The Media Store has released a new report that has found brands and agencies need to embrace and leverage AI to elevate their offering and deliver enhanced value to consumers.
The independent media agency’s latest report, Utopia vs Dystopia: The AI Evolution, explores the need to measure AI’s potential for misuse against its promise to revolutionise the digital media landscape.
Written by Max Rivera and Cameron Zapantis, the report is focused on how brands can navigate AI’s dystopia/utopia balance, and how AI is already being harnessed within media agencies.
According to the report, brands need to carefully manage the duality of AI, balancing its potential for innovation against the responsibility to use the technology ethically. On the one hand, AI presents a utopian future, with the ability to amplify creativity and innovation, deliver fresh insights, and revolutionise customer service via Chatbots and virtual agents.
In contrast, brands need to measure any innovation against AI’s dystopian aspects: widespread concern around job displacement, as automation disrupts conventional work structures, and the need to manage privacy, bias and misinformation in a data-led world.
For brands, the report recommends focusing on three key areas: benefit, reassurance, and controlling the narrative. Brands should take customers on the AI journey, promoting its benefits (improved service, better products, increased personalisation) while providing reassurance around concerns about data security and the future of the workforce. The report also advises brands to be honest about the implementation and use of AI within their business.
Sam Cousins
Sam Cousins, The Media Store chief strategy officer, said: “The AI landscape is rapidly evolving – and brands need to start thinking about how they’re going to navigate the AI landscape. It’s definitely a balancing act – businesses need to find a way to harness AI’s immeasurable possibilities, against wide-held customer concerns around privacy and transparency. Brands need to start thinking about their messaging and their own objectives around AI to ensure they continue to engage and resonate with their audience.”
The report also examines how agencies are already using AI within their daily operations, particularly in:
• Content creation and creative enhancements: AI-powered tools are enabling agencies to generate high-quality content swiftly and efficiently. Algorithms analyse trends, consumer preferences, and historical data to assist teams to craft compelling visuals that resonate with target audiences.
• Copywriting and messaging optimisation: AI assists in fine-tuning messaging for maximum impact. By leveraging AI to optimise copy, agencies ensure their clients’ brand narrative aligns seamlessly with their target audience’s preferences.
• Data-driven campaign optimisation: AI empowers agencies to maximise campaign effectiveness by analysing real-time data and adjusting instantaneously. Agencies are able to assess campaign elements including ad placement, demographics and messaging, and automatically optimise.
• Automation of measurement and tasks: AI allows agencies to automate repetitive tasks like data collection and reporting.
• Personalised audience targeting and engagement: AI-driven insights enable agencies to refine audience targeting by identifying patterns in consumer behaviour, preferences and demographics.
The report said: “AI’s potential for agencies is endless. As algorithms become more sophisticated, they will be able to predict trends, consumer behaviour and even anticipate creative concepts that resonate with audiences.
“Automation will further expand to handle more complex tasks, leaving agencies with freedom to engage in strategic thinking and innovation. By harnessing AI’s capabilities, agencies can help shape a media landscape that’s brimming with possibilities.”