Beko's Marketing Chief Has a Simple Rule for AI: Start With the Problem
TL;DR: Beko's top marketer says the key to embedding AI in marketing and products is to begin with the problem it can solve rather than starting from the technology - a disciplined, problem-first approach that cuts through the AI hype most brands are drowning in.
Problem first, technology second
Appliance brand Beko has offered a refreshingly unglamorous take on AI in marketing: start by identifying the problems the technology can genuinely solve, inside the business and in its products, rather than starting from the tool and hunting for a use.
It sounds obvious, yet it runs against how most organisations are actually adopting AI in 2026 - tool-first, driven by FOMO, bolting a chatbot or a generator onto a process that did not need one.
Why tech-first AI keeps failing
Tool-led adoption produces expensive solutions in search of a problem. Teams buy the capability, then retrofit a justification, and the result is activity without impact - AI content nobody asked for, dashboards nobody reads.
Problem-first flips the sequence. Name the friction - slow asset production, weak personalisation, poor lead triage - then ask whether AI is genuinely the best fix. Sometimes it is; often a simpler change wins. Either way you spend on outcomes, not on optics.
The discipline most brands are skipping
Beko's framing is really a governance point. The brands getting value from AI are not the ones using it most - they are the ones with a clear filter for where it earns its place. What problem does this solve, and how will we know it worked, is that filter.
This also protects the brand. Problem-first adoption means AI is deployed where it quietly improves outcomes, not splashed across customer-facing work in ways that can feel hollow - a real risk after several high-profile AI ad backlashes.
How to apply it this week
Make a two-column list: the real problems your marketing faces, and the AI tools you are tempted by. Only fund the overlaps where AI is demonstrably the best solution, with a success metric attached.
And resist the pressure to have an AI strategy for its own sake. The goal is not to use more AI; it is to solve more problems. Beko's rule - begin with the problem - is the cheapest, most effective AI policy a marketing team can adopt.
Quick FAQ
What is Beko's approach to AI in marketing?
Problem-first: identify the specific problems AI can solve inside the business and in products, then apply the technology there - rather than adopting tools and looking for a use afterwards.
Why is starting with the technology a mistake?
Tool-first adoption creates solutions in search of a problem - activity without impact. Starting with the problem ensures AI is funded only where it is genuinely the best fix, with a success metric attached.
How can a marketing team apply this?
List your real marketing problems and the AI tools you are tempted by, then fund only the overlaps where AI is demonstrably the best solution, each tied to a measurable outcome.
Beko has quietly said the smartest thing about AI I have heard all year: start with the problem. Most teams are doing the opposite - buying the tool, then inventing a reason. If you cannot name the problem and the metric, you do not have an AI project, you have an expensive hobby. - Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing
The brands winning with AI are not using the most of it - they are the ones with a clear filter: what problem does this solve, and how will we know it worked?
For every AI tool in your marketing stack, can you name the problem it solves and the metric that proves it?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Sources: Marketing Week.
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Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
