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ANA Reveals “AI” Is the Marketing Word of the Year

Marketers Crown AI As 2024’s Driving Force Shaping Strategies And Redefining The Future

NEW YORK – DECEMBER 5, 2024 – For the second consecutive year and third time in the past eight years, “AI” has been crowned the ANA Marketing Word of the Year, reinforcing its profound and transformative impact on the marketing industry in 2024.

Since 2014, the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) has selected its Marketing Word of the Year through a voting process. The ANA staff first identifies a list of finalists and then asks members to cast their votes to determine the winner. The survey has two questions: What word should be the ANA Marketing Word of the Year? and Why did you vote for that word?

This year, the ANA surveyed its membership base between November 18 and December 2. A total of 284 ANA members participated in the online poll, where AI emerged as the clear winner, securing 65% of the vote. The second-place contender, “personalization,” garnered just 14% of the vote. In the 11-year history of the ANA Marketing Word of the Year, AI is the only repeat winner, taking top honors in both 2023 (with 69% of the vote) and 2017.

Marketers who voted for AI shared compelling reasons for their choice, highlighting the technology’s pervasive influence. “Nothing has affected the world of marketing in 2024 more than AI,” said one marketer encapsulating the sentiment of many. Additional responses included:

  • AI is all over! No matter when and where, AI always comes up when talking about marketing.
  • AI has 100% become a part of our everyday work life. No exceptions.
  • It's everywhere! Flooding the feeds and a hot topic of conversation that I think we are all a little scared by, intrigued and have so much to learn to help enable our work and lives.
  • AI is becoming prevalent in all our tech stacks, tools, and essentially every app we use.
  • AI and its potential to change how we work as marketers has been all the buzz. We are at the point where we have to figure out how to integrate AI into how we work, or we will be left behind.

Previous ANA Marketing Words of the Year have been inclusion (2022), diversity (2021), pivot (2020), personalization (2019), brand purpose (2018), transparency (2016), content marketing (2015), and programmatic (2014).
With this designation highlighting AI’s transformation from a buzzword to a cornerstone of modern marketing strategy, the ANA is committed to equipping its members with the resources necessary to navigate AI successfully.

The ANA’s Artificial Intelligence practice is focused on addressing industry challenges associated with AI to ensure marketers’ voices are heard as standards are being created, and on educating and enabling members to embrace the safe and effective use of the technology to increase efficiencies, mitigate risks, and drive growth in their respective businesses. The ANA’s growing portfolio of AI resources includes:

Additionally, the ANA will host a national industry conference devoted in large part to AI in 2025. The 2025 ANA AI and Technology for Marketers Conference will take place March 26-28 in Austin, Texas.

For more information and to access the ANA’s AI resources, visit www.ana.net/AI.

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PRESS CONTACT:
Marielena Santana
marielena.santana@digennaro-usa.com

ABOUT THE ANA

The ANA (Association of National Advertisers) accelerates growth for marketing professionals, brands, and the entire industry. With a mission to shape the future of marketing, the ANA sets the agenda for the industry, connecting its members to unparalleled expertise, industry-leading resources, and an influential global network. Representing over 1,600 companies — including 1,000+ client-side marketers, 600 marketing solutions providers, and 20,000 brands — ANA members collectively influence $400 billion in annual marketing spending. By championing the 12-point ANA Growth Agenda and the CMO Growth Council, the ANA drives actionable change, empowers marketers, shapes the marketing ecosystem, and delivers exceptional experiences at every touchpoint. Since 1910, the ANA has been setting the agenda for industry transformation. It enables marketers to advance their ambitions, make better decisions, and create lasting impact for their organizations and the industry.