In the agency world, things move quickly. Today’s news is old by lunch, and the best and latest ideas were often tried six months ago. It can be an overwhelming environment for even the most seasoned pro.
In such a whirlwind industry, we’re big believers in staying curious and collaborative. Each of us have our own experiences with innovation – literally every day – and ensuring those experiences are shared has a direct and immediate impact on the success of our clients, ourselves, and the agency.
This is the driving force behind our newly launched initiative called “The Industry Dish.” In this monthly roundtable series, our team gathers to dish out hot topics shaping the media buying world.
These meetings aren’t just about sharing opinions; they’re about tapping into our collective expertise to uncover opportunities and expand everyone’s knowledge base. We laugh, we debate, and yes, we sometimes argue over whether a buzzword has merit—but it’s all in the name of growth.
For our inaugural session, we tackled a topic that’s exciting and controversial: artificial intelligence. Here’s a recap of the key takeaways peppered with a little of our signature industry insight.
Key Takeaways from Volume 1: The AI Landscape
1. Let’s call it “Daisychaining”
One of the most discussed outcomes of our session was the definition of a technique we’ve coined as “daisychaining.” Here’s how it works:
- First, narrow AI is used to generate a highly detailed and technical response to a prompt. Narrow AI is everywhere in marketing, but the output from many of the most used tools is often lengthy, thorough, and designed for in-depth strategic development. Brand audits, sentiment analysis, competitive market analysis, and audience insights can be generated ad nauseam. While this is great for certain aspects of media planning, it’s not always appropriate for the intended audience. Often what’s most needed for the client is the ability to convey concise, brief, and actionable recommendations.
- Knowing the audience and their specific needs leads us to the second half of the daisychain – using general AI to develop summary analysis from the narrow AI output. This can be done several different ways. Templated prompts are often the most appropriate method given that the specific narrow AI inputs are already known, but simple summary prompts, writing GPTs, or even custom GPTs can be created to do this as well.
This approach is a game-changer for tailoring communication to client teams with varying needs. Think of it as creating a bridge between granular details and strategic overviews. Whether it’s crafting a report for the data geeks or a summary for the C-suite, daisychaining ensures everyone gets the information they need in the format they’ll best understand.
2. The Dual-Edged Sword of AI
AI remains a hot topic in the media buying world, teetering between enormous promise and potential pitfalls. However, it is NOT new to buyers. Algorithms have been driving the digital world for well over a decade, and artificial intelligence has taken many forms not necessarily defined as “AI” in its current state. As an agency, we see it as our responsibility to:
- Protect clients from bad ideas like testing outside of campaign objectives, shiny object syndrome, or copying competitors instead of differentiating.
- Protect clients from risks like legal liabilities, off-brand messaging, and inaccurate audience targeting.
- Leverage its positives, including AI-powered optimization, enhanced data analysis, and the ability to conduct controlled testing.
The consensus? While AI isn’t perfect, its potential is immense. The key lies in how we wield it. It is our responsibility as an agent to represent client interests while balancing risk and reward.
3. Context is King
Perhaps the most critical yet often overlooked insight from our discussion was this: AI is only as good as the context it’s given. Without detailed human input, AI is merely probabilistic. It’s our job to provide the strategic direction and context necessary for AI to deliver meaningful results.
Whether it’s writing ad copy, analyzing campaign performance, or generating audience insights, the human touch remains indispensable. AI can accelerate the process, but it’s not a substitute for expertise. This is where we have to continue to innovate, test, theorize, and attempt to bend the limits of these tools to find what works best.
Final Thoughts
Our first “Industry Dish” meeting confirmed something we’ve always known: the media buying industry isn’t static, and neither are we. AI is just one piece of the ever-evolving puzzle, and while it’s far from perfect, it’s an exciting tool in our arsenal. As we continue to explore its applications, our focus remains clear: using innovation to enhance our clients’ success while staying true to our ethical standards.
Stay tuned for next month’s installment, where we’ll dive into another hot topic shaping the media landscape!
