With the significant role AI is playing in business transformation, now is a critical time to leverage its capabilities to bring organizations to new heights. For Chris Bontempo, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Johnson Controls, generative AI is more than just a tool. It’s a force multiplier for marketers, seamlessly woven into their workflows to elevate impact and innovation.
Chris’s journey into the tech world was serendipitous, rooting his tech career on accident by landing a job during the internet boom. After founding a tech startup, he went on to pursue an MBA, ultimately leading him to IBM where he spent about two decades growing in his career across various marketing disciplines. A year ago, Chris joined Johnson Controls, bringing his innovative mindset to the helm and championing AI as the cornerstone of his marketing strategy – a vision that inspires his “small but mighty” team to deliver exceptional results for the large business they support.
The explosion of AI tools offers unparalleled opportunities for marketers, transforming workflows and unlocking new possibilities. Reflecting on this dynamic shift, Chris views the rise of AI as a thrilling opportunity to experiment with cutting-edge tools – a reminder of his early hands-on experiences in tech. While apprehension surrounding AI still lingers in certain business circles, Chris sees this as a pivotal moment to embrace its full potential, particularly within marketing technology.
“You still have to be the creative, but the AI is going to unlock variations in there and give you a partner to work through things with.”
At Johnson Controls, Chris has spearheaded a transformative marketing approach grounded in three fundamental principles:
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- Stay aligned with the business. Ensuring that marketing efforts are in sync with sales, business leadership, the goals of the company, etc.
- Measure everything. Tracking the outcomes of marketing investments to understand the returns, whether in demand generation, brand awareness, or other metrics.
- AI everywhere. Integrating AI tools throughout the marketing process to enhance efficiency and productivity, leveraging AI for content creation, lead generation, and various marketing workflows.
Chris’s team leverages a collaboration platform enriched with AI capabilities for streamlined, brand-consistent content creation. By setting brand guardrails within the platform, the brand team ensures that content creators can confidently produce materials that align seamlessly with established guidelines. This synergy eliminates bottlenecks, enabling the AI tool to quickly generate varied, on-brand content trained on the company’s voice and products.
Chris emphasizes the transformative impact of AI, not just for marketers but for every enterprise function. He champions Milwaukee’s community, believing the city has an edge in fostering AI-driven creativity. His call to action for the AI Community is clear: seize the advantages these tools provide and keep pushing the envelope to redefine possibilities AI tools provide as creatives.