviors evolve.

For more insights and to connect with Dale Bertrand, join him on LinkedIn where he shares daily thoughts on AI and SEO. Thank you again for joining us on the Health Marketing Collective. If you found this episode helpful, remember to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. The future of healthcare depends on strong leadership meeting marketing excellence, and we’re here to guide the way. See you next time! [embed]https://youtu.be/Gnj9A4tOSZM[/embed] About Dale Bertrand