Redefining Marketing with Social Cognitive Experience: A Personal Journey
As an AI enthusiast and an experienced marketing strategist, I, Robert Haslam, have spent years observing and understanding the evolving dynamics of the marketing world. My journey, which led me to form SoCogEx, has been driven by personal experiences with neurodiverse discoveries and a desire to use AI to create more meaningful, impactful, and consumer-centric marketing experiences.
Embracing Neurodiversity and AI:
A Personal Awakening
My experience with neurodiversity, including the social interactions, cognitive challenges, and unique perspectives it brings, was an awakening. This journey, which eventually led to my diagnosis, was both revealing and liberating. It allowed me to see the world from a unique lens, and this newfound understanding profoundly impacted my professional life.
Around the same time, I was witnessing the rise of AI technology. I envisaged a future where AI would not merely be a tool but a personal guide and protector, much like our trusted mapping apps. I saw the potential for AI to adapt and cater to the diverse spectrum of individual needs and wants, offering personalized experiences that truly resonate with each of us.
The Birth of SoCogEx
This convergence of personal and professional insights led to the birth of SoCogEx. The ethos of SoCogEx is about embracing the new world shaped by AI while acknowledging and celebrating what makes each of us unique. I believe this individuality often gets overlooked by brands in their quest to be leaders.
The Emergence of Social Cognitive Experience
My journey led me to the concept of Social Cognitive Experience (SCE). This innovative marketing approach integrates the principles of social interactions, cognitive learning, and immersive experiences, all enabled by AI.
The premise of SCE is simple yet powerful. It recognises that consumers don't exist in a vacuum. They learn, interact, and make decisions based on a myriad of social and cognitive influences. By understanding these influences and crafting experiences around them, brands can deliver more personalized, engaging, and impactful campaigns.
The Future of Marketing
A Social Cognitive Perspective
In a world increasingly dominated by AI, SCE stands as a beacon for the future of marketing. It goes beyond traditional consumer segmentation and personalization, offering a holistic view of the consumer that considers their learning patterns, social interactions, and experiential preferences.
For instance, consider a brand that wants to promote an environmentally-friendly product. Instead of merely stating the product's green credentials, an SCE approach would create an immersive experience, perhaps a virtual reality journey, that takes the consumer through the process of how the product is made, the positive impact on the environment, and how their purchase can contribute to a more significant cause. This experience is educational and emotionally engaging, leading to a more profound brand connection and loyalty.
Social Cognitive Experience and Brand Engagement
Applying SCE principles can also revolutionize the way brands approach content creation. Rather than creating content in silos, SCE encourages brands to think of content as an interconnected web of experiences that inform, engage, and influence the consumer.
Take, for example, a fashion brand aiming to launch a new line. Using SCE, the brand could weave a story using various content formats - blogs detailing the design process (cognitive), social media posts featuring influencers wearing the clothes (social), and an augmented reality app that allows consumers to try on the clothes (experiential) virtually.
Envision a scene where elements of the design process, social media influence, and augmented reality blend seamlessly. Picture a designer's sketchbook open on a table, with intricate drawings and fabric swatches that tell the cognitive story of the design process.
Simplifying Campaigns
with Social Cognitive Experience
At its core, SCE simplifies marketing campaigns by providing a unified framework for understanding and engaging with consumers. It eliminates the guesswork and disjointed efforts, allowing brands to create cohesive campaigns that resonate deeply with consumers.
In AI-powered marketing, the brands that will shine are those that recognize and leverage the power of SCE - those that understand their consumers beyond demographics and purchasing patterns and engage with them at a cognitive and social level.
As we continue to explore the possibilities of AI, I am more convinced than ever that the future of marketing lies in the Social Cognitive Experience.
