The Brandtech Group has joined forces with Northwestern University, allowing students of MSC Digital Storytelling to use its GenAI marketing platform, Pencil. The platform features the latest Gen AI models, including Google AI, OpenAI, Adobe Firefly, Runway, and StabilityAI; therefore, graduates will be trained to use tools such as GPT-4, Google PaLM 2, Gemini, and DALL-E 3.
Adding Pencil to the course’s curriculum will help students ‘bridge the gap between theory and practice’. In other words, they will now gain real experience in AI-generated content creation as they will learn to create text, images, and entire campaigns using Pencil.
According to a press release, the students will also be tasked with developing a pitch for the year-end fundraising campaign of the food rescue nonprofit, Sharing Excess. At the end of the course, they will receive a Pencil Pro Certification LinkedIn badge that will enable them to stand out in today’s competitive market. What is more, the top performers may receive internships at Brandtech.
Anas Ghazi, Adjunct Assistant Professor at Northwestern, commented on the partnership: ‘As a storytelling practitioner and educator, I am not just teaching theory — I am tearing down the walls between the classroom and the real world. By supporting mission-driven brands like Sharing Excess and leveraging the cutting-edge power of the Pencil Pro platform, my students receive the perfect 1-2 punch of purpose and innovation. Generative AI is no longer the future; it is here.’
Discussing the urgent need to train the next generation of marketers, Brandtech’s founder and CEO David Jones said: ‘I don’t think anyone has fully understood just how much Gen AI is going to disrupt marketing beyond all recognition. It will be a bigger revolution than television, the internet and mobile combined!’
Featured image: Brandtech x Northwestern University
