Consumer Branding
HvA Amsterdam
AI is a fundamental tool in the project. Students define an AI persona grounded in primary research (interviews and surveys), then use it to simulate customer responses. The primary goal is twofold: help students understand which insights are needed to create their marketing strategy, and stimulate iterative concept development using the AI persona as a feedback partner and co-designer. Distinctive: AI use must be documented (prompts, outputs) and justified with an 'evidence pack'. AI does not replace primary research — evidence from research is used to generate the persona.
Our marketing bachelor students took their consumer behavior concepts and research much further using AI. They applied Large Language Models to build personas, craft compeling brand stories, and put their critical evaluation to the test.
We had to set clear boundaries to avoid relying too much on AI, and in return we gained higher engagement from students.
Classroom moves that helped
1. Compare multiple student-built personas in class, select one, and agree on “rules of use”.
2. Add a “conflict check”: if persona feedback contradicts primary re-search, students must reconcile it.
3. Assessment-safe outputs
4. An "evidence pack" (persona version history + what data was added and how it changed decisions).
5. A short defence: "Which 3 persona insights did you use, and why do you trust them?"
Learning outcomes
- Identify and justify the market potential of a brand using consumer research
- Use consumer insights to create a customer profile
- Design brand positioning concepts based on brand identity and consumer insights
- Evaluate and select a brand strategy by testing generated brand concepts with the target audience
- Define brand objectives and determine the most suitable persuasion route based on target audience insights
- Create a compelling brand story that supports the customer's journey
- Create a set of communication assets that collectively tell the brand story
Assessment
Student performance with AI formally assessed in both persona design and concept development. Assessment focused on: (1) whether AI use was documented (prompts, outputs, evidence pack); (2) whether AI outputs were aligned with primary and secondary research; (3) the extent to which AI enriched the persona, journey, brand concepts, storytelling, and activation. Students graded on ability to leverage AI strategically and responsibly. Feedback addressed both effectiveness of AI integration and critical evaluation of AI outputs.
Evaluation
Through formal assessment rubrics for both course components.
- KPIs tracked: Yes — Primary research (post-course AI implementation survey) conducted at end of semester.
- Formal institutional evaluation: No
Risk management
Clear boundaries: AI could not replace primary research; students had to collect and use their own data. Mandatory documentation: all AI prompts and outputs included in the evidence pack for transparency. Assessment criteria: 'AI Integration' was a graded component focusing on appropriate, research-aligned, and critical use. Required extra teaching to clarify conceptual confusion between persona and AI persona, and to show students how to use their AI persona meaningfully.
Challenges
- Subscription inequality — differences in access to paid vs unpaid persona/agent features
- Not fully resolved; identified as a structural issue
- Differences in students' starting level and technical delays (slow video production)
- Extra teaching sessions and guidance
- Students need sufficient topic knowledge to evaluate AI outputs
- Critical thinking session and guided comparisons with primary research
- Group work complicated when only the persona creator could properly run early tests
- Recommendation to build shared access or rotate responsibility
Scalability
AI as simulated stakeholder (personas, target consumers) works best in courses using personas repeatedly across a project, not as a one-off. Requirements: treat the persona as a reusable artifact iteratively enriched with data; force grounding in real evidence; prevent role drift by constraining persona behavior; ensure fair collaboration by building shared access or rotating responsibility.