The rise of generative AI in marketing: Terminator or time-saver?

Ed Vickers

November 9, 2023

Generative AI

Can AI provoke a marketing revolution?

"I need your clothes, your boots and your motorcycle, and your job…" - the familiar punchline from Terminator surfaces each time I discuss AI. Today, generative AI in marketing has conjured a spectrum of reactions. But should we be panicking or is it a new dawn of efficiency?

For brand and marketing professionals and the creative industry who continually seek innovation amidst evolving landscapes, generative AI can sound both revolutionary and intimidating. And it’s a tool that has surged to prominence at a blistering pace. ChatGPT, for instance, only took five days to reach one million users - a testament to its potential in reshaping industries and, more specifically, marketing.

Bill Gates' declaration of AI's significance underscored this narrative. He equated it to ground-breaking milestones such as the creation of microprocessors and the internet. With such high profile endorsement and AI becoming increasingly synonymous with modern marketing, we're at the cusp of a revolution or, at the very least, significant transformation.

Yet, caution flags rise, not necessarily against AI's capabilities, but its ethical implementation and unforeseen consequences. Deep learning AI models carry with them profound ethical dilemmas, reminiscent of the challenges posed by the advent of social media. In-house teams, creative agencies, and marketing departments, which LOOP Agencies cater to, stand at the threshold of this change. Generative AI, when aligned with marketing, spells unprecedented campaign efficiencies—turning tedious, repetitive tasks into opportunities for fostering creativity particularly in the financial services and regulated industries.

Transforming creative agencies

AI isn’t new, machine learning isn’t new, and we’ve been using robots to automate tasks for a long time.

The tools are the tools, but when you layer the unpredictability of humans on top of that, it’s hard to predict the outcome. But putting aside the wider moral quandary of generative AI for now and focusing on its impact on marketing. Should we be worried?

Less than 30 years ago, the web was seen as the death of creativity, with print designers up in arms that it stifled design and there were too many rules. And before that, as PCs and Macs became the standard in agencies, it was another nail in the coffin for creativity.

Now I’m a glass-half-full person. I’ve always been open to understanding and learning new technology and ways of doing things. In the case of AI, it’s been no different. I’ve had some great fun throwing prompts at ChatGPT and testing it to the point that it falls out with me (and it does!) and creating some incredibly striking images in MidJourney.

But is it going to replace our jobs?

I just can’t see it. In fact, I see things going the other way. Generative AI enhances and improves the way we work, removing some of the more mundane tasks and allowing the real artistry of creativity to come to the fore.

I see new roles becoming standard within agency environments, with prompt engineer experts who can get the very best from various AI tools becoming core roles in agencies.

One of the most interesting things I’ve read so far was when I was learning more about MidJourney and one of the points was, “You have to think like a photographer”. Not everyone can (or wants) to do this, so creativity carried within us still needs to come to the fore.

Other benefits could potentially be big cost savings for clients. Food photography, for example, is an incredibly over-engineered and time-consuming process. And you could argue every bit as fake as an AI-generated image with all the tips and tricks used to enhance the imagery. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MflT0I7ZPCs

In the world that LOOP Agencies operate in, where high volume and repeatable hard-working comms are the order of the day, I see huge potential for AI to become integral.

By understanding the audience, data and historical performance, it can write copy for regular comms, e.g., a quarterly credit card promotion for a bank, where there are only so many ways you can say the same thing.

Removing the overhead and time from writing each variant manually makes total sense (and I’m pretty sure that's not where many copywriters are getting their job fulfilment from).

While AI has the propensity to create short or long-form text or beautiful imagery using nothing more than a few well-written prompts using plain English, it doesn’t have the ‘feel’ of a human.

This remains the biggest single difference, and while we’re in a space where in the future, AI might start to become the basis for ideas, territories and general information to create content, it will still require the craft and consideration of a human to determine if it’s appropriate for its end use.

From propaganda to practicality

What I do think we’ll start to see in marketing over the next few months is a shift in the propaganda and general high-level noise to more practical use cases.

At LOOP agencies, we always seek to join clients’ creative services and build the most efficient delivery processes. AI can enhance the service and save hours to deliver more mundane tasks. That time is better reserved for the bigger brand thinking.

A revolution or an evolution?

So, in conclusion, will generative AI leave us all out of a job? From where I’m standing, quite the opposite. Generative AI is a gateway to more intelligent, creative, and effective marketing solutions. Only time will unveil its full impact, but the horizon appears more promising than perilous.

For brand and marketing professionals tasked with steering their brands through this sea change, the wave of Generative AI isn't one to ride alone. LOOP Agencies, specialise in managing in-house agency teams. To recharge your in-house marketing operations or if you’re looking to explore how this could work for your organisation marrying efficiency and scale with creativity, please reach out to co-founder Ed or Vicky by emailing ed@loopagencies.com or vicky@loopagencies.com