Deepfake technology is changing the way people look at digital marketing.

While marketers are still in the early stages of experimenting with deepfakes and deepfake technology, these videos convey a more immersive marketing experience through storytelling.

Deepfake technology is a type of “deep learning”.

Deep learning is a type of machine learning that enables computers to learn tasks on their own without being explicitly programmed.

Deepfake technology also includes computer vision, allowing computers to recognize objects in images.

For example, computer vision uses deep learning algorithms to identify objects in photos and videos. So you can tell if there is a dog in the photo.

In addition to computer vision and deep learning technology, the deepfake creation process involves image synthesis.

• 1 shot (Like someone holding an American flag).
• Combine with other images (person holding an Australian flag).
• And create a new one from these two components (who carries both flags).

Deepfake example

If the concept of deepfakes is still hard to grasp, here are some examples of deepfake videos that have made their way around the web.

Advantages of deepfakes

This type of technology benefits marketers in three ways:

• First, you can Lower the cost of your video campaigns.
• Second, you can Create better omnichannel campaigns.
• Third, you can Provide a highly personalized experience for the customer.

Low price

Marketers can save money on video campaigns using deepfakes.

Instead, you can purchase a license for an actor’s identity, use a previous digital recording, insert appropriate dialogue, and create a new video.

This process saves time for companies that want to use their employees for advertising.

For example, if the CEO doesn’t have time to record a new ad, the marketer just needs a few previous recordings to create a new campaign.

Plus, there’s no need to reshoot footage when creating deepfakes.

This is especially useful for marketers who want to create high-quality content for their campaigns even though they have a limited budget.

Improving omnichannel campaigns

Because deepfakes don’t require direct actors, marketers can easily repurpose content for multiple marketing channels with less time and money.

Instead of reshooting campaigns for different media, marketers can edit video cuts to create social campaigns.

Alternatively, you can create a new synthetic dialogue to create a podcast or radio advertisement.

hyper personalization

This technology has led to an increase in hyper-personalization.

Brands can offer more relevant messages and experiences to individual customers based on personal preferences such as skin tone.

Suppose a customer is of a different ethnicity than the brand’s marketing model.

Deepfake technology can change the skin tone of the model, so customers can experience what the product looks like on their own skin tone.

This process helps brands increase their inclusivity and reach a wider market.

And deepfake technology can help if you need videos in multiple languages.

Personalize your marketing message by location with the push of a button.

Cons of deepfakes

Unfortunately, deepfake videos are used for more nefarious purposes.

For marketers, this can mean fake customer complaints, fake product reviews, and an overall loss of customer confidence.

lack of trust

The most obvious effect of deepfakes is that they are used to create fake videos. This makes it more difficult to verify the authenticity of a particular video.

Even if you could reliably determine if an image of a person was real before watching the video, it would be impossible for someone who didn’t know the person personally.

For marketers, using deepfake videos can be unethical if consumers feel manipulated by the campaign.

For example, if a marketer used deepfakes to create fake positive reviews, that practice would be considered unethical.

On the other hand, when marketers use deepfakes to drive brand storytelling, it can be considered ethical.

increase in fraud

Deepfake technology can increase potential fraud, such as creating false accusations against businesses.

These videos are made by taking recordings of real incidents and altering the audio with new dialogue to make it look like something it wasn’t.

For example, the UK subsidiary of a German energy company transferred nearly $250,000 to a Hungarian bank account after scammers used deepfake technology to imitate the CEO’s voice.

Additionally, manufacturers can use this kind of deepfake technology to create fake customer testimonials and product reviews to make their products look more attractive than they really are.

How Marketers Use Deepfakes in Campaigns

Despite the unfortunate ways people use deepfakes, marketers can use the technology to quickly bring their campaigns to life.

influencer campaign

Imagine booking one of your top influencers into a campaign.

You don’t need to shoot hours of video, just a bank of digital footage.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning will do the rest.

Or you can use influential historical figures like Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn.

With so much video and audio recordings of them, marketers can use their likeness in deepfakes to boost their campaigns.

Experience campaign

To stand out from the crowd, brands can use deepfakes to engage consumers in their shopping experience.

For example, an e-commerce store can superimpose a shopper’s face on a model’s body to see what the clothes look like.

nostalgic advertising campaign

State Farm has created one famous example of deepfake technology.

The insurance company created an ad for the series The Last Dance by superimposing 1998 Sports Center footage to make it look like Kenny Main predicted the documentary.

This deepfake was made purely for entertainment and brought nostalgia to viewers as they remembered the iconic era of the Chicago Bulls basketball team.

product demo

Product demos can be experiential for customers.

Instead of using the same B-role for all clients, marketers can create personalized demos showing real clients using their products. It can’t be more personal than that, right?

This technology is here to stay and will continue to evolve.

In the field of digital marketing, deepfake technology has both strengths and weaknesses.

Despite the ethical implications, deepfake videos allow brands to expand their marketing budgets and reach new audiences.

Unless marketers create malicious campaigns, deepfakes help both brands and consumers by creating more personalized and immersive experiences.

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Featured Image: Andriy Simonenko/Shutterstock