The Advertising & Marketing Independent Network (AMIN) Worldwide, a leading network of independently owned agencies, is optimistic about the opportunities that Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents for the creative industry. A recent survey to member agencies across the network’s Americas, EMEA and APAC regions revealed the positive sentiment agency leaders feel toward this emerging technology, overwhelmingly agreeing leveraging the technology will enhance the creative business.

Among the significant advantages experienced is digital and system integration. “We’ve used AI when testing new systems or integrations to generate test data. We can specify certain countries and specific fields we’d like to include. Especially for things like double byte characters, it’s a quick way to fill UAT requirements,” says Misty Dykema, Principal at Simantel.

However, AI has the potential to do much more than just analyze data. Robert Heldt, CEO at Custom Media in Japan explained, “With the advancements in technology, AI has become a game-changer for the marketing and advertising industry, offering new ways to approach creative problem-solving and innovation.”

Troy Alfke, Strategy Director at Hoffman York echoes this: “Creativity is an inspiration-driven process and often comes from having partners to collaborate with for new ideas. People often become more creative through prompts and reactions to various stimuli. AI offers a world of stimuli and potential springboards to creativity. Future creative teams could include a writer, art director and AI. I think it only helps us rather than replaces us.”

From a time-saving perspective, agencies are recognizing the potential in AI to speed up their processes. “By using AI as a starting point, we can gather information and insights faster during our strategic phases,” says Hans van Eemeren, Partner at iO in Belgium. “However, all data always gets verified and checked to ensure quality and validity.”

Agencies are also starting to use AI to deliver innovative and creative solutions to clients. “By combining our expertise in marketing and advertising with the power of AI, we are able to create campaigns that are both effective and engaging”, says Jon Gregory, Director of Account Services at Planit. “We are using AI to assist with research, presentations, idea generation, storytelling, and we are not scared to share with clients that we have tapped platforms like Chat GPT to help us solve these problems. In some ways, showing clients that we are embracing the technology addresses the elephant in the room of whether AI can replace their agency partners.”
AMIN leaders plan to convene on this topic in Phoenix, Arizona during the month of April and discuss the impact of AI in sessions with staff members from a variety of disciplines, including UX, Strategy, Creative, Analytics and more. Kristi Anderson, Executive Director of AMIN looks forward to the meeting stating, “The power of AMIN is the ability to have trusted allies around the world always working toward optimizing the creative agency businesses we serve. This topic is an exciting one to continue to lean into and learn more.”
About AMIN Worldwide
The Advertising & Marketing Independent Network (AMIN) Worldwide is an alliance of 50+ independent marketing firms across the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Australia and Asia. Since 1932, AMIN has been providing award-winning solutions at greater value. The network increases the reach of members and clients through industry expertise, global market insight and knowledge of emerging trends. AMIN member agencies are independently owned, but collaborate to meet challenges, from connecting with new clients and growing into global markets, to building stronger brands and giving access to local insights. For AMIN Worldwide partners and locations: www.aminworldwide.com.