Let’s dig into three of the biggest gaps highlighted in the report and what to do about it.

Absence of AI Strategy and Governance

Seventy-five percent of marketing teams still lack an AI road map for the next one to two years. What’s even more telling is that companies without road maps are also missing the foundational pieces: 63% don’t have generative AI policies, 60% lack AI ethics guidelines and 67% operate without an AI council. This poses a significant barrier to effective, scalable AI adoption.

As we work with clients at Luckie, we address these gaps using a simple road-mapping exercise that starts with establishing a “foundational phase” that addresses the five key areas: initial AI governance (inclusive of a formal company AI policy), AI council establishment, data readiness audit(s), essential AI enablement, and an AI literacy and training plan.

It’s straightforward but impactful, and the findings from the report back up this approach. In fact, companies with defined AI road maps are TWICE as likely to successfully integrate training, councils and necessary policies.

Why Faster Isn’t Enough

The report confirms that saving time remains the top AI goal for marketers. Quick wins in task automation and content creation dominate early adoption strategies, aligning with broader industry findings. However, be wary of the “efficiency trap.” Simply using AI for efficiency becomes the baseline rather than a differentiator. The real competitive advantage isn’t in having AI tools — it’s in how creatively you apply them. Push yourself and your teams beyond “faster” into making your AI-driven solutions smarter and more strategic. The companies that crack this will separate themselves while others are still celebrating faster content creation.

The efficiency trap also underscores the relationship between humans and AI. It suggests that successful adoption of AI depends on augmenting, rather than just replacing, human expertise. It’s imperative to continue identifying where humans-in-the-loop are and where can we further differentiate leveraging their experience and knowledge.

Lack of AI Education and Training Persists

Since this report was first published in 2020, “lack of education and training” has been the biggest barrier to AI adoption. Sixty-two percent of respondents cite this as a primary obstacle, and 68% report getting zero AI training from their companies. What’s further concerning is the disconnect between leadership and teams. CEOs are less likely to see training as a barrier, which suggests they might not fully grasp what their people need to succeed with AI.

If your company doesn’t have an assigned “AI leader,” this is a great place for an AI council to take ownership, in partnership with HR, to map out what and how to provide learning opportunities across the employee base. At Luckie, we partner with marketing departments regularly to do lunch-and-learns or more tailored training. Additionally, all of the frontier companies have recognized this gap and are rolling out free resources in AI training. So, even if your company isn’t offering structured training opportunities, individuals who want to stay ahead of the curve and evolve their skills should be taking advantage of free resources like these:

Amazon: https://aws.amazon.com/ai/learn/new-to-ai/

Anthropic: https://www.anthropic.com/learn

Google: https://grow.google/ai/

Microsoft: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/ai/?tabs=developer

OpenAI: https://academy.openai.com/home

The Bottom Line

The takeaway is clear: Embracing AI isn’t optional, and neither is equipping your team to master it. This isn’t rocket science, but it can be difficult to navigate and requires a level of focus to do it right. Companies committed to a responsible, human-centered AI strategy will not only navigate disruption but emerge stronger and more agile.

Are you facing similar challenges or successes with AI adoption at your company? We’d love to hear your experience. Reach out to Mark (mark.unrein@luckie.com) if you’d like to discuss navigating AI transformation at your organization.

The post The Three Biggest Obstacles to AI Adoption, According to the 2025 State of Marketing AI Report appeared first on Luckie.

ATLANTA [May 13, 2025] – Luckie & Co. has added an innovative company in the healthcare industry to its client roster. Echo IQ will be working with Luckie Health, a dedicated practice within the agency focused exclusively on solving business challenges for healthcare brands.

Echo IQ has developed AI-powered technologies that enhance the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases. Luckie is managing brand positioning and visual identity, competitive and audience research, web design and sales materials for the North American market. The Australia-based company’s FDA-cleared platform, EchoSolv, produces risk assessments for patients using their echocardiographic measurements. Echo IQ is rolling out across North America this year.

“Echo IQ is launching a market-changing technology that vastly improves the detection of a number of life-threatening but often treatable conditions,” said John Petersen, General Manager of Luckie Health. “We started Luckie Health specifically to support transformative brands like this, and we couldn’t be prouder to partner with them.”

Luckie Health is ranked on MM+M’s 2024 Top 100 Healthcare Agency list and has a long history of partnerships with both legacy health brands and start-ups, including GlaxoSmithKline, Alimera Sciences, Galderma, Northside Hospital, Thomas Eye Care, ViiV Healthcare, Pfizer, and many more. Luckie Health offers a full suite of marketing services optimized for the healthcare sector and is HIPAA Type 1 and Type 2 SOC 2 certified.

ABOUT LUCKIE: One of the top privately-held agencies in the Southeast, Luckie is an insights-led marketing solutions firm for challenger brands in healthcare, travel & tourism, consumer packaged goods, and financial services. With offices in Atlanta and Birmingham, Luckie’s client roster includes Alabama Tourism Department, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama, RaceTrac, Rivian and Regions Bank.

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Media Contacts:
Mary Eitel, 678.733.1535 | mary@mkecommunications.com
Nicholas Wolaver, 678.358.7476 | Nicholas.Wolaver@gmail.com

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House Bill 1221 affects how tourist development tax (TDT) revenues can be used, reallocating proceeds to property tax credits and eliminating the current funding levels for tourism-related activities – including tourist development councils.

It is followed by House Bill 7033, which expands the permissible uses of TDT revenues and removes the mandate that a specific portion of those be spent on tourism promotion.

What’s the impact?

The impact this will have on how Florida’s TDCs and DMOs operate – as well as on states that could follow suit – is significant. Passing of the bills will lead to a substantial reduction in funding for TDCs and allow for counties to redirect TDT revenues to other local needs. It will likely hinder marketing and promotional efforts that the organizations currently undertake to attract visitors, which in turn impacts the tourism industry’s contribution to the state economy.

The provisions could reportedly go into effect this year, which does not give the TDCs a long runway before the reallocation of revenue begins.

What’s a tourism organization to do?

It is more critical than ever for DMOs and TDCs to clearly demonstrate the economic impact of their activities on the communities they serve. In other words, what is the RODMO (“return on DMO”)?

Can the organization draw a clear line between promoting the destination and putting heads in beds, increasing visitation and visitor spend, job creation and tax revenue? This clear line could mean the difference in funding critical efforts to drive tourism or losing visitors to neighboring, more well-funded destinations.

Regardless of the outcome of the legislation, the stage has been set for a shift in how tourist development councils and DMOs need to be targeting visitors. With (potentially) less money to spend and greater scrutiny of how resources are allocated, it’s time to move from a reactive marketing strategy to a predictive one.

Just as the name implies, a predictive strategy leverages both visitor data and external factors to determine, i.e., predict, things like visitation, taxable revenue and occupancy rates. It’s a complex approach, but it’s achievable. And with marketing and promotional dollars at a premium, there is a critical need right now for smart possibilities.

With the structure of funding for tourism organizations in flux, at least in Florida, it’s time to figure out how to outthink, not outspend, the competition.

We are currently working with our hospitality partners to turn this market disruption into a competitive advantage. If you need help navigating what’s next, let’s discuss the possibilities.

The post ARE WE ENTERING A NEW ERA FOR DMOs? appeared first on Luckie.

Back in the 2010s, big players like Amazon, Netflix and Starbucks paved the way, investing millions in machine learning to build AI systems that tailored experiences to individual users. Their success speaks through numbers – McKinsey reports companies excelling at personalization generate 40% more revenue than average competitors. And now, about 71% of consumers expect personalized interactions, with 76% feeling frustrated when brands miss the mark.

Why marketers should care about hyper-personalization

Unlike traditional personalization that segments customers into broad groups, hyper-personalization creates truly individualized experiences using real-time data, AI-driven analysis and dynamic content generation. This evolution means delivering messages and experiences uniquely tailored to each person’s specific context and behavior.

This level of individualization once required resources only industry giants could afford. That’s changed. AI tools have transformed what’s possible for all brands without the need for massive technology investments.

How AI transforms what’s possible

Today’s AI allows for on-brand content creation tailored to individual preferences without killing the creative team. Small client teams can now produce hundreds of personalized variations that previously would have required dozens of designers and copywriters.

Beyond content scale, these systems also adapt in real time to how customers behave, so we’re now personalizing not just the message and the creative but the entire customer experience. When someone browses a certain product, shows interest in specific topics or exhibits particular behaviors, AI can adjust what they see next and where. This dynamic approach works across websites, emails, ads, SMS and apps simultaneously.

Test & learn cycles have shortened dramatically, too. At Luckie, we’ve developed an AI-powered synthetic testing application for creative pretesting against brand personas and ideal customers’ “digital twin.” What once took months of development can happen in days or hours. Brands can quickly learn what resonates with different audience segments and refine their approach without lengthy production cycles.

Finding the sweet spot

Finding the right balance matters, though. There’s a fine line between brands surprising and delighting customers and brands being intrusive. Smart brands address this through human-centered approaches, maintaining transparency and giving users control. This ethical approach builds trust where others might trigger suspicion.

Starting your hyper-personalization journey

For brands looking to implement hyper-personalization, start with these foundational steps:

1. Unify your customer data across touchpoints.
2. Identify high-impact moments in your customer journey.
3. Begin with simple AI experiments in one channel before expanding.
4. Establish clear measurements to track impact.

Your customers already want personalized experiences. The only question left is whether your brand will give them ones that feel genuine and thoughtful. With today’s AI tools, Luckie is helping challenger brands create connections that previously seemed out of reach. And in a digital world filled with so much noise, making someone feel truly seen might be your biggest competitive advantage.

The post How AI Is Making Hyper-Personalization Accessible to Challenger Brands appeared first on Luckie.

One thing is clear: The consumer healthcare landscape is evolving fast — and unpredictably.

Here are a few themes that stood out:

1. Growth is steady, but so is uncertainty.
   The industry grew by 4% in 2024, reaching over $108 billion in U.S. sales. But that growth is tempered by declining consumer confidence, the lowest it’s been in a decade. Erosion of trust in healthcare companies and government agencies could be playing a huge role in lagging consumer confidence. Inflation and tariffs will impact sales for the foreseeable future, possibly eroding consumer confidence even further. Now more than ever, it’s important for brands to build trust with their consumers by being authentic and communicating the true value they bring.
2. Digital is reshaping the path to purchase.
   Over one-third of consumers now buy their healthcare products online, a 10% jump in just one year. Amazon, grocery and value retailers are leading the way, while drugstores are losing ground. By 2027, online research is expected to influence 70% of all consumer health purchases. The power shift to the consumer is undeniable. Brands need to focus on those online channels that tell their story and connect the consumer to their brands in an authentic way.
3. Brand agility is key.
   With consumers better educated and informed, and more in control than ever before, retailers and brands need to partner to communicate value and benefits in a meaningful way.

   Consumer trust, digital fluency and brand agility are now table stakes. Brands might have a great product, but that’s not enough anymore. You need to know how and where to meet your customers and to clearly communicate your value in an omnichannel way. What’s on the package, in videos, at the shelf and in the online reviews needs to be consistent to generate interest that leads to trial/purchase.

4. Challenger brands are rising up.
   It’s no longer about how much you spend. It’s about where you pay attention. In the past, the largest spend equaled the largest market share. That’s not the case today. There are many examples of challenger brands navigating the complex landscape and winning by focusing on consumers’ needs and how they shop. Using data and insights, they are learning more about their consumers and where to meet them.

As a marketing partner to several healthcare brands, Luckie is challenging the status quo and helping brands navigate this brave new world. We believe the brands that lean into smart data, meaningful content and omnichannel engagement will be the ones who thrive in this next era of self-care.

The post Navigating the (Near) Future of Consumer Health Products appeared first on Luckie.

The Speed-to-Insight Advantage

Let’s give credit where it is due. These tools can identify and process massive amounts of information in minutes, summarizing company backgrounds, financials, market trends and competitive insights. In the Nike analysis, the tools pulled anywhere from five to 35 pages of data, turning what would normally take hours or days into a nearly instant deliverable.

Research isn’t just nice to have – it’s foundational to a data-driven insights approach essential for marketers. McKinsey Global Institute recently reported what we already know: Brands driven by data are 23 times more likely to acquire customers and 19 times more profitable overall. For marketers managing deadlines and time constraints, these deep research tools deliver data at the speed we crave (sometimes, however, at the expense of accuracy).

When AI Research Tools Miss the Mark

Here’s the catch: These tools aren’t flawless. The Nike analysis revealed blind spots across every platform. Who’s Nike’s CEO? OpenAI and Perplexity correctly identified Elliott Hill (appointed October 2024), while Gemini still listed John Donahoe and Grok waffled between answers. On breaking news, only OpenAI caught the recent SKIMS partnership. Meanwhile, Gemini delivered Nike’s AI implementation analysis that no other platform mentioned.

Even more troubling: When reporting Nike’s financials, OpenAI and Gemini correctly cited $51.4 billion in revenue, while Perplexity was off by billions and Grok missed 2024 data entirely. And there were no warning flags for any of this potentially flawed data.

For marketers, overreliance on this deep research output at face value to drive strategy is a major risk. The same tool delivering brilliant insights in one area can completely miss critical developments in another.

A Strategic Approach: Human + AI Partnership

At Luckie, we’ve found that the answer to improving research efforts with tools like this involves crafting the right mindset and partnership with AI. Here’s a high-level framework we use to turn surface-level data dumps into campaign-defining intelligence:

1. Establish AI as Your Research Accelerator: Start with AI for comprehensive data collection, remembering that this is the starting point, not the conclusion. Our current preference is OpenAI’s deep research tool, which provides far more depth of analysis and information over the other platforms. However, we frequently run the same prompt in Gemini or Perplexity to augment and compare output.
2. Verify Critical Information: As Ronald Reagan once said, “Trust, but verify.” In the Nike example, cross-checking key claims against reports and other reliable sources resolved contradictions within minutes. The good news? These tools all outline their sources so you’re not guessing where to look. This preserves the time-saving advantage from step 1.
3. Apply Marketing-Specific Context: AI can assemble facts, but it doesn’t (yet) truly think like a marketer. That’s where we come in to turn those facts into a competitive strategy. While OpenAI did connect the SKIMS partnership to Nike’s women’s market expansion, translating that insight into your brand’s competitive response or market positioning still requires human strategic thinking.

The Bottom Line

Emerging AI capabilities like deep research tools should absolutely be part of your marketing toolkit. Just remember that the tools themselves don’t differentiate you (everyone has access to them). Your strategic integration and utilization of them does. The real competitive advantage isn’t in having these tools. It’s in mastering the AI + human partnership that turns raw information into marketing brilliance.

The post The AI Research Reality Check: What Marketers Need to Know About Deep Research Tools appeared first on Luckie.

The Magic City nickname balances aspiration (which “Magic City” does well) with something more tangible (where it struggles), but most residents might be surprised to find that we’re not the only Magic City. Miami earned the name for its rapid growth in the early 1900s. Roanoke, Virginia, claims it too. I think it’s time we gave “magic” some meaning and Birmingham a real brand.

Birmingham is in line to be the South’s next major success story. You can feel the momentum. From James Beard Award winners and tech startups to the transformative STAR development reshaping downtown and global companies choosing our region for major investments, the secret of Birmingham’s charm is getting harder to keep. New transplants are moving here daily, drawn by the perfect mix of big opportunity and strong values. To develop a brand that honors and accelerates our progress, we need to look at five key dimensions (at Luckie, we call them the “5 C’s”) that shape our city’s position.

We start with Culture — where we’ve come from and who we are. Birmingham has always had a culture of belief against the odds. We sprang from nothing at a railroad crossing because someone believed we could make something great from iron ore, coal and limestone. We transformed from a steel titan to a medical innovator because leaders believed in the power of education and research. During the Civil Rights Movement, foot soldiers believed in dignity and justice enough to face fire hoses and police dogs. Today, that spirit of belief powers everything from hosting world-class events to revitalizing historic neighborhoods. Belief is what “magic” has always meant here. It’s not an illusion, but rather the power of belief to transform reality.

Next is Competition. We face economic development competition from other midsized cities like Charlotte and Austin. But Birmingham offers something unique: a perfect blend of opportunity and livability driven by real community values. While other cities chase trends, Birmingham builds on bedrock principles: strong families, genuine relationships and authentic community spirit. Our cost of living allows young professionals to own homes rather than rent indefinitely. And our location puts us at the center of everything — two hours to Atlanta’s international hub, four hours to Gulf Coast beaches, a short drive to the Appalachian foothills, and right in the heart of the Southeast’s economic growth corridor. This strategic position, combined with our commitment to community values, gives Birmingham an edge that flashier cities can’t match. We’re not just a place to work, we’re a place to build a life.

Our third C is Company — the people and businesses that make Birmingham unique. We’re a city built on multigenerational family businesses that believe in long-term value creation. Legacy family-owned companies like Drummond, Harbert and EBSCO demonstrate the power of family values and commitment to community. We also have mainstays like Regions Bank and Alabama Power relentlessly working to attract industry that has transformed — and will continue to transform — our economic landscape, bringing billions in new investment to the region. Alongside these stalwarts, newly founded businesses like Shipt and Harmony Venture Labs show how that same spirit drives innovation in the Magic City. They’re testaments to Birmingham’s ability to nurture both tradition and transformation.

Our fourth C is our Consumer — both the talent and the corporations we hope to attract. Today’s professionals seek three things: authenticity, community and value. Birmingham delivers all three, wrapped in an ideal environment for raising families. Our suburbs boast some of the nation’s top-ranked school systems. Our neighborhoods offer character and connection. We have top-notch healthcare from providers like UAB and insurers Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama. Our business climate provides the infrastructure for innovation while our quality of life makes recruiting talent easier. We have everything a consumer would want in their home city.

Our fifth is Connections. This is where we must consistently pull through who we are. It’s where we are making the most progress but have the furthest to go. The Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau highlights our tourism appeal, while the City of Birmingham’s revitalization efforts are transforming our urban core. The new Coca-Cola Amphitheater demonstrates our ability to think big about our future while staying true to our character.

As we look forward, we must unite these efforts under a compelling vision — a brand that is found at the intersection of the 5 C’s — where one truth emerges: Birmingham is magic not because it is mystical, but because Birmingham is the place where people believe in each other, ourselves and our community. Where entrepreneurs believe they can launch the next big thing. Where families believe they can build a better life. Where we dare to imagine a better community and commit to creating it.

If you ask me, Birmingham is the city of belief.

We certainly face challenges. We have work to do. We must continue to improve the infrastructure. We’re still healing from historical wounds. But these challenges make our story of belief even more powerful. We’re not a city that pretends everything is perfect. We’re a city that believes in making things better.

The Magic City nickname was never about magical thinking. It was about the magical things that happen when people believe in possibility. That’s who we are. That’s our brand, spoken or unspoken. Now we just need to bring it to life, starting with a rallying cry to unite us behind our common belief in Birmingham’s promise as a place where families thrive and businesses flourish.

About Tom Luckie — Chairman, Luckie & Company

Tom Luckie is chairman of Luckie & Company, the marketing solutions firm founded by his father, Ace Luckie, 71 years ago. Under Tom’s watch, Luckie has evolved from a traditional ad agency to one of the largest privately held marketing firms in the South. Tom earned a marketing degree from Auburn University and an MBA from Samford University. He actively contributes to the Birmingham community through affiliations with United Way of Central Alabama, the St. Vincent’s Foundation, Quarterbacking Children’s Health Foundation and the Luckie Foundation.

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