Effective Work Samples for Evaluating Generative AI Marketing Skills

Generative AI is revolutionizing marketing by enabling unprecedented personalization, content creation efficiency, and innovative campaign approaches. As companies increasingly integrate AI tools into their marketing strategies, the ability to effectively leverage generative AI for campaign development has become a critical skill for modern marketers.

Evaluating a candidate's proficiency in generative AI marketing requires more than reviewing past work or discussing theoretical knowledge. Practical work samples provide tangible evidence of a candidate's ability to strategize, execute, and optimize AI-driven marketing initiatives. These exercises reveal how candidates approach AI prompt engineering, content evaluation, campaign planning, and performance measurement—skills that are essential for successful AI marketing implementation.

The challenge in hiring for generative AI marketing roles lies in distinguishing between candidates who merely understand AI concepts and those who can practically apply these technologies to achieve marketing objectives. Work samples bridge this gap by requiring candidates to demonstrate their skills in realistic scenarios that mirror the actual challenges they'll face in the role.

Furthermore, generative AI marketing requires a unique blend of creative thinking, technical understanding, and strategic marketing knowledge. Through carefully designed work samples, you can assess how candidates balance these elements while maintaining brand consistency, ethical considerations, and regulatory compliance—all crucial aspects of responsible AI marketing.

The following four work samples are designed to comprehensively evaluate a candidate's generative AI marketing capabilities. Each exercise targets different aspects of the skill set, from strategic planning to tactical execution, providing a well-rounded assessment of the candidate's potential contribution to your marketing team.

Activity #1: AI-Driven Campaign Strategy Development

This exercise evaluates a candidate's ability to develop a comprehensive marketing campaign strategy that effectively leverages generative AI technologies. It assesses strategic thinking, understanding of AI capabilities and limitations, and the ability to align technology with marketing objectives.

Directions for the Company:

• Provide the candidate with a brief that includes: company background, product/service information, target audience details, marketing objectives, and budget constraints.
• Include information about available AI tools (e.g., GPT-4, DALL-E, Midjourney) and any brand guidelines or compliance requirements.
• Allow candidates 24-48 hours to prepare their strategy document.
• During the interview, allocate 15 minutes for presentation and 10 minutes for questions.
• Prepare specific questions about implementation challenges, measurement approaches, and contingency plans.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Develop a comprehensive generative AI marketing campaign strategy that addresses the provided brief.
• Your strategy should include: campaign objectives, target audience segmentation, AI tools selection and justification, content strategy, distribution channels, timeline, budget allocation, and KPI framework.
• Identify specific use cases for generative AI within the campaign (e.g., personalized content, creative asset generation, customer interaction).
• Address potential challenges and limitations of using AI in this campaign context.
• Prepare a concise presentation (5-7 slides) outlining your strategy.

Feedback Mechanism:

• Provide feedback on the strategic thinking and practical application of AI technologies demonstrated in the plan.
• Offer one specific improvement suggestion regarding either the AI implementation approach or the measurement framework.
• Allow the candidate 5-7 minutes to verbally revise their approach based on the feedback, focusing specifically on how they would incorporate the suggested improvement.

Activity #2: AI Content Prompt Engineering and Evaluation

This exercise tests a candidate's ability to craft effective prompts for generative AI tools and critically evaluate the resulting content. It assesses technical understanding of prompt engineering, quality control processes, and the ability to maintain brand voice while leveraging AI.

Directions for the Company:

• Prepare a specific marketing scenario (e.g., product launch, seasonal campaign) with clear objectives.
• Provide brand guidelines, target audience information, and examples of existing marketing content.
• Set up access to a generative AI tool (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude) for the candidate to use during the exercise.
• Allocate 30-45 minutes for this exercise during the interview.
• Have a marketing team member available to answer any clarifying questions about the brand or campaign.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the provided marketing scenario, brand guidelines, and existing content.
• Create 3-5 different prompt approaches for generating marketing copy for the specified campaign.
• Use the provided AI tool to generate content based on your prompts.
• Select the best-performing prompt and output, then explain your selection criteria.
• Edit and refine the AI-generated content to better align with brand voice and marketing objectives.
• Document your prompt engineering process, including:
• Your thought process behind each prompt design
• How you iterated and improved prompts based on initial outputs
• Your evaluation criteria for determining content quality
• Specific edits made to the AI-generated content and why

Feedback Mechanism:

• Provide feedback on both the prompt engineering approach and the quality of the final content.
• Suggest one specific improvement to the candidate's prompt structure or content evaluation process.
• Ask the candidate to create one new prompt incorporating your feedback and generate a new piece of content.
• Have them explain how the new approach addresses the feedback and improves the output.

Activity #3: AI Marketing Asset Optimization

This exercise evaluates a candidate's ability to analyze and optimize AI-generated marketing assets for improved performance. It tests analytical skills, understanding of marketing performance metrics, and the ability to iteratively improve AI outputs.

Directions for the Company:

• Prepare a set of AI-generated marketing assets (e.g., email copy, social media posts, ad headlines) with corresponding performance data.
• Include metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, or engagement metrics as appropriate.
• Provide information about the original campaign objectives and target audience.
• Allocate 45-60 minutes for this exercise.
• Ensure the performance data shows clear opportunities for improvement.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the provided AI-generated marketing assets and their performance data.
• Identify patterns and insights from the performance metrics.
• Select the 2-3 lowest-performing assets and analyze potential reasons for underperformance.
• Develop an optimization strategy for each selected asset, including:
• Specific changes to the AI prompts that generated the original content
• Content modifications to improve performance
• A/B testing recommendations to validate improvements
• Predictions about how these changes will impact key metrics
• Create a brief optimization report explaining your analysis and recommendations.

Feedback Mechanism:

• Provide feedback on the analytical approach and the quality of the optimization recommendations.
• Highlight one strength in the candidate's analysis and one area where their approach could be enhanced.
• Ask the candidate to revise one specific optimization recommendation based on your feedback.
• Have them explain how their revised approach addresses the feedback and why it would likely lead to better results.

Activity #4: Ethical AI Marketing Challenge

This exercise assesses a candidate's ability to navigate ethical considerations and potential risks when implementing generative AI in marketing campaigns. It evaluates critical thinking, ethical awareness, and problem-solving skills in complex AI marketing scenarios.

Directions for the Company:

• Create a scenario that presents ethical challenges related to AI marketing (e.g., potential bias in AI-generated content, transparency issues, privacy concerns, or copyright questions).
• Provide relevant context such as industry regulations, company values, and stakeholder concerns.
• Include examples of AI-generated content or campaign elements that contain potential ethical issues.
• Allocate 30-45 minutes for this exercise.
• Prepare discussion points about your company's approach to responsible AI use in marketing.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the provided scenario and identify all potential ethical concerns or risks associated with the AI marketing approach.
• Evaluate each identified issue based on:
• Potential impact on customers and brand reputation
• Regulatory or compliance implications
• Alignment with company values and industry best practices
• Develop a comprehensive plan to address these concerns, including:
• Specific modifications to the AI implementation approach
• Guardrails and oversight processes to prevent similar issues
• Transparency measures to maintain customer trust
• Testing methodologies to identify potential biases or issues before campaign launch
• Prepare a brief presentation of your analysis and recommendations.

Feedback Mechanism:

• Provide feedback on the thoroughness of the ethical analysis and the practicality of the proposed solutions.
• Highlight one ethical consideration the candidate addressed well and one they may have overlooked or could explore further.
• Ask the candidate to expand on how they would address the overlooked issue or enhance their approach to the highlighted consideration.
• Have them explain how this additional consideration would be integrated into their overall ethical framework for AI marketing.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should we allocate for these work samples in our interview process?

Each work sample requires different time commitments. The AI Campaign Strategy Development typically needs 24-48 hours of preparation time plus 25-30 minutes during the interview. The AI Content Prompt Engineering and Ethical AI Marketing Challenge each require 30-45 minutes during the interview. The AI Marketing Asset Optimization needs 45-60 minutes. Consider spreading these across different interview stages or selecting the most relevant exercises for your specific role requirements.

Should candidates have access to actual AI tools during these exercises?

For the AI Content Prompt Engineering exercise, providing access to an AI tool creates the most realistic assessment. However, if this isn't feasible, you can modify the exercise to have candidates write prompts and explain their approach without generating actual content. For other exercises, AI tool access isn't necessary, though candidates should be familiar with current AI capabilities.

How can we adapt these exercises for candidates with varying levels of AI experience?

For candidates with less AI experience but strong marketing backgrounds, place more emphasis on marketing strategy and provide more context about AI capabilities. For technically advanced candidates, you might increase the complexity of prompt engineering challenges or add more technical components to the optimization exercise. The key is to balance technical AI knowledge with marketing fundamentals based on your specific role requirements.

What if our company is just beginning to explore generative AI in marketing?

These exercises can still be valuable even if your company is in the early stages of AI adoption. In fact, they can help identify candidates who can guide your AI marketing strategy development. Consider framing the exercises as exploratory initiatives rather than optimizations of existing processes. Focus more on the strategic thinking and learning approach candidates demonstrate rather than specific AI tool expertise.

How should we weigh AI technical skills versus traditional marketing expertise?

The balance depends on your specific role requirements. For roles focused on AI implementation within established marketing frameworks, technical AI skills might be weighted more heavily. For strategic marketing roles that will leverage AI as one of many tools, marketing expertise should take precedence. Use the work samples to evaluate how well candidates integrate both skill sets, as the most effective AI marketers combine strong foundations in marketing principles with practical AI application knowledge.

Can these exercises be adapted for remote interviews?

Yes, all of these exercises can be conducted remotely. For the AI Content Prompt Engineering exercise, consider using screen sharing or collaborative tools that allow you to observe the candidate's process. For presentation-based exercises, video conferencing platforms work well. Provide clear instructions and materials in advance, and consider extending time allowances slightly to account for potential technical challenges in remote settings.

Generative AI is transforming marketing at an unprecedented pace, and finding candidates who can effectively leverage these technologies is crucial for staying competitive. These work samples provide a comprehensive framework for evaluating both the technical and strategic aspects of generative AI marketing skills. By implementing these exercises, you'll gain valuable insights into how candidates approach AI-driven campaign development, content creation, optimization, and ethical considerations.

For more resources to enhance your hiring process, explore Yardstick's suite of AI-powered hiring tools, including our AI Job Descriptions, AI Interview Question Generator, and AI Interview Guide Generator.

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