Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad

Artificial Intelligence & Marketing

Instructor: Anuj Kapoor Time: TBD

Office Hours: By appointment - in person or via Zoom.

Objectives: From smart search options and personalised messaging to being used in campaigns and mar-
keting, AI and machine learning are increasingly being used in marketing. The class is designed to introduce
future managers to AI technology and its many marketing applications. Students will walk away with a
foundational understanding of AI and its near and long term applications, explore the myths and realities
surrounding the technology, and delve into the legal, social and policy implications of AI. Further, students
will be able to understand how firms can utilize customer data - from online and offline sources and AI con-
cepts to predict customers’ next moves and intelligently target the right customers with the right content
across the right channel, and at just the right time.

Prerequisites:
This class is a joint work and its success will depend on everybody’s effort. Your opinions, thoughts are
respected and appreciated. You don’t need a coding/mathematics background to excel in this course. An
attentive mind and willingness to learn, unlearn and relearn is the only requirement. We won’t go through
the mathematics behind the algorithms but will focus only on the their application.

Required Readings:
Please read the case study(ies) and article(s) assigned for each class. These are required readings.
There’s no required textbook in the class.

Grading Policy: Classroom Participation (30%), Group Assignments/Presentations (30%), Final Exami-
nation (40%).

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Session Details

Session Timeline Content

Introduction to AI

Session 1 Prerequisite Automation of Marketing Models

Topics
• What is AI?

• How is AI different from ML?

• Supervised Learning and Neural Networks

• Deep Learning

Take Home Case Multiple Regression & Marketing-Mix Models

AI Applications

Session 2 Prerequisite Machine Learning for Enterprises: Applications, Algorithm Se-

Topics

• Business Applications of AI

• Limits of AI

Case Discussion HubSpot and Motion AI: Chatbot-Enabled CRM (Group Pre-
sentation:01)

AI and Marketing Strategy

Session 3 Case Discussion Preferred Networks: A Deep Learning Startup Powers the Inter-
net of Things (Group Presentation:01)

Topics

• AI & Marketing Strategy

• AI: Source of competitive advantage

Case Discussion Voice War: Hey Google vs. Alexa vs. Siri (Group Presenta-
tion:02)

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Artificial Intelligence & Marketing July 21, 2020

Session Timeline Content

AI and Marketing

Case Discussion Tailor Brands: Artificial Intelligence Driven Branding (Group

Topics

• AI and new marketing landscape

• AI and marketing: Application

• Challenges: Implementation of AI in marketing

Case Discussion Customer Taste with Big Data at Gap Inc. (Group Presenta-
tion:02)

AI & Fashion Marketing (Part-A)

Session 5 Topics

• Fashion & AI - An Introduction

• Examples & Benefits of AI and ML in Fashion Industry

• Role of AI in Fashion: From the seller’s perspective

• Role of AI in Fashion: From the customer’s perspective

Case Discussion Artificial Intelligence: Stitch Fix - A Blue Ocean Retailer in the
AI World (Group Presentation:01)

Session 6 AI & Fashion Marketing (Part-B)

Topics

• Fashion & Algorithms : GAN (Generative Adverserial Net-

• AI based solution to sustainable fashion (Issue & AI Solu-

• AI & Fashion: Understanding the future

Case Discussion Choosy (Group Presentation:01)

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Artificial Intelligence & Marketing July 21, 2020

Session Timeline Content

AI & Retail Marketing

Session 7 Topics

• What does AI mean for retailers?

• AI & Marketing in Retail

• Retail & AI based algorithms (Product embeddings)

• Challenges for AI in retail

Case Discussion Vispera: Visual Intelligence for Retail (Group Presentation:01)

AI & Healthcare Marketing (Part-A)

Session 8 Topics

• AI & Healthcare marketing

• Cases in Healthcare marketing (Use of AI/ML/Big Data)

• AI & Precision Medicine

Case Discussion Zebra Medical Vision (Group Presentation:01)

AI & Healthcare Marketing (Part-B)

Session 9 Pre Read AI Can Outperform Doctors. So Why Don’t Patients Trust It?
Article

Case Discussion DayTwo: Going to Market with Gut Microbiome (Group Pre-
sentation:01)

Topics

• AI for patients, clinicians and pharmaceutical companies

• Algorithms & Healthcare

• AI in Healthcare during COVID-19

Case Discussion AI Can Outperform Doctors. So Why Don’t Patients Trust It?
on pre read

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Artificial Intelligence & Marketing July 21, 2020

Session Timeline Content

AI & Bias

Session 10 Pre Read ARTICLE: We Need Transparency in Algorithms, But Too

Case Discussion Wattpad (Group Presentation:01)

Topics

• AI & Bias: Introduction

• Algorithmic Bias & Marketing

• Fair AI

Discussion on pre We Need Transparency in Algorithms, But Too Much Can Back-
read fire

Guest Speakers

Session 11
Guest Speaker -1

Session 12
Guest Speaker -2

Measurement, Analytics and Experimentation

Session 13 Pre Read ARTICLE: Understanding Text Mining and Sentiment Analysis
in Hotel Booking

Case Discussion Bluefin Labs: The Acquisition by Twitter (Group Presenta-

Topics

• Analytics vs Experimentation

• Need for Experimentation

• Tools for measurement

• Understanding treatment effects Leveraging text mining

Discussion on pre Batch Views - Understanding Text Mining and Sentiment Anal-
read ysis in Hotel Booking

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Artificial Intelligence & Marketing July 21, 2020

Session Timeline Content

AI and Future

Session 14 Pre read Case CASE: AI and the Machine Learning Revolution in Finance:
Cogent Labs and the Google Cloud Platform

Case Discussion Google and Project Maven (A): Big Tech, Government and the
AI Arms Race (Group Presentation:01)

Topics

• AI & Future

• Human Centered AI

• Emotional AI

Discussion on pre Batch Views - AI and the Machine Learning Revolution in Fi-
read nance: Cogent Labs and the Google Cloud Platform

Session 15 Course Wrap-up Current Trends and Course Summary

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