• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, 11 hours ago

Constant Contact claims that it has moved beyond email. And to prove the point, it is now launching an ad campaign titled “Great Needs Great,” its biggest such branding effort to date. 

Created with agency TBWA\Chiat\Day LA, the new campaign is designed for small business owners and will be featured on television, streaming audio, digital video and social media.

"For years, people have known us as the email company — this is us saying, out loud, that we're something bigger now," says Evelyn Borgatta, senior brand director at Constant Contact. 

The hard part in marketing “was never the tools,” Borgatta adds.. “It was the blank screen, the guesswork, the hours small business owners don't have. 'Great Needs Great' brings to life our bet that AI changes that equation, and that the businesses doing the work deserve to stand out.”

Almost all email vendors are adopting AI, but this is an unusual push. 

The effort showcases built-in AI that the company claims is delivering measurable results. 

A video on YouTube shows an empty barbershop. A voiceover says, “It’s not enough to be good.” Then it shows a dog groomer who can’t attract a client, then an opera singer in an empty theater and a dismayed man seated in the orchestra. “It’s not enough to be great. Just because you’re great at one thing doesn’t mean you’re great at telling people about it. But you don’t have to be.”

Miraculously, the barbershop is filled, the dog groomer has multiple dogs to quaff and the theater is filled. 

“You just need a little help saying, “Hey, world, over here. And when you do, strangers become customers, customers become regulars, and regulars start telling everyone know about your thing, too. So now you’re great at this and that.”

“Go from prompt to progress with the new Constant Contact,” says a headline on its website offering a preview of the effort that rolls out nationally across linear and streaming television, streaming audio on Spotify, Pandora, and SiriusXM, YouTube and paid social starting this month. 

On its site, the company adds, “Create emails, texts, and posts that grow your business—zero marketing skills needed." 

That’s the theme: that small business owners can now, with AI, run their marketing campaigns automatically wherever they are. 

Constant Contact also promises on its site that it can, with AI, help users:

• Quickly generate tailored email designs and content.
• Recommend the best send times.
• Segment and manage contacts from a simple prompt.
• Build personalized weekly social plans.
• Guide users through a built-in chat assistant.

(You’ll note that email is still first on the list). 

"At Constant Contact, AI is about generating real results,” says Constant Contact CEO Frank Vella. “By leveraging decades of marketing insights, we enable our small business customers to market and compete like pros." 

Vella adds that his firm’s AI “is built on proprietary small business performance data, not just general language models.”

Let’s hope the business owners who see this include email marketing in their plans.