08/09/2026
I haven't posted in a while - I've been listening, watching. Are we really talking to each other anymore? Or are we just broadcasting messages into the ether?
In a world of AI & algorithms, immediacy & impatience lead.
While businesses are fumbling & falling into AI dependence that promises greater efficiency & smarter algorithm compliance - it’s missing the mark.
Customers have become distrusting of content & are drowning in slop. (Generic content lacking the poise of a human who is reading the room).
This scenario is also happening in the way businesses manage their customer service.
AI’s Blind spot to real life, to changes in environment & emotion are a costly deficit in marketing & branding. AI cannot access implicit & shared history - it falls short of human connection, I think.
Any successful brand is so, because of a shared human experience (the fundamental building blocks of customer rapport).
Think Nike (one of my fav brands - showing my age), this brand established common rapport in support of the human spirit, of possibly, grit, to go further backed by self-belief that “I can do it”. This rapport wasn’t built by preaching self-belief mantras or facts/figures to substantiate the claim… Nike achieved this through human-based storytelling. Real narratives of people’s lives, placing the customer at the very center of the message & experience. Graphically they understood that less is more, & insightful design is what captures the hearts (& eyes).
To compare the difference here is cold economic transactions (playing the algorithm game) versus a loyal community of customers who choose to do business with you, to stick around, & become your ambassadors. The latter is the solid foundation, necessary for a sustainable business.
There is certainly no end of poignant remarks online - backed by no critical thought or genuine context. Is your brand falling into this pool?
An emotional bond rooted in shared human truths is irreplaceable. It’s participating in a dialogue with customers vs. talking TO them.
Are you, like me, feeling like life is becoming two-dimensional online? Brands using the AI playbook are starting to look the same (mirror images of their competitors).
Who else feels that it’s time to show customers that you really understand them?
Do you want to give your customers a real reason to carry your brand in their heart? To make your brand part of their life? & Not just a transaction.
📝 My words.
📷 My iphone, my children 💕 at my local
