How Ad Agencies Are Actually Using AI
Lee McKnight Jr
VP Sales @ RSW/US |Outsourced Biz Dev for Ad Agencies, PR Firms & MarTech
In the first post in our?RSW 2024 Agency New Business report?series, we talked?average length of time to close business, in Part 2, we tackled decreasing new business director tenure at ad agencies. And now in our 3rd in the series, we explore how ad agencies are actually using AI.
54% of marketing services firms are using AI tools for new business development. Last year that number was 38%.
This stat comes from our survey question of agencies, “Are you incorporating ChatGPT and other AI tools into your business development efforts?”
And we added a follow up question this year:
How are you using ChatGPT or other AI tools for new business?
Per the breakdown below, “researching companies” and “writing content” were by far the most chosen, with “analyzing competitive activity” coming in at a distant third.
“Building lists” did come in at 16%, but we can say from experience that while there are already some viable tools to help with this process, they are (seemingly) some time away from providing any real help there, in terms of accuracy.
There was an “other” option with the ability to write in how agencies are using AI tools for new business, and we present a sample of those from your peers:
With over half of the surveyed firms now incorporating AI into their processes, up from 38% the previous year, it’s clear that artificial intelligence is becoming a more integral part of the industry’s toolkit.
And while our primary focus at RSW is business development for ad agencies, a recent Ad Age article provides further useful feedback on AI tools beyond business development usage, 9 AI tools agencies are embracing right now.
We’ve broken each down for you with links.
9 AI tools agencies are embracing right now
?? Adobe Photoshop’s Generative Fill This well-known AI tool helps designers edit images with impressive ease and speed. It’s already a must-have for agencies like Lafayette American. Learn more.
?? Cassidy Used by Quad, Cassidy helps streamline RFP responses by automating repetitive tasks, making proposal processes faster. Learn more.
?? ComfyUI Agencies like Anomaly and Goodby Silverstein & Partners are using this web interface for the AI model Stable Diffusion to create and edit images. Learn more.
?? Creatopy This platform automates ad creation, ideal for customized animations in web banners. Lafayette American finds it invaluable for scaling creative work. Learn more.
?? Flim Known as the “search engine for creative people,” Flim helps agencies like Colossus quickly sift through vast video libraries to enhance storytelling. Learn more.
?? Focaldata Used by McKinney for consumer interviews, this “AI coworker” supports agencies with research and creative testing. Learn more.
?? Kive This visual library tool is popular with Wieden+Kennedy and Droga5 for organizing and sharing creative assets like mood boards. Learn more.
?? Krea’s Realtime Anomaly uses Krea’s Realtime tool for video generation with enhanced control, thanks to the Flux 1 AI model. Learn more.
?? Pika Labs A competitor in text-to-video generation, Pika Labs recently added realistic motion in its latest update, Pika 1.5, used by Bonfire Labs. Learn more.
How Ad Agencies Are Actually Using AI – Still A Ways To Go
The primary uses of AI, particularly tools like ChatGPT, for researching companies and writing content, demonstrate how these tools are enhancing efficiency and improving the quality of business development efforts.
While AI shows promise in various aspects of business development, it’s important to note that its applications are still evolving.
The limited use of AI for tasks like building lists highlights the current limitations of the technology, particularly in terms of accuracy for certain functions.
However, the diverse range of additional applications mentioned by agencies, from email copy support to creating budget estimates, suggests that AI’s role in business development is likely to expand and become more sophisticated over time.