Could AI Hurt Your Brand? | Behind the Numbers

Marcus Johnson (0:00)

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Hey, gang, it's Friday, September 25th. Grace, Asa and listeners, welcome to Behind the Numbers, an EMARKETER Podcast made possible by Atmosphere TV. I'm Marcus and joining me for today's conversation, we have two of our AI experts living in LA. Analyst Grace Harmon joins the show.

Grace Harmon (0:36)

Hi, Marcus. Thanks for having me.

Marcus Johnson (0:37)

Hello there. Thanks for being here. On the other side of the country, living in New York, senior analyst Asa Hiken.

Asa Hiken (0:44)

Great to be here, Marcus.

Grace Harmon (0:45)

Welcome back.

Marcus Johnson (0:47)

I saw you on Monday. And thank you for being here for this episode. But before, today's fact.

What share of adults live in the state they were born in?

Any guesses? I'll give you a nation wide. Nation wide, how many people do you think stay in the state they're born in? This has to do with migration patterns and people moving to the country. But by and large, how many people you think end up in the state they're born in?

Asa Hiken (1:21)

I'm going to go with like 82 percent.

Marcus Johnson (1:25)

Stay?

Asa Hiken (1:26)

Yes. I think that's not what I would have thought, but I think it's more than I would have thought.

Grace Harmon (1:31)

Grace? I was thinking like two out of three.

Marcus Johnson (1:34)

Okay. Lower. Grace wins. It's half. It varies drastically by state. I'll get into that. According to the US census, nationwide, 49 percent, say half of US adults live in the state where they were born. Louisiana had the highest share of adult residents born in state of any US state in 2024, 74 percent. So that's closer to the number you guys were thinking of. So it does happen. A lot of states actually, Michigan, Ohio, they follow closely, 72, 71 If you're thinking about the state with the lowest share, it is Nevada, 17 percent, reflecting decades of rapid population growth and in migration between 1970 and 2025 Those 55 years, its population grew nearly sixfold, the largest gain of any state over that period. Florida is the second lowest, 26 percent, and Arizona with 30

For your states, New York, 56 percent, California, 48

Grace Harmon (2:35)

I was wondering about California, because there's a lot of migration here.

Marcus Johnson (2:41)

In the Visual Capitalist piece by Nicolo Conte, he notes that generally, the further west you get, the lower the share, except for California. And he pointed out that one of the leading reasons adults remain in their home communities is family, despite how much we complain about them. Among those who never left, 35 percent cited staying near family as the main reason.

I apparently couldn't wait to get as far away as possible from my family. I love you, mum and dad. Mum more, but dad, you're still fine. Anyway, today's real... He knows his place in the order. Today's real topic, could AI hurt your brand?

We will have some key takeaways from the episode at the end of the show for you guys to stay tuned for those. But let's chat. So on Monday, me, Asa and Jacob, one of our colleagues, one of our analysts here at EMARKETER, discussed the AI revolt, talking about whether we should slow down AI development. So go check that episode out. It's one of my favorites of the year, packed with some really good stuff.

Dan Primack of Axios writes, I don't know if AI is going to destroy humanity. Neither do you. But here's what I do know. It's very difficult to have a sober conversation about AI risk when there's so much money at stake. That seems to be the reality for AI companies. Investors, advertisers, brands, many others with a financial stake in this technology. But at what point do those fortunes begin to reverse if society turns against AI? What happens when you've already woven AI into every aspect of what you do, of your company? Grace, I'll start with you. AI can make marketers faster, more efficient, but could using too much hurt a brand's reputation? What are folks reacting to when they say, I don't want brands using AI?

Grace Harmon (4:30)

For those people, I think there's a couple of different factors. One is feeling like AI is a bit of an empty marketing gimmick, that it can be sometimes a buzzword that isn't carrying these tangible benefits for the consumers. There's some data on feeling like it's kind of cringey, or that's losing the human touch.