BCW Panel Explores AI’s Effect on Marketing

The Business Council of Westchester assembled the region’s top marketing experts on Monday to discuss how artificial intelligence is transforming marketing.

Smart Insights and AI Innovations to Transform Marketing was the latest installment of the BCW’s AI Alliance 360°, a yearlong series of discussions about the technology’s effect across many sectors. Moderated by Elizabeth Bracken-Thompson, partner of Thompson & Bender, the panel included Andrew Castellano, CEO of Sharc Creative Inc.; Katy Dwyer, founder and creative director of KDD Marketing; Ronnie Ram, president and CEO of Inspiria Outdoor Advertising; Elena Rivera-Cheek, founder and CEO of C&A Digital; and Paul Tyler, head of enterprise marketing and innovation at Zinnia.

“AI’s significance in marketing is undeniable,” said Bracken-Thompson, who began the discussion. “AI fosters innovation, leading to the development of new marketing channels and methods that can drive business growth.”

Dwyer said that the cost of bringing AI-powered software into a workplace is affordable. The key is to look at some of the less expensive AI tools and create custom tools within those platforms with monthly subscriptions as low as $30 per user.

“Even something like a Chat GPT, you really can take the time to create the tools within Chat GPT—or a Claude or Gemini—and make tools that are going to work for your business through the project features or their custom GPTs. There’s a lot of options there,” said Dwyer.

Tyler said that many people have not learned how to properly feed instructions to AI.

“Think of it as a free assistant who is very bright, but needs a lot of coaching,” said Tyler, noting that he recently produced an article using Claude requiring 10 prompts. “It’s a series of conversations with the computer that is different from any other kind of software that we’ve worked with before.”

Ram said that AI is informing outdoor marketing by providing data about audiences passing certain locations and programming ads with that data.

“If you’re looking at a highway sign in the Midwest and the temperature drops below 30, that highway digital sign has the capability to tell you that snow shovels are now on sale. If the temperature comes up, maybe it says something else. That’s how AI is being integrated both on the analytic data side and practical consumer side,” said Ram.

Rivera-Cheek cautioned that AI will not replace traditional marketing tools from the analog era.

“What you’ll see is people coming to a booth and asking: Do you have a print brochure? I love your QR code, but can I touch and feel something?” said Rivera-Cheek, adding that a marketing mix is more important than one channel. “It’s understanding where your ideal customers are, and how best to reach them through the mix.”

Castellano agreed with Rivera-Cheek that even in the age of AI, podcasts and streaming music platforms, traditional marketing tools like broadcast radio remain relevant.

“Terrestrial radio still reaches 88 percent of Americans in a given week, so it’s not as if it’s gone. It’s here in a different way,” said Castellano, whose company produces podcasts. “It is absolutely an exciting time for audio.”

Verizon sponsored Smart Insights and AI Innovations to Transform Marketing.

Business Showcase, November 4, Westchester Marriott Hotel, Tarrytown