For marketers, AI isn’t a question of if anymore; it’s a question of how. How will you use it? How will it transform your workflows? Most importantly: How quickly can you start to make generative AI work for you, before your competitors do? Let’s dig into the first of a series of posts exploring how brands and P&B are making artificial intelligence real, right now.
GenAI isn’t the next marketing fad
Skepticism is a marketer’s survival instinct. We’ve seen our fair share of “next big things” that flamed out faster than Clubhouse after its exclusive-invite phase. But AI? This isn’t another flash in the pan. AI is already reshaping marketing. Not as a futuristic concept, but as a tangible, force that’s working alongside us to automate business processes and create better materials – faster, and at scale.
The results aren’t just theoretical; we’ve seen them firsthand with our teams at Park & Battery and are investing to integrate GenAI across our business. Our aim is nothing less than 30% improvements in productivity across core tasks. And in this post – and several more to come – we’re going to share concepts and approaches to help get marketers up and running.
Don’t get me wrong, there are challenges. Research shows that 75% of marketing leaders, 70% of sales leaders, and 67% of service leaders feel their organizations aren’t prepared because of the challenges to adopting GenAI. Common challenges include:
- Aligning on where to start
- Security and privacy
- Data quality and knowledge
- Scalability and complexity of integrating AI with existing systems (eg. CRM)
These concerns are keeping many organizations on the AI hamster wheel. But, as with most things, analysis paralysis helps no one. The best way to start? To start! Here’s how we’ve begun our journey and how we recommend others do as well.
According to Forrester’s 2025 B2B Brand and Communications Survey, 86% of marketing leaders said efficiency was the likeliest impact of AI technologies.
How to stop spinning and start scaling with GenAI
AI in marketing isn’t a magic button. it needs strategy, governance, and the right tools. Here are some fundamental best practices to get going.
1. Establish GenAI governance
First and foremost, establish guidelines and governance for the use of generative AI. Work with your legal and compliance teams to define where and how AI can be used. Review the terms of use for any GenAI solution with them. At Park & Battery, we worked with our counsel to create a clear set of do’s and don’ts for AI-powered content and visuals – for ourselves, our contractors and our clients. Don’t let someone in your org say, “Oh, AI can do that!” without knowing the risks, responsibilities and rules. Because maybe AI can do it, maybe it can’t, and maybe it shouldn’t.
2. Choose the right GenAI tools for you
There’s no lack of GenAI options out there – and no shortage of articles you can consult for advice one which tools to pick. You can even ask a GenAI tool to give you advice on which GenAI platform to pick. We’ll leave that work to them and focus for the moment on what’s most important to consider, from our perspective, rather than choosing favorites.
Our top priorities are 1) assured data privacy and 2) low-code or no-code capabilities to create our own AI agents (more on that to come in our next post…). Also, consider that the best AI platform for your workflows may actually be a hybrid combination of multiple platforms. For example, some of our teammates at P&B draft content in ChatGPT, then refine it with Claude for what they believe is a more conversational tone. Explore, experiment, and then commit.
3. Focus on your humans, too
As with so many technologies that revolutionize ways of working, a significant barrier to adoption is the workforce itself. Forrester goes so far as to say: “Employee lack of AI expertise stands ready to undermine agencies’ value, product, and technology investments as well as a decade of agency business model transformation.”
You need to be considerate of not just the skills required, but the comfort of your employees with embracing change. For some marketers, especially content creators, GenAI may represent an existential threat and an affront to their chosen craft. But our take is that though AI may feel like The Terminator, it’s like the one in T2: a powerful ally here to help, not destroy. The real risk (for the moment) isn’t AI taking a job – it’s someone who knows how to use AI taking a job.
GenAI isn’t about replacing people (at least it shouldn’t be). It’s about unlocking time and creative potential. The more you offload repetitive tasks to AI, the more you can focus on what truly differentiates your brand: big, human ideas.
4. Get specific with GenAI prompts
The secret to great AI-generated outputs? Clear, structured prompts. You’ve probably seen or heard this before, but it bears repeating for anyone starting to get comfortable with leveraging GenAI. The more specific you are, the better your outcomes will be. And an easy way to think about it is that you’re providing the AI a recipe.
- Who you are (or what content it should analyze)
- What you’re trying to create
- Your boundaries and tone
- Your desired output format
Do this right, and AI becomes an accelerant, not an obstacle.
More AI best practices, no BS
Feeling fired up and ready for more? In our latest eBook, “A No-Bullsh*t Guide to AI and B2B Content” we’ve identified many of the soul-crushing tasks that GenAI can actually handle right now, with step-by-step instructions that work. Because the real AI revolution isn’t about replacing you. It’s about giving you back the hours in your day to make the magic only you can.
Download the eBook now – and keep an eye out for our upcoming post on taking your AI marketing to the next level with AI agents.
