Cue Daft Punk’s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.”
Since becoming widely available a little more than a year ago, generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has transformed the world of content marketing, helping marketers work harder, better and faster, says Katherine Scarrow, manager of creative strategy at Globe Content Studio. Hence why her team jokes that AI could be the subject of the French music duo’s hit song.
“The marketing landscape has probably changed more in the last six months than it has in the last six years because of generative AI,” Scarrow says. “Once you start experimenting with AI tools, you realize the potential to not only do things more efficiently but, in some ways, more effectively.”
Canadian content marketers have the opportunity to learn about generative AI at the second annual Tactics & Takeaways conference on April 17, hosted by Globe Content Studio and Globe Media Group. The morning event, taking place at The Globe and Mail Centre in Toronto, will dive into the latest content marketing trends, including how marketers are already applying GenAI in their work.
“It’s about providing actionable ideas and strategies beyond the surface level,” she says of the event. “You should leave with three things you didn’t even think about before. We want a few of those ‘aha’ moments.”
Globe Content Studio has been actively exploring the new tech’s potential – as well as its drawbacks – leveraging GenAI tools like Midjourney for image creation and Runway for video editing, according to Scarrow. She also highlights AI’s potential as a powerful research tool, working with clients both at the pitch and production stage, especially when unique data sets (such as Globe audience data or clients’ first-party data) can be fed into the machine.
But, as a former journalist, Scarrow knows well that despite GenAI’s immense potential, the “human side of the equation” remains an essential aspect of content marketing. She says it’s about “maintaining that authenticity, that true human-based, narrative-driven storytelling,” while benefiting from AI’s efficiencies.
Scarrow emphasizes the need for balance – a theme that will underpin many of the insights shared at the event. Within content marketing, some roles and responsibilities can be effectively delegated to GenAI, such as automation and data-crunching. And some skills can be augmented (think: trend research or A/B testing headlines and imagery).
But there’s also a part of the job which machines must not get involved in, according to Scarrow. “You can train AI to serve as a very valuable assistant and partner. But at the end of the day, there’s a need for that human quality,” she says. “As content marketers, much of our success comes from the way we tell stories through narratives, through real-world examples. AI can’t replicate that – not yet.”
So, Tactics & Takeaways is not so much a hard pitch for GenAI as it is an opportunity to learn about what works and what doesn’t, from marketers with experience using it. In particular, it will explore how marketers who leverage “robots” for part of their work can prosper, and why the extremes of rejecting them outright – or having them do everything – are recipes for failure.
The sessions will take on a mix of formats, from case studies to panels and TED Talk-style presentations. Scarrow, who sits on the Globe’s AI Council and is leading AI integration across the advertising department, will host a panel about GenAI with a group of big brand marketers. One of the sessions will feature the Young Lions Marketers who took home Gold at Cannes in the summer, and another will dive into performance and measurement. 
Many of the talks will be led by specialists within Globe Content Studio, who will share insights from their experiences working first-hand with AI, and will target mid-to-high level marketers down to entry-level specialists and freelancers.
Though participants are encouraged to attend in person – there will be snacks and “cool swag,” she notes – the event will be livestreamed. Globe Content Studio will also be creating social and digital content highlighting key takeaways from the sessions.
Learn more about Tactics & Takeaways here.
