Role of AI in day-to-day life of an A&M professional

Social Samosa speaks with the past 30 under 30 winners from the advertising and marketing industry to understand the role of AI in their day-to-day work, the tools they find essential, and their outlook for the future of AI in the A&M industry.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a buzzword in the advertising and marketing industry. As far as the day-to-day activities are concerned, AI's impact is felt across a spectrum of activities at ad agencies and businesses, from trend analysis and storyboarding to content creation.

Agencies and brands have seamlessly integrated AI into the routines of advertising professionals, enhancing their ability to create, strategize, and execute. 

Day-To-Day Use

Rajni Daswani, Director - Digital Marketing, SoCheers, highlights that using AI has become routine, similar to how everyone uses Google in their daily lives. She believes AI has simplified many things, whether it's seeking basic curated suggestions, creating travel itineraries using a Travel-based AI tool for personal trips, generating custom images for preparing presentations, or conducting basic research on target audiences.

Daswani said, “It acts as a personalized assistant, streamlining tasks and freeing up time for strategic and creative thinking.”

Suraj Adhikari, Head of Business Development Solutions, Schbang also sees AI's usage in reducing the initial efforts required for campaign building.

Adhikari said, “AI is going to go places, but in the A&M industry, it surely will reduce the initial effort that goes into building a base for any campaign. With the right prompts and efficient teams, AI will mold the industry to be way more efficient.”

With backend work out of the picture, the creative folks have more time to focus on the big picture.

Ankit Mathur, Group Creative Director and Writer, Grey, views AI as a liberating force for creativity, offering fresh perspectives to advertisers and creators. AI, he believes, serves as a creative catalyst.  

Mathur said, “AI has taken a whole new form that can be described as a ‘break out jail free’ card for advertisers and creators. We look to it as a way to get out of our heads and think of something unexplored for our clients. AI is the fresh pair of eyes we often look for.”

Rishi Sen Senior Vice President & Business Head - West, Digitas India, believes that though the use cases for products may seem limited now, marketers will be able to complete a lot of time-intensive, but otherwise customary tasks within minutes in the near future.

He said, “Currently, generative AI is doing the rounds, and going by the speed at which these companies are improving their product output, it’s safe to say that these tools should definitely be in every marketer’s toolkit.”

Streamlines Processes

Unilever’s Mausmi Pandya, SEA Market Insight lead for Ice Cream, also highlights AI's impact in simplifying routine functions. From scheduling meetings to predicting market trends, AI streamlines mundane tasks, freeing up time for marketers to focus on higher-level strategic decisions. 

She believes that this newfound efficiency not only enhances productivity but also fosters more informed choices, thereby elevating the quality of marketing campaigns.

"As a marketing professional, it helps us in discovering social media trends, optimise our messaging, discover potential customers, monitor social performance & adjust as needed."

Mausmi Pandya

Nikhil Kant, Head of Brand Marketing, PR, and Social, at healthcare provider company Even, emphasizes AI's role in freeing up marketing professionals from menial tasks, offering more time for creative problem-solving. His tool recommendation, Midjourney, embodies AI's ability to transform concepts into striking visuals.

Kant said, “Tasks like keyword research, social calendars, transactional ad copies, blog outlines can be easily offloaded to AI, saving hours everyday.”

Tishya Relia, Digital & DTC Lead - Kérastase, L'Oréal India, highlights that there are a lot of different things that digital marketers need to do - from content ideation, creation, user journeys, and media planning and AI can help augment their efforts making everyone more effective at work.

"The idea is first to stay abreast of what all is happening in this domain, then to know which tools work for you, and lastly to use them to achieve your objectives."

Tishya Relia

As per Surbhi Allagh, Director - Digital (West), Genesis BCW, if a marketer is not AI in some form or the other, then they are probably living under a rock. She mentioned that AI has made its presence across across various stages of the marketing process. This includes research, campaign design, and executional planning, making it as an all-encompassing tool that transforms the way marketing strategies are conceptualized and executed. 

“While for some marketers, AI has become a play when designing campaigns, for the rest of us, it’s all about understanding the tool and what we can do with it. As a marketing professional, it’s time to go beyond chasing topical moments and re-think how we approach everything with AI.”

Also Read: Expert Speak: How to use ASCI’s guidelines on Generative AI for ads while ensuring compliance and ethical conduct

Marrying AI & HI

The changing connection between Artificial Intelligence and Human Intelligence holds immense power in molding the marketing landscape of tomorrow. Consequently, by harnessing the power of these two forces, marketers can craft campaigns that are meaningful, relatable, and uniquely tailored, leading to the establishment of strong bonds with customers.

Sristi Gupta, Group Product Manager-Livon, Marico, envisions a future where AI will continue to be a powerful enabler of personalized consumer experiences. While recognizing its potential to automate tasks and enhance efficiency, she emphasizes the enduring importance of human creativity.

Gupta said, “While AI can automate many tasks, one needs to keep in mind that human creativity and oversight are still essential and of most importance for crafting compelling marketing campaigns and maintaining a strong brand identity.”

While Gaurav Arora, Co Founder, Social Panga, pictures AI as an indispensable co-pilot, enabling marketing professionals in extracting insights and depth from extensive research. However, he highlights the ultimate harnessing of AI's potential relies on skilled human pilots who can leverage the technology effectively.

"Like the best fighter plane requiring the best pilot, AI is indeed a remarkable tool, but it requires a skilled pilot to unleash its full potential."

Gaurav Arora

As the A&M world changes in big ways, and it's going to affect how brands talk to people. Daswani believes that there is a need for vigilance against potential ethical concerns, particularly in the realm of fraud prevention.

She said, “Futuristically, I’m seeing it to be a great asset for a person to be able to do a lot more than they could do themselves before, only if used for the right reasons and with the right intentions.  However, we must also be vigilant in developing better mechanisms to detect and prevent fraud facilitated by AI. As AI makes everything more accessible, fraudsters have become more sophisticated, and that remains a point of concern.”

Must Have Tools in A&M Arsenal 

AI tools are designed to enhance efficiency, drive innovation, and unlock new possibilities. From streamlining routine functions to amplifying creativity, AI tools have seamlessly integrated into diverse domains, including marketing, healthcare, finance, and more.

Here are a few AI tools that experts recommend:

• ChatGPT, a ubiquitous tool, has become a steadfast companion for professionals across the spectrum. It can be used for content creation, brainstorming, and even drafting presentations. 

• Bard AI, providing insights into target audiences and emerging trends, has become an essential tool for informed decision-making. It empowers marketers to stay ahead of the curve, ensuring their campaigns resonate with evolving consumer preferences.

• Midjourney, the brainchild of creativity can be used to visualize ideas through mood boards and storyboards to revolutionize the creative process, enabling professionals to craft captivating visuals and compelling narratives. Midjourney redefines how ideas are conceptualized and communicated.

• Namelix.com aids in the creative process of brand naming, generating relevant suggestions based on keywords and preferences. 

• Pebblely simplifies product presentations with its virtual background creation, bypassing the need for elaborate photoshoots.

It's important to note that while AI offers many benefits to the A&M industry, it also raises ethical and creative questions. The balance between human creativity and AI-generated content, copyright issues, and concerns about job displacement are some of the challenges that need to be navigated as AI continues to shape the future of the arts and media landscape.