RED VELVET vs. AI

Nov 26

Written By Lauren Coull, Senior Marketing Manager

We Asked AI for an Activation Pitch, Here’s What Happened

Hey Siri, write me an article on the intersection of AI and experiential marketing… please.

Or wait, should I ask Alexa? Cortana? Gemini? Or shall I wait for Jarvis to enter the chat (Google’s new AI assistant will enter the chat this December)? Has an AI assistant been developed for events?

AI has picked up quite a bit of traction in the past two years since ChatGPT launched November 2022 but surprisingly artificial intelligence has been around since the 1950s. It’s hard to imagine “I Love Lucy” and AI are of the same timeframe.

First, if you don’t know much about AI…

*Image Source: The Manhattan Rare Book Company*

A mathematician named Alan Turing discussed the overlap of Computing Machinery and Intelligence (1950) in his paper kickstarting the concept of an intelligent machine. According to The History of Artificial Intelligence (2017), a few years after Turing’s paper, Allen Newell, Cliff Shaw, and Herbert Simon created the “Logic Theorist”, a program designed to imitate a person’s problem-solving abilities. In 1956, the Logic Theorist was presented at a conference and it is here that the term “artificial intelligence” was coined by John McCarthy, cohost of the conference.

As just noted, AI established its first footing at a conference. It is worth calling out the importance of conferences: gathering groups of intelligent people to discuss & share groundbreaking research, innovations, and ideas that have the potential to change the world as we know it. This is how humankind progresses forward with positive momentum on topics like vaccines, world economy, and technology.

The two great impediments in AI’s growth during the second half of the 1900s were capital investment and limitations of a computer’s memory and speed. Over time, increased funding allowed the cost of computers to drop and become more accessible to the greater public. And computational power increased when “the fundamental limit of computer storage that was holding us back 30 years ago was no longer a problem. Moore’s Law, which estimates that the memory and speed of computers doubles every year, had finally caught up and in many cases, surpassed our needs,” as stated in The History of Artificial Intelligence (2017).

Generative AI in Present Day

“Generative AI” seems to be the hot new phrase being thrown around. Let’s align on the definition while rebranding “AI” as “traditional AI” moving forward. Generative AI is a subset of AI. Traditional AI optimizes efficiencies, executes menial tasks, and synthesizes data - nothing is net new, it is simply harmonized into an output. Generative AI creates new concepts by “thinking.”

According to Google & Zazmic (AI integration partner), in a recent workshop I attended at Google’s Austin office, common examples of traditional AI are speech-to–text, parsing documents, and facial recognition. Gen AI on the other hand is exemplified by image, text, voice creation, coding, and smart chatbot agents; AI chatbots garnered the most enthusiasm from the audience with eager and specific follow-up questions while a concern for safety and privacy also bubbled up.

Real or Perceived (??) Fears of AI

As with most technological evolution, the fear around data privacy and exploitation is present. AI specifically creates a deeper fear for humankind — redundancy. Now the question is: will AI ever have the ability to make experiential marketers, agencies, and the event industry redundant?

Obviously, we’re shouting an emphatic “NO CHANCE!” over here at the RED VELVET HQ underscored when hearing about the fake Halloween parade in Dublin. But let’s consider this: can AI be helpful in our industry?

Going toe-to-toe: AI & Experiential Marketing

I asked the team at RED VELVET to list out potential uses and limitations of AI in events, here’s what our team came up with:

AI Assistance in Experiential Marketing

Chatbot for attendee registration FAQs
Auto-captioning on videos & live screens for increased accessibility; AI for translation
AI recap an event session & automated notes sharing
Detailed run of show timing
Gen AI for photobooth backgrounds
Personalized messaging (email, text) for attendees based on their user profiles
Custom F&B menu or attendee itinerary based on user input
Pair event attendees in groups based on commonalities
Generate presentation slides for in-the-moment breakout sessions
Gather and analyze event feedback & surveys; create post-event reports
Scan for grammar and typos

What AI Can’t Replace

Warmth of human connection - registration, connection, a warm smile at an entrance
Designing & original creative work
Physical labor & fabrication
Original thought
In-the-moment troubleshooting
Emotional intelligence like reading body language
High resolution artwork
Detail-work & non-generic concepts

Is there anything we missed? Have you used AI in an activation with great success?

This division is great in theory but I wanted to put it to the test: I created a general pitch inquiry and fed it to ChatGPT and the RED VELVET team to evaluate the output.

BUT FIRST: The Importance of a Prompt

Let me take a quick left turn to acknowledge the impact a prompt (input) has on AI’s output. A robust, detailed and clear prompt fed into AI generates a helpful response whereas a vague prompt can yield a lacking or misdirected response. In other words, to set AI up for success one must generate a proficient prompt!

THE BATTLE ROYALE: RED VELVET VS. AI

THE PROMPT/BRIEF:

“Please share an experiential marketing concept in 300 words or less for a launch event for a new direct-to-consumer CPG product. The product is called the “perfect coaster” and will be sold for $100. The overarching goal of the launch event is to build hype for the relevant audience (anyone with a desk), showcase the product and its features at the launch event & generate revenue via pre-order sales.

Product features to highlight include:

Maintenance of preprogrammed drink temperature

Absorption of sweat/moisture from cup’s melting ice or steam

Synchronization with digital calendar & meeting reminders via a waterproof screen

Recording of user's heart rate with touch placement on device

Monitoring user hydration (touchscreen option to input beverage category); water hydration tracker

Launch event parameters:

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Location must be within the US
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Timing for event is June 2025 (product launches in July but will be available for pre-order in June)

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Budget is $500k
```

Pitch parameters:

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Share concept in 300 words or less
```
```
Location must be within the US
```

Timing for event is June 2025 (product launches in July but will be available for pre-order in June)

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Budget is $500k”
```

RED VELVET Response:

[We got in a room to pull this together - see snap below from the ubiquitous whiteboard]

Highlighting the Perfect Coaster’s features, we propose an immersive multi-room experience - an all day pop-up with five office environments focused around commuter traffic, midday coffee breaks, and post-work happy hour in a central city hub like Chicago, New York City, or San Francisco. Each showroom highlights a different feature of the Perfect Coaster, enhanced with an activity and drink pairing.

Room 1: A book-lined study equipped with a worn leather couch, cigar humidor, and crackling fireplace for the C-suite executive where you are invited to cozy up with a book. Drink pairing: dark roast coffee with cream, whiskey (if you like) and Manhattans in the evening. Product highlight: heart rate monitor. It’s best to keep the executives level-headed.

Room 2: A bright & airy room with a gallery wall, magazine cut outs, and blank canvases to paint for the artistic creative. Drinking pairing: chai tea with evening transition to negronis. Product highlight: coaster absorption. You can’t have your dripping drink be the cause of blotchy work.

Room 3: A coffee-shop environment buzzing with the spurts of an espresso machine, steaming milk, and a latte art tutorial. Drinking pairing: coffee of course! And in the evening, hot toddy. Product highlight: drink temperature regulation. Hot coffee. All. Day. Long.

Room 4: A calming space with a standing desk, oil diffuser, yoga mat, and a yoga instructor to guide participants through a class focused on undoing “tech neck.” Drink pairing: lemon water mornings and cleansing mocktail evenings. Product highlight: hydration levels to calculate exactly how much you sweat in that hot yoga class.

Room 5: A bustling newsroom meets the stock exchange with constantly ringing phones, each call sharing features of the Perfect Coaster. Drink pairing: red eyes and vodka martinis. Product highlight: digital calendar. There’s no such thing as too many reminders.

ChatGPT Response:

Experiential Marketing Concept for "Perfect Coaster" Launch

Event Concept: The Perfect Desk Oasis

Transform an iconic NYC co-working space like The Wing SoHo or NeueHouse into a unique "Desk Oasis" for an immersive product launch of the Perfect Coaster. Designed as a sensory, interactive experience, the space will allow attendees to visualize how the Perfect Coaster can transform their desks into ultimate productivity zones.

Upon entry, guests receive personalized RFID wristbands that connect to their calendar, syncing with the Perfect Coaster demo models available throughout the venue. Each demo station will highlight a different feature: temperature maintenance stations where guests can place hot or cold drinks, hydration zones with water options for tracking, and bio-scan touchpoints for heart rate readings.

In "Wellness Work Zones," guests can test the Perfect Coaster’s hydration tracking capabilities by entering beverage categories and receiving real-time hydration insights. “Temperature Test Labs” will showcase the coaster’s ability to maintain drink temperatures while offering samples of cold iced drinks or hot beverages. Ambient lighting cues will simulate how the Perfect Coaster syncs with digital meeting reminders.

Attendees can also attend mini-seminars on workplace wellness, hydration benefits, and desk ergonomics, led by influencers and wellness professionals. They’ll be able to pre-order their own Perfect Coaster on tablets at each activation station, with exclusive launch-day discounts.

The event will be live-streamed on social media to extend reach, generating hype and pre-order excitement. With branded gift bags, social media-ready stations, and influencer partnerships, this event will create buzz while emphasizing the Perfect Coaster's benefits to desk enthusiasts and professionals alike.

While impressed with AI’s prompt response, especially in the short amount of time it takes to spit out an answer, there is one notable callout to be made…

The Wing SoHo shuttered in 2022.

And what is experiential marketing without a venue?

Can you tell the difference between agency and AI? Original human thought from learned intelligence?

How are you using AI to enhance your workflow?

References:

"A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence." Science in the News, Harvard University, 2017. Available at: https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2017/history-artificial-intelligence/.
Turing, Alan. "Computing Machinery and Intelligence." University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Available at: https://courses.cs.umbc.edu/471/papers/turing.pdf.
Simonite, Tom. "How AI Might Transform Halloween—and More." Wired. Available at: https://www.wired.com/story/ai-halloween-parade-listing-dublin-interview/.
"A Look Inside the AI Evolution at Trade Shows and Events This Year." Event Marketer. Available at: https://www.eventmarketer.com/article/a-look-inside-the-ai-evolution-at-trade-shows-and-events-this-year.
"Unbelievably Easy Ways to Use AI for Post-Event Analysis." Event Leadership Institute. Available at: https://eventleadershipinstitute.com/unbelievably-easy-ways-to-use-ai-for-post-event-analysis.

Lauren Coull, Senior Marketing Manager