OpenAI and its Marketing Machine

To set the tone for this edition, let’s pinpoint the important dates that support this analysis.

Let’s start!

The Battle for AI Attention by the Dates

These dates will be crucial in understanding what’s happening behind the scenes and perhaps help us predict any future deployments from these tech titans.

February 15, 2024

​Google announced Gemini 1.5​, a new model with the promise of 1 million tokens, the largest context window to date.

At the same time, Google announced that its chatbot Bard would now be called “Gemini.”

Around this time, this was supposed to be the biggest announcement of Q1.

Then, a day later…

February 16, 2024

​OpenAI announced Sora,​ its flagship text-to-video model.

It wasn’t the first of its kind, but it was the first to showcase high-definition quality.

With a simple ​X post from Sam Altman​, CEO of OpenAI, Sora had eclipsed Gemini 1.5.

Everyone in the tech space was talking about Sora.

YouTubers, content creators, tech writers, traditional media…everyone!

Around this time, you could tell that Google was losing its momentum.

February 21, 2024

A week later, ​Google released Gemma​, its family of open-source models.

This was the search giant’s attempt to overshadow the not-so-open OpenAI.

But it wasn’t enough.

Everyone was still talking about Sora.

May 13, 2024

Two months since the duel, ​OpenAI aced Google by a day by releasing GPT-4o​, a new omnichannel model that can read, see, hear, and speak.

Basically, a model that can interact with the world without any physical touch.

OpenAI released the model via a YouTube livestream and a series of demos.

The demos were simple, coherent, and frankly, a state-of-the-art exhibition of tech excellence.

This launch will definitely be referenced in history books.

There will be “Pre-GPT-4o” and “Post-GPT-4o.”

May 14, 2024

Then, a day later, ​Google I/O started​, a week-long event wherein Google introduces new products, software, and usually, hardware too.

However, despite all of the developments Google shared, the event felt ​underwhelming​.

Perhaps it was because of the “Post-GPT-4o” effect; we were expecting something as brilliant as the GPT-4o demo.

But, unfortunately, Google wasn’t able to live up to the expectations.

May 21, 2024

A week later, ​Microsoft Build started​, a three-day event wherein Microsoft launches new products and announces developments they have been working on.

During this year’s Build, Microsoft announced ​CoPilot+​ and ​Recall,​ new products and features that will help Windows users optimize their work using AI.

On top of these announcements, ​Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, appeared during Kevin Scott’s (CTO of Microsoft)​ keynote to discuss the future of AI.

Although it was a brief appearance, this had continued to boost the talks of how Microsoft’s idea of the future is in the hands of OpenAI.

And, of course, on the same day, ​Scarlett Johansson’s letter to OpenAI was made public.​

In the letter, Johansson mentioned her disbelief towards OpenAI and Altman, that despite her decline to the invitation of voicing one of the ChatGPT voices, OpenAI still “hired” a voice actor who sounds alike her.

Since the letter was made public, the voice model that is said to sound like her, called ​“Sky,” has been removed from the ChatGPT app.​

In addition to this quick action, OpenAI also ​published a blog​ that talked about the voice selection process. It didn’t go into details as to whom the startup hired, but the blog emphasized that there was a team of industry professionals who reviewed over 400 submissions.

So, with all of these appearances, letters, and comments, OpenAI is still the talk of the town even though its newest flagship model GPT-4o was announced nine days ago.

Three Pillars of OpenAI’s Marketing

Based on the brief timeline, I was able to construct a three-point conclusion on OpenAI’s marketing narrative.

Strategic Timing and Preemption

One of the common denominators in OpenAI’s narrative is that they like adding fuel to the flame. This company thrives on friction…because friction makes stories interesting.

So, when Google released Gemini 1.5, they announced Sora.

When Google scheduled Google I/O on May 14, 2024, OpenAI scheduled their demo day on May 13, 2024.

When Microsoft hosted Microsoft Build, they sparked controversy with Scarlett Johansson.

This is what this company does; it continuously pokes the bear.

And the truth is, it works.

Leveraging Personal Branding and Influence

Influencer marketing might be a new concept, but these CEOs, CTOs, and other C-level executives aren’t afraid to capitalize on it.

Instead of announcing new updates on their brand accounts, OpenAI lets the people working behind the scenes use their personal accounts to broadcast these announcements.

Take, for example, ​Sam Altman’s use of Twitter (X).​

Sam Altman has 2.9 million followers on Twitter, and he takes advantage of this following whenever there are huge announcements from OpenAI.

When GPT-4o was released, ​OpenAI’s official post garnered 64k likes​, while Altman simply posted “her;” a reference to Spike Jonze’s ​“HER,” which garnered a total of 42k likes.​

OpenAI’s strategy to let their people use their personal platforms has allowed this “brand” to appeal more human to its audiences.

Active Community Engagement

Building on Sam Altman’s use of his Twitter account, he also uses this to actively engage with other Twitter accounts.

For example, when Sora was announced last February, it wasn’t available for public use yet. So, to showcase how the technology works, ​Altman used his Twitter account and asked his followers to send prompts that they could test using Sora.​

This simple tactic went insanely well.

Some posts garnered ​57K​ likes, ​44K​, and ​24K​.

These series of posts “showed” how OpenAI’s tech works, not just “telling” the public how it operates.

What’s in it for u⁺

Let’s face it, OpenAI has been killing it when it comes to marketing in the AI space. They’ve got three major tactics going for them that have really helped them stand out.

They always seem to drop their big announcements right when their competitors like Google and Microsoft are gearing up for their own events. Talk about stealing the spotlight! It’s like they know exactly when to make some noise to overshadow everyone else.

Then there’s the whole influencer marketing game. Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, is a total pro at using his personal brand and social media presence to get people hyped about their latest releases. With just a few posts, he can get the whole tech community buzzing.

Last but not least, OpenAI really knows how to work the crowd. They’re always engaging with developers, researchers, and AI enthusiasts, making them feel like they’re part of something big.

As this AI race rages on, OpenAI’s marketing chops have given them a serious edge. Their knack for perfect timing, personal branding, and community building have put them front and center in everyone’s minds. They’re definitely at the front and center in shaping AI’s future.