While 3 out of 4 marketers believe automation and AI will affect branding, they’re divided about whether it will help or do harm in the long run, according to the “2020 State of Branding” report from Bynder. Fifty-six percent of respondents believe AI capabilities will negatively impact their branding efforts in 2020, either by diminishing creativity, eliminating jobs or producing less brand differentiation. Twenty-four percent believe AI will have a positive impact, while 23 percent believe branding cannot be automated at all. Marketers also expressed concern about new challenges accompanying the rise of tech-enabled branding, including skills gaps, data overload and more. “Marketing organizations readily adopted technology for analytics, digital channels and other functions that clearly benefit from automation” said Andrew Hally, SVP of Global Marketing at Bynder. “The challenge ahead is to harness emerging technologies like AI to maintain creative excellence while satisfying business demand for growing volumes and faster delivery.”

Also  top of mind for marketers in 2020, according to Bynder’s report:

• Growing brand awareness is this year’s top concern: There are countless platforms, channels, and strategies to prioritize in the hopes of growing brand awareness. Users have more power than ever before, so figuring out the best way to gain mindshare with an audience is a top concern for this year’s respondents (43 percent).
• As the role of technology in branding evolves, the martech explosion will continue: As the martech industry continues to expand, two-thirds of marketers (68 percent) plan to increase the number of solutions they use this year, while only 10 percent intend to decrease. In addition to widespread confusion about who is responsible for implementation, the rise of tech-enabled marketing brings a new set of challenges—most notably a skills gap in the marketing team (21 percent), data overload (20 percent) and too many options to choose from (18 percent).
• The impact of enhanced infosecurity regulation is up in the air: When asked whether security and regulation are preventing marketing efforts from reaching their potential impact and audiences, respondents were split: 57 percent reported yes, while 43 percent said no. Overall, despite intensified focus and new regulation like the CCPA, violating consumer privacy remains low on the totem pole of marketer troubles, with only 11 percent citing this as their top concern in 2020.