The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has created an unprecedented buzz in the advertising industry. Many businesses rushed to adopt this technology without fully considering the ethical implications, proper usage, or the impact on end-users. This has led to a crossroads where brands must consider how to integrate Ai into their business and marketing strategy..
On one path, brands that effectively integrate AI into their strategies as a tool to amplify human creativity will thrive. These brands recognise AI’s potential to revolutionise consumer engagement through personalised content and real-time campaign optimisation. Conversely, brands that fail to grasp AI’s potential and limitations will be left behind, facing consequences such as underperforming campaigns and eroded consumer trust.
The early days of AI in advertising were marked by a gold rush mentality with businesses hastily implementing AI solutions such as Large Language models or generative techniques without establishing clear guidelines for ethical use,privacy and transparency. As a result, some AI influenced campaigns alienated consumers and damaged brand safety..
To successfully navigate this landscape, brands must approach AI with measure, investing time and resources to understand the unique capabilities, limitations and ethical considerations the technology has for their business. By developing clear guidelines and involving stakeholders, brands can ensure their AI-powered advertising efforts are aligned with core values, objectives, and expectations.
The future of advertising lies in the hands of those who can harness the power of AI responsibly and ethically to create deeper, more meaningful consumer connections. The question remains: which path will brands choose?
The pitfalls of overpromising early stage AI
The recent Willy Wonka event in Glasgow serves as a stark warning to advertisers about the pitfalls of relying too heavily on AI without proper human oversight.
Billed as an ”exhilarating and exciting immersive experience”, advertisements for “Willy’s
Choclate Experience” (sic), the event used AI-generated imagery and content to promote a fantasy world loosely inspired by Roald Dahl’s beloved stories. However guests were shocked to discover that the promised magic was nothing more than a derelict warehouse decorated with a few homemade props.
News of this disastrous event quickly made its way round the news outlets, with headlines decrying the perils of over reliance on AI in creative campaigns. The organisers’ decision to rely solely on AI-generated visuals and descriptions proved to be a misstep as the actual event fell short of the expectations set by the promotional materials.
This fiasco serves as a cautionary tale for brands looking to leverage AI in their advertising adverts. While AI can be a powerful tool for generating content and visuals, it should not be used as a substitute for human creativity, judgement and oversight – nor should it misrepresent the product, service or event a brand is promoting. Brands must strike a balance between utilising AI’s capabilities and maintaining the authenticity and integrity of their messaging.
The need for advanced AI in advertising
To avoid Willy Wonka-esque crises and create more targeted, ethical, and realistic campaigns, brands must invest in advanced AI solutions. Such sophisticated systems go beyond basic applications commonly associated with ChatGPT to analyse vast amounts of historic and real-time data, enabling personalisation at scale and assisting in the creation of high-quality, resonant advertisements.
Advanced AI models can continuously follow consumer behaviour, analysing and interpreting audience intentions and engagement. This allows for real-time customisation of advertisements according to individual preferences, ensuring that each viewer receives a personalised and relevant ad experience based on insights gained from past campaigns.
However, the true power of AI extends far beyond content generation. When looking at measuring the impact of each campaign, AI can also play a crucial role throughout a campaign’s lifecycle. It can help continuously monitor and analyse campaign data, identifying trends and patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed. Granular, AI-powered analytics tools can track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as reach, engagement, conversions and return on investment in real-time, enabling brands to make data-driven decisions and optimise their campaigns for maximum impact. This frees up valuable time and resources for humans to focus on the heavy lifting of strategy and creativity, ultimately leading to more effective and successful advertising efforts that combine the best of both human ingenuity and AI-powered insights.
Investing in advanced AI solutions empowers brands to create more compelling, personalised, and effective advertising experiences while navigating the ethical and societal challenges associated with modern advertising. As the industry evolves, the integration of advanced AI will become increasingly critical for brands to create impactful, memorable, and responsible campaigns that resonate with their audiences and drive long-term success.
Bridging the gap between AI and human creativity
The true potential of AI in advertising lies in its ability to enhance human creativity, not replace it.
AI’s role extends beyond basic applications, revolutionising every phase of a campaign. AI’s real-time analysis of consumer behaviour allows brands to optimise campaigns in real time.
In the short term the opportunity to combine human and artificial creativity is significant. Designers will benefit from the speed and breadth of Ai driven ad variants while machine learning takes human input to enhance the model. In doing this brands are able to maximise the benefits of Ai and do this in a manner that adheres to brand guidelines and policies.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ian Liddicoat , Chief Technology Officer of Adludio
Ian Liddicoat is the Chief Technology Officer of Adludio – an advertising firm using AI across the entire creative pipeline, from ad creation to implementation and optimisation. Along with the Adludio team, Ian helps brands use Adludio’s proprietary AI system ‘Lorenzo’ to deliver data-led insights to brands about how to create optimal adverts no matter the demographic, before optimising adverts in real-time. Ian has over two decades in the advertising and technology space.