With more people utilising AI to automate tasks and workflows, an inflection point is fast approaching. Businesses will view AI as either a tool to cut costs or as a tool to partner with marketers to drive better outcomes for customers.
Based on my experience with AI, there are many benefits when it is embraced for growth and efficiency. AI is excellent for maximising large data sets, automating workflows and automating mundane tasks.
At the same time, AI has some notable downsides. AI outputs can often lack true originality and clear transparency, and can remove some key controls from marketers.
Maximising AI is a balancing act that requires human intervention to harness and maximise its outputs. The danger is that if we view the AI-revolution merely as a cost-cutting exercise on fees & staff, the negative aspects may dominate our interactions with it. However, AI’s positive potential shines if we view it as a growth catalyst to partner with marketers and enhance the work we do as humans.
Balancing Act #1 – Sea of Sameness vs. Tech Maximiser
In a future media environment where it’s predicted up to 90% of media will be touched by AI by 2032, it’s scary to think just how many advertisers will rely on similar aggregated datasets and algorithms to drive outcomes.
The truth is that if we all begin to rely on similar datasets and algorithms, the outputs are going to start to lack diversity and originality. Brands risk drowning in a ‘sea of sameness’ where they don’t stand out because all campaigns look and feel so similar both in how they are setup and the data-driven decisions they make.
It’s already an issue in our industry, and if humans don’t intervene, we risk AI making the problem worse.
The answer to this problem is technology. Technology is the modern differentiator in an AI-driven world.
An AI-powered future means that we should have more time to maximise marketing technology stacks and get the most out of them. From propensity modelling using 1st party data to intelligent segmentation and activation, mar-tech will continue to rise as a key tool for publishers to differentiate their brands through personalisation.
The concern here is how many businesses still need to invest in technology or properly embrace digital transformation. We know that staying ahead of the trends and embracing digital transformation are key principles of the new economy, and the businesses who are at the forefront of this are already bearing the fruits of their early investment.
Balancing Act #2 – Lack of Transparency vs. More Time for Analysis
Imagine taking your car to a mechanic who plugs it into an AI-powered diagnostic system, which then reports an engine problem. If you asked the mechanic how or why the problem occurred and they couldn't explain, you'd likely think they aren’t a good mechanic.
That is essentially what is happening to many marketers. We are integrating AI into various aspects of our daily lives to make decisions on our behalf, but there is often a complete lack of transparency or understanding of the decision making or reasoning behind them.
Marketers should have more time to analyse and understand the ‘why’ behind consumer behaviour. Realistically, being afforded more time should make it easier than ever for us to find insights and learnings to fine-tune strategies. AI is removing the need for us to spend time trawling through sheets and sheets of data so we can deliver high-quality insights and analysis to boards and senior leaders.
An AI future means we need more critical thinkers who challenge AI to do better rather than workforces that don’t know how to think strategically and just learn how to power ‘the machine’.
We need marketing teams, agencies and businesses that embrace and empower staff to think outside the box, analyse and question AI to get the most out of it. This means a fundamental shift in the way that we hire and educate in the industry. We must pivot away from training ‘how’ to do a task and pivot to ‘why’ we do a task.
Balancing Act #3 – Loss of Controls vs. Bigger Focus on Creative
With AI making more and more decisions on our behalf, we have less control over how we reach our audiences and what messages/creatives they see. There is no doubt that AI can drive business results; however, it is critical that humans continue to have control and make decisions on how they invest their budgets.
The beauty of marketing is when we can use our gut, nuance & expert understanding of our customers to drive strategy. Humans understand humans. Where is the risk-taking or innovation in an AI-driven future if it doesn’t come from humans?
But where AI takes away controls, it makes the importance of the controls that we have left all the more important. Creative continues to be and should remain one of the key levers for marketers to drive effectiveness.
With consumers having so many touchpoints with brands and so much content put in front of them, innovative and engaging content can capture audiences, and retain their interest and help a brand stand out from the competition.
While AI excels at data analysis & automation, it lacks the human touch required to generate authentic and emotionally resonant content (for now). This is where we can leverage AI for maximisation, taking data-driven benefits and infusing it with brand personality and a strong understanding of the customer.
What is the future for agencies?
There is no doubt that AI has changed the Client-Agency relationship. The grunt work that agencies used to be responsible for has now been automated, so what are agencies doing and should they be remunerated the same?
Well, it depends how you look at it. Do you want to save on cost and end up in the pitfalls of AI where it runs rampant with not much oversight?
Or do you want to see AI as a tool for the agency to drive growth and deeper collaboration?
For us at Ryvalmedia, it’s brought about three key learnings:
1.) It’s placing a more significant emphasis on PEOPLE. People have never been more important. Not just people power but critical and creative thinkers who are willing to think outside the box, challenge and interrogate AI decision-making, and ensure that we are delivering value and insight for our clients.
2.) Agencies must be fully INTEGRATED into the business. It’s a cliché, but agencies must be an extension of the team and a true partner in the future of AI.
3.) We are CONSULTING on strategy more than ever. Whether it's how to maximise technology or the strategic direction for investment and structure, our role as an agency has moved beyond the day-to-day implementation and reporting. We are now providing strategic direction to power the next stage of business growth and efficiency.
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