The advertising industry is actively embracing AI, but understanding its impact on sustainability is an important aspect that should not be overlooked.
From creating realistic virtual images to providing deep insights for creating copy and campaign ideas, the advertising industry is being revolutionized by generative artificial intelligence (AI).
The reason is not surprising.
According to Forbes, top performing companies are more than twice as likely to use AI in their marketing.
Not only that, but according to Bloomberg Intelligence research, the AI-assisted digital advertising business is expected to attract $192 billion (€175.6 billion) annually by 2032.
McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm, says the impact of generative AI on productivity could add trillions of dollars to the global economy, saying, “That era is just beginning. There is.”
Meanwhile, consulting giant Accenture announced a €2.7 billion investment in AI, doubling its talent pool from 40,000 to 80,000.
As this technology continues to gain momentum, we are witnessing the beginning of an era of enormous potential for advertising.
But while the industry is rapidly embarking on research into how AI can improve the overall performance and effectiveness of advertising campaigns, Dentsu’s one of the world’s largest marketing and advertising agency networks Global CEO Peter Hoijboom says advertisers need to do more by analyzing how AI can improve the overall performance and effectiveness of their advertising campaigns. ing. To promote more sustainable practices and understand ‘what it means for humans’.
We are at a stage where most advertisers are exploring the best applications for this technology and evaluating ways to make the process more efficient, says Fujiboom. “But taking it one step further would definitely have an impact on sustainability.”
Focus on sustainable new currency
The advertising industry is playing a key role in propelling society towards a net-zero future, he told Euronews Next at this year’s Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, noting that the new currency is ” attention economy,” he said.
By prioritizing attention, advertisers can determine which means of communication are most influential, thus optimizing their resources and adapting to the changing landscape of “4,000 advertising messages arriving daily across multiple platforms.” Not only can it evolve, but it can also adapt to the needs of the planet.
According to Dentsu Aegis Network research, only one-third of ads capture the viewer’s full attention. According to a recent report from the company, whenever an ad can be skipped, users “more often skip it. And when they can’t, they tend to look away.”
“The explosion of digital content, new forms of advertising and technology has created the motivation and means for people to eliminate advertising from their lives,” the magazine added.
Advertising with the attention economy at its core “means not wasting energy on uninteresting communication.” [an effective] It literally makes a big shift in energy, because we can make our ads smaller, more targeted and more relevant at the same time,” Huijboom told Euronews Next.
The new world represents a challenge for advertisers that “advertisements that cannot be seen are worthless”, and from a sustainability perspective, it is also a waste of resources, he added.
By manipulating and modifying simple factors such as online video length and file size, you can improve both your attention metric and your carbon footprint.
Huijboom said it is also important to choose marketplaces and media owners who set science-based net-zero targets and are committed to continuous improvement, and agencies set their own science-based net-zero targets. He added that marketplaces and media owners should be prioritized.
“Of course, as a company we have our own emissions targets, but that is only a small part of what we can do. What can we do?” he said.
The third aspect of our sustainability strategy is ‘how’, which focuses on balancing our carbon footprint with our commercial goals. Again, attention plays a key role in finding the right balance, and AI can help.
Dentsu’s CEO said historically the advertising industry was focused on “selling more”, but “in a world of finite resources, we need to take a different approach.” talk.
Huijboom said the advertising industry can make a difference by influencing how people think, feel and behave, and by harnessing this “superpower” advertisers can drive positive change. increase.
“Think of getting people into electric cars, plant-based food, reduced packaging products, green banking, green pensions…if we can make it interesting and attractive to people, as an industry We can make a big difference,” he pointed out.
And “taken together, it is clear that generative AI can have broader societal impact than sustainability.”
For more on this interview at the 2023 Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, see the media player video above.
