The marketing realm is changing, and artificial intelligence (AI) has been a huge driver of that change. More than ever, businesses are relying on AI tools to hyper-personalize campaigns, predict consumer behavior, and even generate content with a few clicks. For those considering a career in marketing, then, it's important to choose a degree program that covers not just traditional competencies, but how to use AI effectively and responsibly in a changing field.
Enter Indiana Wesleyan University's (IWU's) online Bachelor of Applied AI Analytics in Marketing — a 90-credit degree program that centers around the application of AI and analytics to marketing strategy, customer insights, content creation, and campaign performance.
Read on to discover more about what this program has to offer and determine whether it could be the right fit for you.
Unlike many other marketing degree programs that gloss over AI or treat it as an afterthought, IWU's Applied AI Analytics in Marketing program thoughtfully combines marketing, analytics, and AI into a focused degree that may give graduates a competitive advantage in today's workforce.
More specifically, this program sets itself apart from many other marketing degree programs with coursework that teaches the fundamentals of AI-powered marketing. This includes such interconnected concepts as data analytics, AI tools, and long-term marketing strategy that (when leveraged effectively) transform marketing from a guessing game into a highly precise and scientific process.
Meanwhile, whereas other marketing programs may focus heavily on theory and abstract concepts, IWU's Applied AI Analytics in Marketing program provides students with plenty of opportunities for valuable and practical hands-on learning. Through these applied learning experiences, students gain first-hand experience using the same AI tools and technologies that they'll be using in their future careers.
Today, AI-driven marketing strategies are making it possible to turn raw data into highly targeted and personalized campaigns that drive results. In IWU's Applied AI Analytics in Marketing program, students learn how to use AI to support informed marketing decisions and better understand their target audiences.
In a degree program that goes beyond basic marketing skills, students learn how to use machine learning and other AI tools to effectively predict trends and target campaigns to highly specific audiences. Specifically, students gain experience using predictive AI and data analytics to extract meaningful insights from historical data — which can then inform future marketing decisions.
AI tools can also be extremely useful for marketing professionals looking to better understand the behavior of their audiences. Through the use of machine learning, AI algorithms, and analytics tools, marketing teams can perform in-depth behavioral analysis of their audiences faster and more accurately than ever before. This improved understanding of audience behavior can then be used for customer journey mapping, audience segmentation, personalization, and other marketing strategies.
On its own, raw marketing data isn't particularly helpful. It's only when marketing teams can extract meaningful insights from raw data that it becomes powerful — with the ability to transform entire campaigns. In IWU's Applied AI Analytics in Marketing program, students gain practical experience working with the tools modern marketing teams use to extract these valuable insights and use them to inform campaign strategy.
Today, personalized customer experiences matter more than ever. In fact, studies have found 71% of consumers expect companies to deliver personalized interactions.
Another primary focus in IWU's Applied AI Analytics Marketing program, then, is teaching students how to use AI tools to personalize and automate marketing for greater customer engagement.
AI tools, including analytics and content generation tools, make it possible to hyper-personalize marketing campaigns for different audiences in ways that were previously time-consuming and cumbersome. With more personalized marketing content, companies may find greater success with conversions and building brand loyalty.
Today's marketing teams are also relying on AI to automate other tedious and time-consuming processes. This frees up more time for marketing professionals to focus on other important and strategic aspects of their work. From generating and repurposing content to automating different aspects of customer relationship management (CRM), students in IWU's Applied AI Analytics Marketing program gain hands-on experience with the AI marketing automation tools used in the field today.
Customer relationship management is another aspect of marketing that is becoming increasingly automated by AI tools. Through the strategic use of data analytics tools and automated marketing workflows, teams can cut back on manual tasks and focus more on personalized engagement — all of which can empower brands to build more meaningful and lasting relationships with customers.
Coursework in IWU's Applied AI Analytics Marketing degree also explores different areas of digital marketing, advertising, and banding to provide students with a well-rounded understanding of how data science, AI tools, and business analytics contribute to long-term marketing outcomes across different industries.
As part of this program, for example, students can expect to:
Modern marketing professionals also need a strong understanding of both customer journey mapping and customer relationship management to build effective marketing campaigns and long-term brand loyalty. In IWU's Applied AI Analytics Marketing program, students learn the ins and outs of customer behavior analytics and customer experience mapping to improve the overall experience and optimize campaigns.
Specifically, through practice with customer experience mapping or journey mapping, marketing teams explore every touchpoint a customer has with a brand to better understand and develop the strategy behind campaigns.
Meanwhile, students gain practical experience using AI-driven CRM tools that effectively translate different steps of the customer journey into automated workflows. At the same time, these tools (when leveraged properly) can support communication and follow-up with customers when it is most critical (such as when a customer abandons a shopping cart).
When customer experience mapping and CRM are used properly and in tandem, it is possible for marketing teams to improve the customer experience overall while building more personalized experiences and building long-term brand loyalty. In IWU's Applied AI Analytics program, students explore coursework in data analysis, marketing automation, CRM, and other critical areas of the field to develop these skills and enter the workforce with confidence.
One area where AI is really helping marketing teams save time and resources is through content generation. Rather than spending hours brainstorming, outlining, drafting, and editing content — marketing teams are increasingly relying on generative AI to do the heavy lifting for them.
Of course, with AI content creation comes some inherent challenges, especially as they relate to transparency, potential bias, and accuracy. AI models are known to hallucinate, for example, and some customers may feel put off by content that's not created by a human.
With all these nuances in mind, students in a marketing degree program need to understand the key principles for responsible generative AI use, ultimately learning to rely on their own ethical judgment and factchecking to optimize content quality. Likewise, marketing professionals using generative AI must learn to take full accountability for all published content — whether they created it themselves or not.
While "traditional" marketing skills certainly remain important, the reality is that today's marketing professionals also need to understand how to design AI-driven marketing strategies and leverage AI technologies to optimize their campaigns.
In IWU's online Applied AI Analytics Marketing degree, students build career-ready skills through dedicated coursework in digital marketing, CRM automation, generative AI, and more while gaining a deeper understanding of how data science, machine learning, and business analytics contribute to stronger marketing outcomes.
Plus, because this program is offered 100% online and in a streamlined Fast Forward format, it can be completed in just three years with no need to set foot on a physical campus!
Reach out to request more information about this program or any of the other programs offered at IWU. You can also take the next step in your education journey by filling out your application for admission here.
Still trying to figure out whether IWU's Applied AI Analytics in Marketing is right for you? Check out answers to our most commonly asked questions about this program below.
Students in IWU's Applied AI Analytics Marketing degree program can expect to learn how modern AI tools and techniques can support modern brand strategy and execution. More specifically, this program centers around the use of AI/analytics, digital marketing, branding, CRM, automation, customer journey mapping, and generative AI tools to make the most out of modern marketing campaigns.
The concept of AI-driven marketing fits into the broader context of the program with its focus on using intelligent tools and data insights to improve campaign planning, audience targeting, message personalization, and performance decisions.
In modern marketing campaigns, customer data is essential to helping marketing professionals better understand behavior, preferences, needs, and engagement patterns. In turn, these insights can be used to make better informed decisions regarding messaging, campaign planning, and customer experience decisions.
Yes. IWU's Applied AI Analytics in Marketing degree covers generative AI content creation, which can help students understand how AI supports overall brainstorming, drafting, editing, repurposing, and scaling content. At the same time, the program focuses on the importance of human judgment and discretion when using AI for content generation.
These two concepts are closely interconnected because while customer journey mapping helps marketers understand how people move from awareness to decision-making, CRM automation helps support that journey through organized communication, follow-up, segmentation, and relationship management.
Not necessarily. Although marketing is a key component of the program itself, IWU's Applied AI Analytics in Marketing degree also builds transferable skills in branding, advertising, customer engagement, and CRM. Students in this program may also develop valuable content strategy, marketing analytics, and general business communication skills that could be applicable to other roles.
