AI Has A Place in Town Centre Marketing — But It Needs to Be Used Properly

A Business Improvement District should showcase the place it represents: its businesses, its people and the character that makes it worth visiting.

Like any other business or organisation, a BID should use AI where it can improve its work. It can help develop ideas, draft content and support creative campaigns. However, effective use requires training, professional judgement and careful checking.

The standard should be straightforward: published content must accurately represent the town and serve the businesses being promoted.

When the Town Hall Gains Extra Windows

In my own local town, I have noticed more promotional content that appears to be AI-generated, including images of our Town Hall with extra windows added.

Residents know what this familiar landmark looks like. Changing its appearance undermines the authenticity of the promotion and raises questions about how carefully the material has been reviewed.

An image can look impressive at first glance and still be unsuitable for publication. Extra windows, distorted signs and invented shopfronts should be picked up before a campaign goes live.

A Few Words, One Prompt and Publish?

Some content gives the impression of a few words entered into a tool, one prompt and the first result published without refinement.

We cannot know the process behind an image simply by looking at it. However, obvious mistakes suggest that the final checks have fallen short.

Generating an image is the beginning of the process. Someone still needs to assess its accuracy, refine the design, check the wording and decide whether it communicates the intended message.

The time saved through AI should leave more room for those checks.

What Should a BID Be Doing?

A BID can make practical improvements to the way it produces content:

• Start with real local material. Build a collection of photographs showing businesses, landmarks, streets and events, with permission to use them. This gives campaigns an accurate foundation.

• Train the people using AI. Staff should understand how to write useful prompts, recognise errors, refine results and decide when AI is unsuitable.

• Review content before publication. Check buildings, business names, signs, dates, spelling and visual details. Someone with local knowledge should review recognisable locations.

• Choose the right format. Use real photography when showing visitors what a place looks like. AI illustration may suit an imaginative campaign, provided it does not mislead people about what exists.

• Give businesses meaningful visibility. Include accurate names, locations, opening details and clear reasons to visit or buy.

• Measure useful outcomes. Look beyond reactions to an image. Consider whether the campaign generates enquiries, website visits, bookings or visits to participating businesses.

These steps make AI a useful part of a marketing process, supported by accountability and local knowledge.

If the Skills Are Missing, Commission a Professional

If a BID cannot consistently produce accurate, polished content using AI, it should invest in proper training or commission professional graphic designers.

A designer brings expertise in layout, typography, branding and visual communication. They can refine AI-assisted concepts, correct weaknesses and create material that works across social media, print and signage.

Photography and video require their own expertise too. Commissioning local professionals can provide authentic content while supporting creative businesses within the area.

Repeatedly publishing weak material is not a convincing saving. It creates work that needs correcting and can reduce confidence in the organisation’s standards.

A BID Should Set the Standard

A BID’s marketing can influence how other businesses promote themselves. If it publishes poorly checked AI content, there is a risk that businesses copy the approach and treat those standards as acceptable.

Before long, a town could become filled with AI-generated posters featuring generic imagery, inaccurate landmarks and recurring visual mistakes. Individual businesses then become harder to distinguish because their promotional material looks increasingly similar.

I can already see signs of this locally, with more material appearing to rely on AI-generated visuals rather than original photographs and professional design.

A BID should demonstrate how to use these tools well. It could share examples of effective campaigns, organise practical training and connect businesses with local creative professionals. That would give businesses useful support while helping improve the quality of marketing across the town.

Keep the Real Town at the Centre

When AI-generated imagery makes up the majority of promotional content, the town’s real identity can become harder to see.

Real shopfronts, interviews with business owners, product photographs and event footage give potential customers useful information. They show what is available, who provides it and why someone should visit.

Without enough original local content, promotion can become generic. The images might attract attention, but they offer little insight into the businesses and people that make the town distinctive.

A BID should have a strong supply of professional content from the place it represents. AI can help plan, edit and present that material, while local expertise keeps it accurate and relevant.

A BID should use AI with the same care it applies to any other business tool. If the team cannot get the result right, bring in someone who can. Preferably before our Town Hall gains another window.