How a 3-Hour AI Hackathon Transformed Ideas into Five Working Apps
A face-to-face session in Portugal where our team learned to solve real problems using AI tools in record time.
Algo Marketing
Center of Excellence
The Challenge
Our team needed to rapidly adopt new AI ways of working while solving current operational challenges. The goal was ambitious: introduce the team to AI-powered development and solve real problems in just three hours.
We organized a face-to-face hackathon in Portugal, bringing the team together to experiment with AI tools in a focused, collaborative environment. The challenge was to demonstrate that AI could dramatically accelerate the journey from idea to working application, empowering the team to build solutions themselves rather than waiting for traditional development cycles.
The Solution: Three AI Tools Working Together
We created a streamlined workflow using three powerful AI tools, each playing a specific role in transforming ideas into functional applications. This approach allowed the team to move from concept to working prototype in record time.
Gemini
- • Created specifications
- • Critiqued ideas for critical thinking
- • Suggested new approaches
- • Output final specs
Google Stitch
- • Created great UX from specs
- • Quickly refined designs
- • Easy brand color uploads
- • Generated UI designs
Google AI Studio
- • Turned specs into apps
- • Integrated designs seamlessly
- • Fully functional output
- • Amazed the team
What We Built: Three Apps from the Hackathon
1. Experimentation Manager
One of the main priorities in marketing after establishing core campaigns is running tests and experiments. However, the team found it challenging to quantify the value of individual experiments and identify meaningful patterns.
We built an Experimentation Manager that helps stakeholders select the types of experiments they want to run, while enabling the team to report on those experiments in a standardized way. This allows us to track which groups of experiments have the most impact and update marketing messaging based on trends and themes rather than individual test results.
2. Office Calendar Manager
Our office has meeting rooms that need to be managed and booked efficiently. The challenge was to scale this operation without adding additional headcount to handle room bookings.
We built a Calendar Manager that integrates with the room booking tool, giving everyone visibility from one single place. Team members can see which rooms are booked, which are available, and make bookings themselves.
The app includes an Admin Analytics area where we can monitor real-time office resource utilization, see demand on office spaces, and make decisions before they become problems. This enables us to scale one person's operation without needing additional resources.
3. Kudos App
The team identified a challenge around recognition in the workplace. Drawing from experience with similar apps in previous companies, they wanted a way for peers to acknowledge each other's contributions.
We built a Kudos App that enables everyone in the Algo Marketing Center of Excellence to send kudos to one another. The app stores this information and displays it on a leaderboard. Team members simply fill in a couple of fields and send recognition to their colleagues—all built within the three-hour hackathon period.
The Impact: New Thinking Throughout the Week
The hackathon sparked a wave of innovation. Throughout the week, we ran one-to-one workshops based on what people learned, and lots of good ideas emerged. Two solutions were already in development by week's end:
Notification Manager
One team works across a huge number of spreadsheets and documents that are constantly being updated with comments. Everyone in the ecosystem finds it difficult to stay on top of which comments they need to read, which are just replies to old threads they're no longer involved in, and which are highest priority.
We built a Notification Manager that pulls all comments across tracked documents into a single location. AI summarizes recently added comments and helps prioritize them. The team can use this view as a to-do list, checking off items they've actioned while leaving unresolved items visible. The system regularly syncs, adding new comments and updating AI summaries to help everyone stay on top of everything.
Agentic Email Developer
The goal is to reach a point where we have a standardized set of tools that an AI agent can use to build emails automatically. Our email designer provides the designs, and the agent selects from a standardized component library using vision capabilities.
The agent populates components with the right information from the design or copy document, then we validate the English version. After validation, it automatically generates the seven to eight other languages we need. Built-in automated testing checks everything as we go, ensuring quality across all language versions.
Key Features
- Vision-Powered Component Selection: AI agent analyzes design mockups and automatically selects appropriate components from a standardized library
- Intelligent Content Population: Automatically extracts and populates content from design files and copy documents into the correct component fields
- Multi-Language Generation: Once the English version is validated, automatically generates 7-8 language versions with consistent formatting and structure
- Built-in Quality Assurance: Automated testing validates rendering, links, and content accuracy across all language versions before deployment
- Standardized Component Library: Maintains consistency across all emails while enabling rapid development and easy maintenance
This solution dramatically reduces email development time from days to hours, while ensuring consistency and quality across all language versions.
At a Glance
"The technical AI training has been incredibly engaging and valuable. The interactive workshops, where we broke into smaller teams for hands-on sessions, were a highlight for me. The experience was refreshing and recharging—it gave us practical skills we could apply immediately. More in-person sessions like this would be fantastic for building our expertise even further."
Transform Your Marketing Team with AI-Powered Hackathons
We're experts in Google AI tools and workflows, specializing in hands-on hackathons that empower marketing teams to build real solutions. From ideation to deployment, we guide your team through practical AI adoption that delivers immediate business impact.
AI Content Engineering
Master prompt engineering, content generation workflows, and automated content pipelines that scale your marketing output.
AI-Enabled Data Analysis
Transform raw data into actionable insights using AI-powered analytics, visualization, and predictive modeling.
Event Planning with AI
Streamline event logistics, attendee engagement, and post-event analysis with intelligent automation and AI assistants.
Vibe Coding 101
Build functional marketing tools and prototypes without traditional coding—turn ideas into working apps in hours, not weeks.
AI-Enabled Market Research
Accelerate competitive analysis, customer insights, and trend identification with AI-powered research workflows.
Custom Hackathon Tracks
Design bespoke AI training experiences tailored to your team's specific challenges, tools, and business objectives.
Join leading marketing teams who've transformed their AI capabilities