I recently watched a fascinating discussion from Marketing Against the Grain where Kipp Bodnar and Kieran Flanagan shared some eye-opening insights about how AI is transforming the branding process. Their conversation struck a chord with me because it highlighted something I’ve been experiencing firsthand: the dramatic time savings that tools like ChatGPT bring to creative marketing tasks.
The numbers they shared were staggering. What used to take 40 hours of work spread across two months can now be accomplished in about an hour. That’s not just an improvement—it’s a complete transformation of the creative workflow.
The Old Way: Weeks of Naming Agony
In the discussion, they reflected on past rebranding efforts where generating 1,000 potential names would consume 30-40 hours of actual work time. But that doesn’t tell the whole story. Those hours were stretched across multiple weeks, with numerous meetings, feedback rounds, and reviews. One project they mentioned dragged on for two full months.
This resonates with my experience. Before AI tools, naming exercises were painful, drawn-out affairs that consumed significant team resources. The process typically looked like this:
- Initial brainstorming sessions (often with diminishing returns after the first hour)
- Research to check availability and meaning across markets
- Multiple rounds of internal feedback and refinement
- Presentation to stakeholders who would inevitably send you back to the drawing board
The worst part wasn’t just the time investment—it was the creative fatigue that set in. After the first few hundred name ideas, quality typically declined as teams exhausted their creative reserves.
The AI Revolution: From Months to Hours
What struck me most about the Marketing Against the Grain conversation was how closely it matched my own recent experiences. Using AI tools, I’ve been able to generate not just more names, but better quality options in a fraction of the time.
According to Kipp and Kieran, they can now produce a solid set of 5-10 core names in about an hour. These aren’t just random suggestions—they’re refined enough to take directly to customer research. My results have been similar, and the benefits extend beyond just time savings:
- AI doesn’t experience creative fatigue—quality remains consistent
- You can quickly iterate based on feedback
- The diversity of suggestions is often greater than what a single team produces
- The time saved can be reinvested in deeper customer testing
This shift represents a fundamental change in how marketing teams can operate. We’re talking about compressing what was once an 8-week project into a single day.
Quality Concerns? Not So Fast
The natural question is whether this speed comes at the cost of quality. Based on both my experience and what Kipp and Kieran discussed, the answer appears to be no. In fact, they suggested the output might be “as good or better” than traditional methods.
I’ve found that AI tools excel at generating options that humans might miss because of our inherent biases and thought patterns. The AI doesn’t get stuck in ruts or become attached to particular ideas. It can make connections and suggestions that feel fresh precisely because they don’t follow our typical creative paths.
“You’re talking about 1 day versus 8 weeks and you’re talking about an hour versus 40 hours. That’s a massive time savings for I think what is probably as good or better of an output.”
My Advice for Marketers
If you haven’t incorporated AI into your creative processes yet, now is the time. Here’s how I recommend approaching it:
- Start with clear parameters and brand guidelines
- Use AI to generate a wide range of options
- Apply your human judgment to filter and refine
- Test the best candidates with actual customers
- Use the time saved to deepen your customer research
The key is finding the right balance between AI efficiency and human insight. The tools won’t replace your strategic thinking or customer understanding—they simply remove the tedious parts of the creative process.
What excites me most isn’t just the time savings, though that’s significant. It’s how these tools democratize access to high-quality branding. Small businesses and solopreneurs who could never afford weeks of agency time can now develop professional naming options in hours.
The marketing playing field is leveling, and that’s good news for everyone except perhaps those charging premium rates for services that AI can now handle efficiently. The future belongs to those who can harness these tools while adding the human elements that truly connect with customers.
