A letter from Nicole - How HALCON uses AI

AI seems to be a hot topic, so let's talk about it.

Recently, I attended a session showing how AI could be used for everything, from raising kids to building a website. I’ll be honest… it scared the bejeesus out of me a little. And I think that reaction is pretty common.

Things are moving quickly. Lots of opinions and lots of misinformation about what AI actually means for the future of work (and life).

So as a marketing company (and as a brand built on trust), I think it’s important not to hide from the conversation. Instead, we want to be transparent about where we use AI and where we intentionally don’t.

A brand I admire, PELA, recently sent an email sharing their perspective on AI, and it inspired me to head to my laptop immediately and speak directly to all of you.

So let’s start with the obvious question.

Do we use AI?

Yes, we do.

And frankly, it would be unrealistic not to use a powerful technology that can help us work more efficiently. As Matt from PELA said in his email, choosing not to use AI today would be a bit like choosing not to use the internet twenty years ago. The technology is here, and it isn’t going away.

But the more important conversation is how we use it.

At HALCON, we do not use AI to build a strategy from scratch, brand building, or creative.

Those things come from lived experience and from our ideas and assessments.

• They come from seeing campaigns succeed and fail in real time. They come from watching how customers behave, how markets shift, and how brands evolve over years of actual work.

• They come from analyzing different industries and seeing what works and what doesn't.

• They come from taking hours of courses and certifications to understand how people make decisions.

You cannot prompt your way into that kind of understanding.

Strategy isn’t something you generate by typing “create a marketing plan for this company.” Real strategy comes from seeing patterns across industries, understanding human behavior, and knowing how dozens of small decisions connect together to create momentum for a brand.

That kind of thinking comes from real-life experience working with real companies solving real problems. We believe the best marketing comes from human observation, curiosity, and experience. From the ability to see how things fit together in real time. From paying attention to what people actually do, not just what data or algorithms predict they might do.

AI cannot replicate lived experience.

I’ve also been part of sessions where people recommend using AI for nearly every facet of marketing.

I’ve already had a moment where this showed up in my own marketing.

Someone once submitted a creative piece to me where an AI-generated image of me teaching a class was created to fit the narrative of the webpage. On the surface, it probably seemed easy and efficient. But I immediately and clearly said no.

If I’m talking about teaching a class, I want to show real images of me actually teaching a class.

Marketing should reflect reality, not manufacture it.

When we start creating artificial moments simply to support a narrative, we lose authenticity. Photography, storytelling, and brand expression are powerful because they capture real environments, real people, and real experiences.

Efficiency should never come at the cost of truth.

Where we do use AI is in simpler, supportive ways. We might use it to check spelling or grammar, review whether something reads clearly, organize rough ideas or notes, or speed up small operational tasks.

But the thinking - the strategy, the creative direction, the messaging architecture, and the brand positioning - comes from human expertise.

We also use AI as a container for experimentation. Sometimes we’ll test and create early creative directions, mockups, or visual concepts when we’re developing ideas for proposals or internal write-ups. It can be helpful for quickly testing how something might look or for exploring a few directions before we bring an idea to life. But when it comes to anything consumer-facing that generates attention, we rely on our designers and copywriters.

Our graphic designers understand brand systems, typography, hierarchy, composition, and how visuals actually function across real platforms and mediums. Our copywriters understand voice, nuance, persuasion, and how messaging connects to strategy.

AI can help us explore possibilities, but the final work is created by experienced humans who understand how all the pieces fit together.

And there’s another reason we’re intentional about this.

Many of you know that we’re deeply interested in neuroscience and how the brain works. In that world, there’s a concept called cognitive erosion.

When we outsource too much thinking to technology, our neural pathways weaken. The brain stops doing the hard work of analysis, synthesis, and creative problem-solving. Over time, that erosion reduces our ability to think deeply and connect ideas in meaningful ways.

For a marketing firm whose entire job is understanding human behavior, memory, and decision-making, relying on AI to do the thinking would be doing our own brains (and our clients) a disservice. And we would lose the creative juices that define who we are as a marketing and advertising firm. 

So, we protect that part of the work.

The reality is that every business will have to decide where AI belongs and where it doesn’t.

I’m proud of our team for having honest conversations about this. It’s the only way we move from something that feels scary and emotional into something thoughtful and practical.

And I believe society needs more conversations like this.

It’s not helpful to throw our hands up and say, “AI is bad, ban it.” That’s both futile and polarizing. Life (and technology) is rarely that simple. Most things exist in the gray space where nuance and responsibility matter.

I'm going to echo what Matt from PELA said... some of you reading this may strongly dislike that we use AI at all, and I understand why. Many of those concerns are tied to environmental impact, and that’s a valid discussion to have.

But it’s also important to recognize that almost every modern convenience has a planetary cost. The device you’re reading this email on required energy and resources to produce. The internet itself consumes enormous amounts of energy.

None of this is purely good or purely bad. It’s about using tools responsibly and thoughtfully.

AI is simply another technology we all have to learn to navigate.

We’ve built our entire brand and business on transparency - on trying to strike the balance between being a strong business and being a responsible citizen.

No, I don’t believe AI will replace all of our jobs or replace marketers and strategists like me.

Maybe that makes me an optimist, but I’m a firm believer in the joy and beauty of human experience and its ability to teach us how to navigate both our personal and professional lives.

The lessons we gain from living, observing, failing, adapting, and working alongside other people shape the way we think and solve problems. That kind of lived perspective is something no algorithm can truly replicate.

It’s completely okay if you disagree with us. That’s an important part of a healthy society.

And finally, thank you for reading.

I’m curious... how are you using AI in your daily life or work?

- Nicole Powell

Founder and CEO, HALCON Marketing Solutions