AI-Centered VS Human-Centered

comms138
May 29
2 min read

AI is no longer the future. It is the now, from automated email flows to AI-generated billboards and chatbots that can hold entire conversations, brands have never been more efficient, scalable, and data-smart. But there’s one thing AI can’t do: feel.

And in a country like Nigeria where brand loyalty is built on community, trust, and shared memory, feeling still matters. So while AI is taking over processes, we need to ask: What happens to the connection? To the human in marketing?

The Rise of Smart, But Cold, Marketing

We get it. AI is powerful:

It can write 100 captions in 10 seconds.
It can predict what time someone might click an ad.
It can build customer journeys and automate conversations at scale.

And yes, AI is helping brands move faster and target better. But in the race for efficiency, many are forgetting the thing that makes marketing actually work: emotional resonance.

Because at the end of the day, people don’t just remember what a brand said, they remember how it made them feel.

The Trade-Off: Automation vs. Affection

In a world saturated with digital noise, what people crave most is realness not just a personalised ad, a personalised experience. When a consumer walks into a pop-up, samples a product with a smile, dances at a roadshow, or connects with a rep who speaks their language, that’s marketing AI can’t touch.

Why Experiential Marketing Is More Powerful Than Ever

Here’s the twist: The more the world automates, the more value people place on things that feel human, tactile, and emotionally charged.

Think about it:

A WhatsApp chatbot might remind me to restock toothpaste.
But a smiling brand rep at a mall might convince me to try something new.
A retargeted ad might get a click.
But a brand activation at a wedding might earn my loyalty.

In short: you can automate the touchpoint, but not the touch.

That’s why BTL and experiential campaigns are no longer “below the line.” They’re below the surface. That’s where trust lives.

Use AI to Scale. Use Human Connection to Stick.

It’s not either/or. Smart brands are using AI to optimise, analyse, and amplify. But they’re also using real-world, sensory, people-first campaigns to create meaning. AI gets you seen but human connection gets you remembered.

How Your Brand Can Balance Both:

Use AI to:

Understand customer patterns
Personalise digital messages
Automate routine touchpoints
Collect data from experiential moments

Use Human Experiences to:

Tell stories that move people
Let consumers interact with your product in real life
Build rituals, not just ads
Engage all five senses, not just a screen

At Connect Marketing Services, We Help Brands Stay Human

We’re not anti-AI, we’re pro-human. In a world where everyone’s automating, we help brands humanise through BTL campaigns, pop-ups, samplings, community events, and culture-first activations because attention is a click and connection is a commitment.