4 fictional robots you want on your marketing team

Trying to 1-up my previous nerdy post on RTS games - I promise there's actual takeaways even if you aren't a sci-fi/robot geek

Naturally, I’m a fan of robots. And as fictional robots and marketing are both favorite subjects of mine, I was recently pondering how I’d like to combine them.

After all, having a sentient robot on your marketing team would provide the ultimate competitive advantage. We’re not far off from that day, but in the meantime it is a fun possibility to consider.

So, for your approval, following are 4 fictional robots you’d want on your marketing team (and why). Also let me know in the comments or on Twitter if this one is more or less nerdy than what was definitely my previously most geeky post.

1. Lieutenant Commander Data from Star Trek

Data served aboard the starship Enterprise on the show Star Trek, The Next Generation, which I am certain the vast majority reading this are aware of. If you’ve never seen the show, the short version you need to know for this post is that although an artificial life form, Data was a linchpin for the ship, able to easily function across multiple teams, mission requirements and practice areas to accomplish a variety of objectives.

Why you want Data on your marketing team:

Having no emotion caused Data to make purely logical, data-driven decisions: perfect to analyze and assess the perpetually increasing set of analytics your team has to work with. Further, Data was deftly able to master multiple critical skills and easily able to integrate any new concept or challenge you threw at him with his near limitless processing power: from technical to creative (and yes, he was able to be creative in his own way). Finally, Data, could help break down the silos of your teams marketing efforts by creating mutually negotiated paths forward as he is pure logic without clouded political vision, deftly working alongside different personality types, skill sets etc.

2. R2-D2 from Star Wars

R2-D2 was the quiet, helpful counterpart to louder, more obnoxious C-3PO during the Star Wars trilogy. He not only helped repair ships he was assigned to, he consistently outwitted his enemies and saved his team from what would otherwise be certain death on more than one occasion.

Why you want R2-D2 on your marketing team:

Imagine a team member who kept a daily eye on your websites to monitor for up-time, your email campaigns to ensure successful delivery and that your PPC programs were converting well. Now imagine a team member who didn’t announce their findings or back-pack constantly, they simply executed, alleviating issues and quietly enabling your programs to run better, with dashboards able to be opened at any time for everyone in your org to know the current situation on-demand. That’s what R2 did, and that’s the path your tactical execution team members should follow: agile execution.

3. Bender from Futurama

Bender is the lovable (and loud) robot on the popular animated series Futurama. He would cause problems and throw his group into chaos, forcing them to take new adventures. Bender was unmissable in any scene he appeared in, usually taking center stage.

Why you want Bender on your marketing team:

Crazy to want Bender on your team? His ideas were completely outside the box for a robot, and while he frequently got into trouble, he did succeed in pushing the other characters to try things they wouldn’t normally engage in. He was loud and difficult to miss, but enjoyably so. Plus, Bender brought an element of fun to the group that would otherwise be notably absent. A team member with Bender’s personality would easily bring an edge to your content that many corporate marketing teams lack.

 4. The Architect from The Matrix

The Architect is a fictional character in the last two films of the Matrix. Not a physical robot like the first three examples, but still an artificial intelligence (even if just in virtual form). The Architect was the bot responsible for designing The Matrix itself including systems of control.

Why you want The Architect on your marketing team:

Clearly The Architect had a keen understanding of what motivated and influenced human behavior, as he designed a system which kept a majority of them happy. The Architect wasn’t afraid to try things and iterate as evidenced by the fact the Matrix portrayed in the movie was one which had been created and destroyed multiple times. Despite these failures in design, The Architect kept at his craft and continued refining his community. A team member with The Architect’s vision and drive to perfect it would be invaluable in developing your digital strategy.

And the reveal of why I wrote such a quirky post…

Of course a few of you reading already figured this out: this wasn’t just a fun read of robots you’d want on your marketing team. That was the head fake, I pulled you in with something entertaining to educate without you realizing (as referenced by Randy Pausch in his renowned speech, The Last Lecture). Watch the whole thing if you haven’t at that link, well worth your time.

The real learning is these are skills you should seek in team members today. The robots are fun, we just used them as examples of qualities to look for in the humans you should hire for your marketing team.

What other robots (and their skills) would you add to this list?