Dive Brief:
- Harley-Davidson NYC is using an artificial intelligence marketing automation technology called Albert for self-driven advertising and marketing campaigns, according to a company press release.
- Its first effort was a “48 bikes in 48 hours” promotion to reduce seasonal overstock, and the automated campaign almost doubled the previous sales record. After six months, Harley-Davidson NYC credits 40% of its motorcycle sales to Albert.
- The AI tech from Adgorithms helps the motorcycle maker identify previously unknown audiences and top performing ad elements and concepts to prioritize those across channels; it uncovers prospect behaviors that trigger specific actions; optimizes pricing and budgets; and optimizes millions of keywords and test thousands of ad variations simultaneously.
Dive Insight:
AI tech has been making a splash in industry news lately with Salesforce announcing its new Einstein AI tech designed to work within the core of its flagship CRM solution, and Microsoft announcing an AI group including Microsoft Research, its Information Platform Group, Bing and Cortana product groups, and its Ambient Computing and Robotics teams that will be 5,000 strong with computer scientists and engineers.
While much of the focus on AI this year has been on consumer-facing experiences, the Harley-Davidson effort as well as the news from the major AI players suggests the technology's potential on the operational side of marketing is just starting to ramp up.
In another indication of just how prevalent AI is becoming, late last month it was also announced that Microsoft along with Google, Facebook, Amazon and IBM all teamed up for the newly created Partnership on Artificial Intelligence to Benefit People and Society. The group was created to promote public understanding of AI as well as creating standards and best practices for all AI developers.
“For there to be a technology that knows nothing about us, yet can come and outdo us in its first shot was incredible. We have since increased our commitment to Albert by tenfold and are currently building a call center to accommodate the leads he’s generating for us,” said Asaf Jacobi, President of Harley-Davidson of NYC, in the release.