Overview

Class Central Tips

AI is everywhere! By harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence, businesses and marketers have amazing growth potential, and the opportunities to enhance marketing with AI are always expanding. But how can businesses use AI tools to drive their success and gain sustainable competitive advantages? What are the challenges faced by businesses as they implement AI into their marketing strategies? In this course, developed at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, and delivered by Professor of Business Administration Raj Venkatesan, you will explore an important frontier of digital transformation in marketing. You will examine three key forces that enable AI in marketing strategies - Algorithms, Networks, and Data - and gain a deeper understanding of how businesses in a wide variety of industries can get the most out of this exciting technology. You will see real world examples of successful companies like Ford, Netflix, and the Washington Post using AI to take on the competition in new and creative ways, and hear from experts about how AI is shaping the present and the future in their respective industries. You can learn more about Raj by following his posts on Twitter (@rajkumarvenk) and on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/education-marketing.

Syllabus

What Is AI?

Welcome to our course! We'll begin with an introduction to AI (artificial intelligence), where we'll define the term and explore the history of the technology. Then we'll dive into machine learning and deep learning, and see how algorithms are used to create effective AI such as Google Images and IBM’s Watson, the machine that was able to defeat human opponents on Jeopardy!

Networks and Network Effects

Can you imagine an autonomous self-driving Ford F150 truck? This week we'll explore the future of vehicles that will use AI to take on the open road and look at how preconceptions about brands and driverless cars may prove incorrect as the industry moves into the future. We'll also see how networks and network effects work to create AI capable of one day crossing the "Uncanny Valley" in the autonomous vehicle market.

Data-Driven AI

As businesses become more successful, they also become a more attractive target for competitors. But data-driven AI can provide a crucial edge. This week we'll explore how businesses use data to build a sustainable competitive advantage in their industries. We'll look at the fierce competition in the world of video streaming and explore how Disney+ seeks to overtake Netflix as the dominant streaming platform.

AI Relationship Moments

We've been introduced to the three forces that enable AI in marketing - algorithms, networks, and data - but how do they come together to give marketers a competitive advantage? This week we'll see how the three forces combine to form AI Relationship Moments that can drive effective AI marketing strategies. To illustrate this, we'll explore the innovations that have enabled the Washington Post to compete with the New York Times in the digital space. Patrick Cullen, senior director of Zeus technology at the Washington Post, will join Raj to discuss how these innovations have helped position the newspaper for an AI future.