Finding Balance Using AI When Marketing Your Business
by Adam Pratt, Arcade Galactic & ArcadeHeroes.com
While researching brand-new arcade locations recently, I noticed a growing trend: arcades are using AI in their marketing efforts in all sorts of ways. Whether that’s in creating social media posts, writing copy for their websites, or “creating” their company logos, AI is being used more than ever.
This isn’t a surprise since the tools have improved and been integrated into so many other tools, whether that’s search engines or photo and video editors. But what is a surprise is how this is sometimes used to market game rooms.
Before we move any further, I want to establish where I stand on AI. Sadly, it’s become as polarizing as any political issue out there, which makes discourse about it difficult, if not impossible, depending on the situation. The problem is that people often become emotionally charged when it comes to AI in an “all or nothing” reaction. Even if you say something that is only slightly for or against it, you become an instant pariah if you’re of the opposing viewpoint.
People should be able to discuss this issue like adults instead of having to walk on eggshells for fear of offense. I don’t think you’ll find my views to be offensive, but I ask that you don’t grab the torches and pitchforks if I’m mildly critical one way or the other.
Star Wars fans might recall that one thread running through the Prequels was that of “bringing balance to the Force.” The movies never really resolved that, and I won’t make any promises here, but I’ll try to thread that needle as I argue for finding balance with AI.
Both personally and professionally, I’ve used AI tools for certain tasks. It’s super useful for removing backgrounds from images, a feature I use often when trying to remove the fluff around an arcade cabinet and other things. Personally, it’s also great for humor, especially with movie mash-ups. I don’t use it for writing, but I know of some fellow authors who like to use AI drafts, and then they spend a lot of time editing.
I don’t care for AI constantly summarizing web searches. I find the summaries often hide the hard work put into websites that have been carefully researched and written about, while blending it with incorrect info pulled from trolls or jokes on forums. The result is a pretty muddy mess. Sure, people should look deeper into whatever they’re researching, but trusting summaries is so much easier and faster. I care even less for AI-generated photos and not being able to trust some photos that claim to be from the past and in fact are not. As AI has improved, it’s becoming harder to know if what you’re seeing is accurate and from real life or not.
The Balancing Act
Is it a magic super tool that can handle all tasks and resolve all problems? No. Is it the end of human civilization that will destroy all jobs? Nope. The keyword for me is “balance.” But we don’t have to wait for a superhero or space wizard character to come along to give us that balance – we need to do it ourselves.
I don’t fault arcades for using it to promote their locations. I would recommend avoiding the catfishing trap, however, because when you do use it for everything, there’s a danger that you can lose the plot and push people away instead of bringing them in.
To be more specific, I’m talking about using AI-generated images of your game rooms and/or attractions on your site and your socials. Yes, some AI tools are getting pretty good at representing objects, but some are not, and even the good ones can still get things wrong, no matter how detailed your prompts are. I’ve also seen a couple of AI representations of new arcade games where you can see small AI errors. I even came across one venue’s website that showed a line-up of Soviet-era arcade games and, of course, they had nothing of the sort!
Being the Real You
Aside from this flirting with false advertising, all this AI manipulation moves you away from what is one of the most powerful tools in your arsenal – authenticity.
If you were to take a Marketing 101 course run by a competent professor, the concept of authenticity in marketing would be discussed at length. It isn’t new. It’s a standard subject that has been discussed for decades, long before AI was around. Businesses want to figure out the best way to establish their brand identities and sell their products. Just because we’re in the amusement business and we’re selling experiences rather than widgets doesn’t exempt us from marketing realities.
Put on your consumer hat for a moment and consider what products and brands you trust. Why have you chosen to give these companies your money, whether that’s for food, clothing, vehicles, entertainment, or whatever? Even if you’ve never told yourself that you do so because of their authenticity, that is a major, subconscious driver for you as a consumer. You’re not going to spend your good money on a product from a company you don’t find to be authentic over one you feel truly is.
The danger with relying on AI too much when promoting your business, letting it do much of the work for you, is that you lose the authenticity that’s vital for getting people to walk through your doors. If you choose to feature AI images of your games and location, or never show real customers enjoying your attractions or games as they actually exist in your venue, it subconsciously causes the consumer to think you don’t care or wonder if there’s something you’re hiding. Not good, right?
Like it or not, we’re an industry that relies heavily on nostalgia. One of the drivers behind that sentiment is chasing the feeling of an authentic experience you had in the past. Regardless of the personal reason, every day is an opportunity for consumers to visit you, make new memories and come away with a feeling they’ll long for down the road. This will only happen if you give them an authentic, memorable experience.
If you didn’t, then you gave them a fad – something that seemed great at first, but was shallow and unfulfilling, if not forgettable (which is the worst).
Again, I’m not saying you have to reject AI in all things! I’m saying that you need a balance.
If you have been doing nothing but AI ads, consider balancing that out with some ads or posts that you took with your own camera, or hired a photographer/graphic designer to do. If you don’t have a pro to rely upon, rest easy that you don’t need to be a professional photographer to take good photos.
If you want to stage a picture with family, friends or customers, it’s going to take a little more work, but even a non-candid image with smiling people is more authentic than creating a scene that doesn’t exist. Throwing one, or a few, of those into your mix every week or month will be a more effective foot traffic driver than ignoring them completely.
Lately, I’ve seen all sorts of AI-generated posts on LinkedIn. They all sound the same, switching out topics, but I can tell they’re promoted posts after just reading a few sentences. I stop the moment I notice because I feel like I’m reading something that the writer probably didn’t even read themselves after the prompt spit it out.
I’d apply the concept of balance to your website. If you had AI write it all, consider taking a little time to go through it and rewrite some of it in your own voice. Some balance between the human and the AI will work to your benefit.
You don’t have to be a published author to be authentic or articulate – convey what you really want the customer to understand in as few words as possible. Most customers, anxious to get to the goods, will skip over lengthy text. Having your own words describe your business is better, and even more so if the arcade down the street took the easy way out and asked ChatGPT to write their web copy for them.
Be proud of your business and what you’ve built. You put a lot of work into it, and still do. If AI has made you more productive, great. Just don’t forget that we’ve had successful arcades around for decades before AI existed. We’ve operated longer than personal computers have, too. Be authentic in how you share your story and vision with the world, and you’ll be rewarded.
Adam Pratt is the owner and operator of Arcade Galactic near Salt Lake City, Utah, and also publishes the Arcade Heroes blog site. He can be reached at shaggy@arcadeheroes.com.