Complex Media Debuts AI Chatbot With Sprite

Music and culture publisher Complex Media, a part of BuzzFeed Inc., debuted a marketing activation Monday that uses generative artificial intelligence to power an interactive chatbot that produces bespoke album covers to celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. The landing page, produced in partnership with Sprite, reflects advertisers’ growing interest in being associated with the buzzy technology. It also demonstrates one of the ways in which media companies can tap into that desire to land direct sponsorship deals. The publisher declined to share financial specifics. “Artificial intelligence brings a level of personalization to an experience that we know resonates with a Gen Z audience,” said Andrew Guendjoian, the head of sales for BuzzFeed Inc. “It encourages interactivity, and it looks different from the other kinds of content our users are consuming.” More broadly, the campaign marks the latest iteration of publishers’ ongoing experimentation with generative AI, which has captured the attention of the industry due to its disruptive potential. How GenAI Is Impacting Human Jobs Across the Ad Industry While publishers like G/O Media and Red Ventures have embraced it as a means of producing content, others, including BuzzFeed Inc. and Axel Springer, have vowed to use generative AI to enhance the capabilities of their workforce. The New York Times, Dow Jones and Dotdash Meredith, meanwhile, have drawn attention to the threat the technology poses to the commercial foundation of the news industry. While the Sprite activation represents the first time Complex Media has used generative AI in a commercial use case, parent company BuzzFeed Inc. has incorporated it into several campaigns, including a series of infinity quizzes sponsored by Scotts Miracle-Gro. Complex Media proposed an AI chatbot to Sprite to attract a hard-to-reach audience. Rather than simply using the technology as a means of production, the Sprite campaign intentionally centers it, according to Media Two chief executive Seth Hargrave. In doing so, parent company BuzzFeed Inc. underscores its reputation for innovation—a fixture of its brand identity—as it seeks to reestablish its footing amid a rapidly shifting media landscape. “By using AI as the creative rather than a tool, Sprite and Complex set themselves up as disruptor brands, in the same way, hip-hop was a kind of challenger brand when it first arrived,” Hargrave said. An inquisitive chatbot with guardrails The initial brief from Sprite sought a way to connect with younger hip-hop fans whose attention can be hard to capture, which prompted Complex Media to suggest an AI product, said Guendjoian. The chatbot, which the publisher designed using AI infrastructure it had developed for prior projects, asks the user questions. By creating an inquisitive bot, the publisher aims to eliminate any barriers to entry, as the challenge of suggesting creative prompts can discourage some people. Complex Media designed the chatbot to ask users questions rather than rely on prompts, reducing its barrier to entry. The chatbot then analyzes the sentiment and tone, while also applying the moderation API designed by OpenAI to flag violent or sexual responses, according to Bill Shouldis, who leads BuzzFeed Inc.'s revenue innovation for tech products. Using generative AI, the chatbot creates a custom album artwork, drawing visuals from an exclusive cache of designs provided to Complex Media by the artist OseanWorld. Critically, this sidesteps any copyright or IP concerns. To widen the project's reach, Complex Media is promoting the landing page on its website and boosting it on social media and through paid and organic channels. The publisher declined to share how long the activation will be live or provide projections for its estimated reach. AI innovation amid economic challenges The partnership with Sprite dovetails neatly with the brand identity of Complex Media—a music and culture publisher emphasizing hip-hop whose parent company, BuzzFeed Inc., has historically pushed the envelope of digital media. The innovative concept casts a halo effect on both publisher and brand, according to Josh Rosenberg, the chief executive of creative firm Day One Agency. BuzzFeed Inc. has also positioned its embrace of artificial intelligence as part of its broader spirit of experimentation, helping it to—so far—avoid the negative associations of the technology. But the campaign comes during challenging periods for both Complex Media and BuzzFeed Inc. How Vice Media Went Bankrupt In June, The Information reported that BuzzFeed Inc. has explored selling Complex Media, which it acquired for $300 million in late 2021. Meanwhile, BuzzFeed has been forced to navigate a shifting landscape of digital traffic in which social media platforms deliver a dwindling supply of readership. These realities, set against a moribund advertising economy, led BuzzFeed Inc. to shutter BuzzFeed News in April, and its stock price has dropped so low that the company is at risk of being delisted in November. “Brands want to be first,” Rosenberg said. “This is a great way to test, learn and lead the conversation.”

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Complex Media Debuts AI Chatbot With Sprite

The campaign comes as more publishers experiment with the tech

Mark Stenberg

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