AI & In-House Agencies
Over the last month, I’ve been delivering a digital marketing training program for a large in-house agency. The topic that keeps coming up is generative AI. One creative team shared that they are committed to figuring out how to use tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney to offload time-consuming production work “before they destroy humanity as we know it” (the tools, not the team). Another copywriter joked (I think) about using ChatGPT to write his resignation letter.
Many marketers are trying to figure out how to use these tool in order to turn AI into an intern, and to find ways to shorten the workday. ChatGPT is even being mentioned as a way to replace work traditionally done by junior media planners. If you’re looking to test a few of these new tools, here’s a useful overview of the different generative AI products available today. I also find these tips and templates helpful to structure more effective prompts. Bain recently published research with the percentage of companies using Generative AI for different business functions, including marketing.
In the short-term, most adoption will no doubt come from generative tools being built into products creative teams already use – like Adobe Firefly. Interesting to see Google announce generative AI tools being released to help their customers create ads and product assets for campaigns. Even more interesting to see is how these tools will place generative AI ads into search results - a medium that Google controls. Google has every reason to convince brands that search advertising is relevant for our AI present / future, given many (including Bill Gates) predict that A.I. will kill search engines (and Amazon) as we know it.
It has been interesting to learn more about in-house agencies over the past month, and I can definitely see the benefits for the business and the teams. Recent (US) research shows that 82% of marketers use an in-house agency vs 58% in 2013. The same study also shows that 92% also work with external agencies, for excess capacity and for access to specialized skills. And the biggest gap for in-house teams? Ahem…finding good strategic planners.
Vision Pro & XR
Anyone have $3,500 US ($4,700 CAD) to spare? Like everyone else, I’ve been pouring over the reviews of the Vision Pro. Everyone who has tried the headset, seems to come away extremely impressed with the hardware and its performance. Well, everyone but Mark Zuckerberg. Ben Thompson, as usual, has a smart big-picture take based on his trial. From a practical application perspective, there are a number of questions about how it will be used and general demand and criticisms about “wearing a computer on your face” or “placing your head in a box”. While I can’t imagine goggling (not to be confused with googling) in a context where I am either not alone or around others wearing headsets – we shall see. It seems like something you can’t understand without using it first.
Learning Resources
Degreeless Design: An extremely well curated set of resources to learn about design (for non-designers). Definitely worth a bookmark.
AI Canon (a16z): In a similar vein, a16z has curated a bookmark-worthy set of resource to learn more about A.I. It’s a bit technical, but includes some useful background pieces.
Generative AI Learning Path: Google has released a set of new (free) online courses on different aspects of generative AI, with a mix of technical and non-technical training.
Cool Beans
The mini–Moog Factory: A very cool digital experience that celebrates the legendary moog synthesizer. Make sure to click on the Jukebox to rock out to a little Devo!
