The new marketing mix: Balancing human creativity and AI automation

A hands-on guide to using AI for content creation without sacrificing distinctiveness

The AI sameness problem

Open LinkedIn. Scroll for 30 seconds. Notice anything?

The flood of nearly identical “inspirational” posts. The suspiciously similar "thought leadership" articles. The same storytelling frameworks repeated across industries. As AI adoption accelerates, marketing is facing a crisis of sameness.

"AI is making everyone sound the same," marketing leaders are complaining. And they're right to be concerned. When everyone uses the same tools with the same prompts, creative differentiation suffers.

But the problem lies not in AI itself, but in how we are using it. Teams that thoughtfully design AI systems aligned with their unique brand consistently outperform those that either resist AI or implement it mindlessly.

In this guide, we'll show you exactly how to leverage AI for content creation in ways that enhance, rather than diminish your brand's distinctiveness. While AI personalization across the entire marketing spectrum is a vast topic, which we'll explore piece-by-piece in upcoming posts, today we'll focus on text content with specific workflows and ready-to-use prompts to get you started.

AI automation + Human insight = On-brand, distinctive content at scale

But how exactly can marketers leverage AI while maintaining their distinctive voice? It starts with reimagining the marketing mix for the AI era.

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The strategic marketing AI framework

To avoid the AI sameness trap while capturing the benefits of automation, forward-thinking marketing leaders are implementing a new 4P framework:

The new 4Ps of Marketing: People, Purpose, Platforms and Prompts

• People: Human strategists who provide creative direction, unique insights, and judgment

• Purpose: The distinctive vision that guides all implementation decisions

• Platforms: An integrated tech stack of AI tools customized to your specific needs

• Prompts: Systematized instructions that represent your brand's unique approach

How to think your marketing strategy in the AI world

This framework allows you to consciously decide which parts of content creation to fully automate with AI, augment with AI, or own manually - rather than treating AI as a blunt-force tool.

We map content activities on a collaboration spectrum:

Human - AI Collaboration, the thoughtful way

Let's see how to implement this for creating distinctive content at scale.

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Content creation: Distinctive at scale

The AI Sameness Risk: Generic content that sounds like everyone else.

The Solution: A multi-stage content system with your brand's unique perspective built in.

Step 1: Document what makes your content distinctive

Before using AI, clearly define what makes your brand unique:

• 3-5 unique perspectives your brand takes on industry issues

• Topics where you have distinctive expertise

• Brand voice characteristics that reflect your values

• Content approaches that set you apart from competitors

Take time with this step - it's the foundation for everything that follows. For example, a sustainability-focused fashion brand might identify distinctive perspectives like "challenging the seasonal fashion cycle" or "making eco-friendly fashion accessible to all income levels."

Step 2: Create your brand tonality document

This document becomes your AI's guide to maintaining your voice. Here's how:

1. Create a new Claude Project or ChatGPT Project named "Content Engine"

2. Upload your brand guidelines, examples of your best content, and notes from Step 1 into the “Project Knowledge” section

3. Use this prompt to create a comprehensive brand voice guide:

Sample prompt for creating brand tonality

You are a senior brand manager at [xx company]. Create a comprehensive brand voice and tonality document based on the knowledge shared. 

Instructions: Include the following:

1. Voice Overview: A concise description of our brand voice and what makes it distinctive

2. Brand Personality: The 3-5 key characteristics that define our brand's personality

3. Tone Spectrum: How our tone adjusts across different channels and contexts while maintaining consistency

4. Do's and Don'ts: Specific examples of language that aligns with our voice vs. language to avoid

5. Word Choice: A list of preferred words/phrases and words/phrases to avoid

6. Grammar and Mechanics: Specific preferences for sentence structure, punctuation, formatting, etc.

7. Before/After Examples: At least 5 examples showing generic copy transformed into our brand voice

8. Channel-Specific Guidelines: Voice adaptations for different platforms (social, email, website, etc.)

Format this as a professional document that could be shared with our team and partners.

Guidelines: Maintain the below voice direction:

- Desired brand personality: [e.g., authoritative but approachable, playful but professional]
- Emotions we want to evoke: [e.g., trust, excitement, confidence]
- Brands we admire for their voice (can be outside our industry): [list 2-3 examples]
- Voice we want to avoid: [describe what would be inappropriate]

Think step by step. Ask me any clarifying questions before you start.

This document becomes your "brand gospel" - review it carefully, add your own insights, and upload the final version to your ChatGPT or Claude project. This will ensure every piece of content reflects your unique voice.

Step 3: Build your content creation workflow

Now it's time to put your brand guidance to work with a structured content workflow:

A. List down ideas for your content

Instead of asking for generic content ideas, use this prompt:

Sample prompt to create content ideas (use the same ChatGPT/Claude Project as in Step 1)

You are a senior brand manager at [xx company]. Create 10 content ideas about [topic/theme] that align with our brand voice and values. 
Each idea should highlight one of our unique perspectives on [industry/topic], address a specific pain point for our [target audience], be distinctive from what our competitors typically publish, align with our current business goals of [goals].

For each idea, explain why it would resonate with our audience and how it reflects our unique brand position.

B. Create a brief for the content

Next, for your chosen idea, don't jump straight to writing. Create a content brief first. Add some of your ideas on the topic to further personalize it.

A sample content brief

You are a senior brand manager at [xx company]. Create a detailed content brief for: [selected idea]. 

Include:
- Working title and subtitle options (3 each)
- Core thesis and the unique perspective we're offering
- Target audience segment and their specific needs/context
- Key points to cover (5-7 points)
- Data points or examples to include
- Our unique expertise to highlight
- SEO considerations (if applicable)
- Call to action options

My thoughts on this topic: [add your personal insights]

Structure this for a [blog post/LinkedIn article/newsletter] of approximately [length].

Ensure this brief will guide us to create content that could ONLY come from our brand.

Iterate and brainstorm to get your desired content idea and then proceed to get the content created.

C. Draft content that aligns with your brand

While this step depends on your preferred platform, what works on it, etc., but to remove the AI sameness for generic platform formats, try using this prompt for the initial draft:

Sample prompt for creating actual content (use the same Claude or ChatGPT project as in the previous steps)

Using our approved content brief and adhering to our brand voice guidelines, create a first draft of [content type] for [platform]. 

Ensure the content:
- Opens with a compelling hook that reflects our unique perspective
- Maintains our distinctive voice throughout
- Incorporates our specific examples and insights
- Delivers genuine value to the reader before making any sales points
- Concludes with a natural call to action

Format the draft with proper headings, subheadings, and paragraph breaks for readability.

D. Refine and finalize

For maximum distinctiveness, don’t rely just on AI. Rather, add these human touchpoints:

1. Select which AI-generated ideas to pursue

2. Refine the content brief based on your unique insights and knowledge

3. Edit the AI-generated draft to enhance distinctiveness

4. Finally, approve the content before publication

Pro tip: Make sure to review the draft against your brand guidelines, add proprietary insights from your experience that AI wouldn't know, inject personality in key sections, especially openings and closings, verify all facts and add internal data where relevant.

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Final thoughts

The AI content revolution isn't about replacing human creativity, but about amplifying it. The most successful marketing teams in the AI era will be those who:

1. Start with what makes them different: Define your distinctive approach before turning to AI

2. Build end to end systems, not just automations: Create integrated workflows rather than isolated tasks

3. Use human review smartly: Keep humans involved at critical decision points

4. Continuously check for distinctiveness: Regularly assess if outputs reflect your unique brand

5. Refine based on results: Evolve your approach as you learn what works

Remember: AI is a tool, not a strategy. Your competitive advantage comes from how you use it to amplify what makes your brand special.

Your immediate next step: Create your brand tonality document this week and use it to guide your next content piece. You'll immediately notice the difference in both efficiency and distinctiveness.

What content challenges are you facing with AI? Let us know in the comments, and do subscribe for more practical AI insights.