The "Marketing Word of the Year" for 2017 is actually an acronym: AI. That's the word from the Association of National Advertisers, which just released the 2017 winner of an annual member survey ranking the most influential word and/or terms of the past year in marketing. It's the transformative phenomenon that's going to reshape the world as we now know it," said one anonymous ANA member, providing a verbatim response to the online survey conducted the week of Nov. 27. In total, 403 ANA members responded. "Automation, machine learning, cognitive … if we aren't thinking about using it, employing it already, or at the very least talking about it, we're missing out on some incredible'on the cusp,' opportunities," said another.

Given how rife 2017 was for controversy in the marketing industry, AI winning out as the marketing word of the year against topics like transparency is surprising. This year has seen a handful of big-name advertisers, including Procter & Gamble and Unilever, trim back their spending on digital media as the channel's proved rife with non-transparency and murky business practices. P&G's Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard also sparked industry-wide discussions that have extended throughout the year about these subjects and also the need for ad vendors to receive third-party media accreditation from watchdog groups like the Media Rating Council. The ANA news signals that, even as marketers and members of the media get caught up in the industry's churn, many professionals are placing their focus on emerging technology to drive business results and innovate their strategies. AI offers promise in managing the massive amount of data marketers now accrue on their customers and in helping them create and deploy highly personalized campaigns.